The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-14 00:00:00

company had been bet or a the- Houaes.of Parliament, be ap pointed a director instead of Mr. Radcliff. Sir J..WALMSLEY supported the original motion. He had known Mr. Radcliff a great many years—he thought for ten years—and he did not know in the whole town of Liver pool a man in whom he had more entire confidence, as re garded his honour, his integrity, and his uprightness. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Radcliff was an industrious and an active man, who had an interest in the Chester and Birkenhead Railway probably greater, in proportion to the amount of his pro perty, than many of the directors. He had, to his (Sir Joshua's) knowledge, served one of the institutions of the town, when it was at its lowest ebb, for the long period of five years, without charging so much as one farthing for his services. (Hear, and cheers.) He hoped, therefore, that the meeting would unanimously elect him. if they adopted the report of the committee, it was as little as they could do to place Mr. Radcliff, who had acted as one of that commit tee, and in whom they had the utmost confidence, in the position of a director. Who was it that had been recom mended in lieu of Mr. Radcliff? A gentleman, certainly, whom he (Sir Joshua) esteemed, and had known for many years; but where did Mr. Uniacke reside ? Forsooth in Bath. (Hear.) Perhaps his residence in Bath was looked upon as a sort of recommendation, in order that he should do no mischief. (A laugh.) It was true that if the gentle man's services should be required in parliament, he would be serviceable ; but what were the company going to parlia ment for? Merely to raise money on quarter shares. They had, therefore, nothing to fear, inasmuch as there was no great thing to be obtained. Under those circumstances, he would unhesitatingly say, that if Mr. Radcliff were placed on the board of direction In place of Mr. Uniacke, he would be of equal if not of more service than any man on the board, and that. he would carry out, fearlessly, the views entertained by the proprietors. He felt confidence in Mr. Radcliff's integrity and industry, and he hoped their votes would show that tie proprietors also had confidence in him. (Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN thought it might perhaps be necessary for him to make sonic remarks. With respect to Mr. Uniacke, he was sure they all knew that gentleman to be one of the most active of the directors. It was true he did not at pre sent reside upon the spot; but he (the chairman) was still of opinion that his services in going to parliament would be very essential to the company. (Hear, hear.) He had shown great zeal in the undertaking ever since it was commenced ; he had been a member of 'the Grand Junction board, but had given up that appointment its order to devote his time and attention to the interests of the Chester and Birkenhead Company ; and having acted with him, he would strongly re commend his appointment. He (the chairman) had not the pleasure of Mr. Radcliff's acquaintance. He had never met him except on two occasions, at the board meetings, when he made use of certain observations, not pleasing either to him self-or to .any of the directors. He. had made use of a per sonal remark,to him (the chairman) which he could not for get. He (the chairman had been on the board for some years, and he defied any one to say be had not given every possible attention he could to its interests, or that he had ever turned the holdinr , of shares to his own advantage. Hear, hear.) It would be much more agreeable to him to work in conjunc tion with Mr. Uniacke than Mr. Radcliff, as his feelings had been very much hurt by the remarks made by the latter gen- tlernan. Mr. SANDERS said that some gentlemen had talked of the difficulty of going to parliament, forgetting that there was no difficulty at all. Where was there any interest that would oppose the company ? Mr. EDWARDS said there was an interest that would give opposition. Mr. SANDERS denied that there could he any such thing. Opposition was out of the question, and to appoint a gentle man living in Bath upon the board of direction appeared to him to be a most extraordinary proposition. (Hear, hear.) Mr. EnwArsns said that Mr. Uniacke held one hundred share in the undertaking. Mr. Sanders said he was aware of the fact, but that he ne vertheless opposed his appointment. The CHAIRMAN stated that a week or fortnight never passed without communications being received from Mr. Uniacke, whose hints on various subjects were exceedingly valuable. Mr. EVANS thought that both the gentlemen might be appointed upon the board of direction. At present a kind of trick—a regular Newmarket trick—(laughter)—was being practised to get Mr. Uniacke in and Mr. Ratcliff out; but the company might have the services of both. The CHAIRMAN said it was not agreeable to the wishes of the board of directors to have Mr. Radcliff appointed. How ever, it was for the meeting to say which of the gentlemen they would prefer. He could not forget the remarks which had been made by Mr. Radcliff. Sir J. WALMSLEY. — What were they ? The CHAIRMAN.—That we were not trustworthy in the management of even the sum of £lOO. Mr. ABBOTT said that if the meeting were desirous of seeing the suggestions contained in the report of the com mittee carried out to their legitimate extent they would elect Mr. Ratcliff; if not, they would elect Mr. Uniacke. He asked the proprietors whether they would allow personal feelings to prevail against the election of M r. Radcliff at such a time as the present, and said that that was really the ques tion they had to decide. For his own part, he had personal feelings, but he willingly waived them in order to promote the general interest. Sir J. WALMSLEY believed the directors had made up their minds that, if Mr. Ratcliff were appointed, they would not act. He (Sir Joshua) wished to see the report carried out, but he did not think it would be carried out unless Mr. Radcliff were elected—(hear, hear)—neither did he think that any hasty expressions which might have been made use of by Mr. Radcliff twelve months before should be reaped up on the present occasion with- the view of preventing that gentleman's appointment. Mr. EDWARDS thought that Sir Joshua's observations implied a decided censure on the directors, inasmuch as he seemed to think that Mr. Ratcliff was to be the main organ of carrying out the report. Mr. JACKSON was proceeding to offer some remarks, when Mr. EVANS said he thought the directors should not be permitted to dictate to the meeting. (Hear. hear.) Mr. SANDERS begged that his proposition might be put. _ _ Sir J. WALMSLEt - said he was sure that if Mr. Radcliff were appointed, he would remove from the railway much of what at present was objectionable. For instance, economy ought to have been used, but it had not been used. (Cries of " State.") He (Sir Joshua) was ready to prove the fact. He would ask the proprietors whether they thought, in a railway of something about 15 miles in length, there was any necessity of having 12 or 14 di acuturs, or .iny neccsaity for an engineer at £5OO a-year, a treasurer at £3OO a year, clerks at £l5O a-year, a man in Liverpool at £75 a-year, with an office at £6O a-year—all for a railway of this magnitude. (Hear, hear.) If that were not enough to convince the pro prietors of the necessity that existed for economy, he was done. If the directors had a disinclination to act with Mr. Radcliffe, he would say at once to the meeting—" accept their resignations and let them go out." (Cheers and cries of " let them go out.") Mr. EDWARDS said he would not retire from the board, even if Mr. Radcliff should be elected. Mr. JACKSON said the Chester and Birkenhead Railway might challenge any other railway in the kingdom except one upon the score of economy. The salary of the engineer had been decreased from £9OO to £5OO a-year, and the office at this side of the water could not be dispensed with while Mr. Smith's coaches continued to run. Mr. JONES fully intended not to have said a word on the question before the meeting, and he was sorry to find it taking the turn it had. Had Mr. Radcliff been appointed without any opposition having been offered, lie would have rejoiced at his appointment ; but when lie found the board of directors objecting to him, why should the meeting impose him on them ? Nothing good could be done unless the di rectors acted harmoniously and unanimously together in car rying out the views of the proprietors. He was surprised at seeing Mr. Radcliff sitting quietly during the discussion, and he thought the gentleman ought to stand up and say that he would not be one of the directors. (Uproar, and cries of " no, no.") He (Mr. Jones) was sure that if his name had been proposed under such circumstances he would immedi ately resign the appointment; and he was persuaded that if Mr. Radcliff should happen to be appointed, the directors would not go on cordially together. Mr. SANDERS said he could not refrain from expressing his surprise at seeing the directors, who had had the whole of the railway business in hand—and a most wretched con cern they had reduced it to—refusing to surrender their per sonal feelings, and accepting Mr. Radcliff, a gentleman who, though he could not remedy many of the past errors, might prevent other errors from being committed. The CHAIRMAN said that much of the expenditure with which the directors had been charged was accounted for by the estimates of the engineer having been considerably less than the actual cost. The directors were willing that the present vacancies should be filled up from the committee who had drawn up their repo' t, and they had no objection to any gentleman composing that committee except to the one named; Mr. FOSBERRY said he had been asked, one hundred miles from Liverpool, what mischief the directors of the Chester and Birkenhead Railway had been doing, or what lands they they had been buying. Mr. EVANS—You bought two ferries. (Hear, and laugh ter.) Mr. FOSBERRY—Yes ; but with your concurrence. Sir J. WALMSLEY said that the Committee had found the directors in a fix. (No, no.) He repeated it, that they had found them in a strong fix ; for what were the facts? It appeared that they had bought land, that they had made an agreement with Mr. Price, and that they had afterwards been obliged to run off their bargain. Was that a fix ? He thought it was. (Hear, hear.) And they had not money at present to carry on what they proposed : so that they were in a strong fix. (Hear.) Mr. SANDERS said the directors appeared to be very tena cious because it so happened that they were the first body of the kind who had been brought up for their conduct; but this was only the beginning of such things. There were many railways in the kingdom where a most searching in quiry would speedily be instituted into the conduct of the directors. There were Liverpool men connected with the directorships of some of them, whom he would not trust with the management of a common clerkship, and who were continually going out of England, instead of attending to their duties. He thought it an extraordinary circumstance that railway concerns should have such men tied on them like an incubus. (Hear.) He was certain the present would be a prelude to many other inquiries of a like kind, and that some gentlemen who were now connected with other rail ways would not be so much longer. (Hear.) Mr. BOOTH presumed that Mr. Sanders had alluded to him. (Great laughter.) Mr. SANDERS said not in the slightest. Mr. Boon{ observed that his reason for thinking he had been alluded to was simply because he was in the habit of going to the Highlands of Scotland for three months in the year. During the remaining nine months he was constant in his attendance at the board. The CHAIRMAN then put the amendment to the meeting, when about sixteen hands were held up in favour of Mr. Uuiacke. He then put the original motion, and a great number of hands were shown. Mr. EDWARDS demanded a poll. Mr. SANDERS asked what object could be effected by going to a poll ? Was it because the sense of the meeting had been against the wishes of the directors, that the latter had hesitated to declare Mr. Radcliff appointed ? A SHAREHOLDER remarked that he had never seen any body of men in his life express so decided an opinion against the feelings and wishes of the p ro p rietors as the directors had done that day. (Hear, hear.) He knew not how gen tlemen could expect to be allowed to remain on the directory who had run so decidedly in the faces of the proprietors.— (Hear, hear, hear.) Mr. EDWARDS said he entertained a personal hostility to Mr. Radcliff, for his conduct on other occasions. A SHAREHOLDER said, that in such case Mr. Edwards ought to hare resigned at once, and not to have braved the feelings of the proprietors after so determined a manner. Mr. JACKSON said the ground of hostility was simply this —that Mr. Radcliff had heretofore declared that he would not trust the directors with £lOO, or even of his pro perty. Mr. RADCLIFF said he felt very much indebted to Mr. Jackson for having put the question in a tangible shape. He had been sorry t o hear observations uttered which did n ot imply a Christi an spirit, inasmuch as certain parties had al lowed bygone matters to o rankle in their breasts from a long period up to the present i l noment. But Mr. Jackson having put the question f a i r l y , thing that he had formerly ie was not prep are d to disavow any ly said—(hear, hear)—and he would give his reasons for having the year 1839 a meetin g was niahelel use of the terms stated. In d, at which certain queries were put to the directors, the result of which shewed that some underhand proceedings had been going forward about the sale of the Chester and Crewe railway. (Hear, hear.) He saw that a number of gentlemen were do both directions, and that while they were selli ng the Cu/les - ter and Crewe the y were not communicating that i n f ormat i on to t h e proprietors of the Chester and Birkenhead line ; and it was upon that ogeation ho had Oatii, that If gentlemen would go on ht that way, and sell the rights of the proprietors of the latter rail way, he would not trust them with the management of his property. Mr. R. proceeded to show that the shares of the proprietors had fallen from £57 to £36 ; that £60,000 had been foolishly spent in the purchase of ferries, and that the proprietors had not been consulted about the said purchases, and concluded by saying that he considered it a high com pliment that a person so insignificant as himself was likely to make the directors wince for the next twelve months. Mr. Fos BERRY denied that he had ever heard of the sell ing of the Crewe railway. He knew nothing of it till after the occurrence had taken place. Mr. EIYWARDS.—Nor did 1 Mr. JACKSON.—Nor I. The CHAI RMAN said the remark was intended to apply to him. Ile could state that no communication on the subject had been made to this board, and filling the situation he did, of chairman to the Chester and Birkenhead Railway Com pany, he did not consider himself justified in attending the Chester and Crewe committees. (Hear, hear.) Mr. RADCLIFFE denied that he had ever applied any ob servations personally offensive to the chairman. He had in deed accused the whole committee and directory of not having taken care of the interests of the proprietors, but he had not accused Mr. Dixon personally. (Hear, hear.) The CH AIRMAN said it was his wish that the direction of the company should be entirely governed by the feelings of the proprietors. lie had felt very much hurt at the remarks which had been made by Mr. Radcliffe, and which he consi dered personal, but as that gentleman bad now stated that they were not so intended, he accepted that as a sufficient apology. (lieu, hear.) It remained with Mi. Edwards to say whether he would or would not withdraw his amend ment, and seeing the feeling which pervaded the meet ing he (the chairman) should not object to having it with drawn. (Hear, hear.) Mr. EDWARDS then withdrew his amendment, and Mr. Radcliffe was appointed. Mr. JACKSON proposed Mr. James Lawrence as the third director.—Agreed to. _ _ . _ Mr. ABBOTT proposed Sir Joshua Walmsley as the fourth director.—Agreed to. Mr. SANDERS said he supported the nomination of Sir Joshua, in the hope that it he got mixed up with the af fairs of the company he would be kept out of parliament. (Hear and a laugh.) Sir JOSHUA expressed a hope that henceforward they would all go on harmoniously together, that the report would be carried out, and that the profits of the company would meet the expectations of the proprietors. (Cheers.) He concluded by moving a vote of thanks to the chairman. The motion was carried unanimously; and the meeting separated at ten minutes after three o'clock. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE. The Dock Committee held their weekly meeting yesterday. The following members were preaent:—Messrs. Bean, Hors fall, Barclay, T. Holt, Holmes, Middleton, Booth, Mellor, Bulley, G. Holt, Tobin, Chapman, Sands, and Quayle. Mr. BENN presided. WORKING OF THE DOCKS. The Sub-Committee for the department of the Harbour Masters and Dock Masters, &c. &c., submitted the follow ing condensed report and recommendations to the favourable consideration of the General Committee, that the improve ments therein suggested, if approved, might be carried into effect as early as the finances of the trust will permit : viz. In the South Division. That sheds be continued round the Queen's Dock, and that the quay be built up to a level.—After some discussion the further consideration of this subject was deferred. That gates be' placed to the Queen's Dock Basin when the contemplated new river wall is built.—Deferred. That the crane on the south side of Brunswick Lock be permitted to be used by the public when not required by the Dock Surveyor.—Adopted. That the crane now at the north end of the Queen's Dock be removed to the N.E. side.—Surveyor to consult with the Dock Master, and report. That a person be appointed to look after the landing stages in the south division of the docks.—Rejected ; the masters of each dock to continue responsible for the stages. In the North Division. - That a shed be placed on the S.E. quay of the Prince's Dock.—Ordered. _ _ That sheds be placed on the north sides and east ends of Waterloo and Victoria Docks, and the pavement under the sheds raised so as to carry off the water.—Approved. That three additional landing stages be provided for the north end of Prince's Dock, and eight landing stages for the south end of that dock, to be 30 feet long by 3 feet wide, ex clusive of the side pieces. —Ordered. That it be recommended that the floating stages, used by the ferry boats, off the mouth of George's Basin, be laid close to the pier, from half flood to half ebb.—Referred to the Finance Committee of the corporation. General Working of the Docks. The sub-committee were of opinion that for general pur poses, moveable cranes, capable of lifting two tons, would be preferable to fixed cranes on the quays.—Deferred till the Surveyor's report. That the plan recommended by the South Harbour Master for regulating the docking and un-docking of ships be adopted.—Adopted. That before stiffening notes are granted, a certificate from the Harbour Masters be first obtained.—Adopted. That all vessels in the Prince's Dock be required to lie with their heads to the northward.—Deferred. That for the proper and efficient working of Prince's sad George's Docks, a clear space of 70 feet be kept open in the middle of those docks.—After a very long discussion this subject was deferred. That the vessels on the west side of George's Dock be placed bow on, as in Salthouse Dock.—Ordered. That guard chains be put up from the inner corner of the entrance of the docks to the outer corner of the entrance ba sins during tide time.—Ordered. That the Sub-Committee of Works be requested to report on the detects pointed out in the working of the west gates of Victoria Dock.—Referred to the Board of Works. A round buoy was ordered to be placed near the centre of Queen's Dock. _ An application from Thomas Grose for permission to open a provision store within the walls of Prince's Dock, was refused Some conveniences and alterations requested to be made in his house by Mr. Cosnahan, the master of George's Dock, were referred to the surveyor. A letter from Messrs. M` I ver & Co. was nextbrought unde consideration. It appeared that it had been stated in one of the papers that the Royal Mail steamer Acadia arrived on the 2nd instant, and reached the entrpnce of Victoria Chan nel before two o'clock, but that she could not cross the bar for want of water, till half-past five. The Marine Surveyor, in a paragraph inserted in the Courier said, that the least water at that time was 14 feet, whilst the Acadia drew only 13, and that, consequently, there seemed to have been some unnecessary delay. Of this imputation of delay, Messrs. M'lver and Co. complained to the committee. Mr. CHAPMAN contended that no prudent pilot would have risked a valuable vessel, particularly a steamer, by attempting to pass with only one foot water more than she drew. _ . . Mr. Tour said this matter had come before the sub-com mittee, for the department of the marine surveyor; and that he (Mr. 'robin) was of opinion that Mr. Lord should have consulted either the chairman or the deputy-chairman of the committee before he inserted the paragraph. He himself thought Mr. Lord should not have noticed the original article about the depth of water. Mr. G. HOLT said it was only reasonable that Mr. Lord, whose reputation was at stake on the accuracy of the chart which the committee had just published, should reply to the imputation which seemed to be cast upon it. Whether he might not have done it in a morn suitable manner was another question. He (Mr. G. Holt) considered him quite j ustitied. The conversation then terminated, and after the transac tion of some other business, the committee separated. THE PRESIDENT STEAM-SHIP. (From the Standard) The following communication is from the pen of Dr Smith, the indefatigable secretary of the British and North' American Steam Navigation Company, to which the missing ship President belongs : " Early this morning 1 went on board the Lord Saumarez, a brig of about 200 tons, Captain Neil M'Neil, who was not on board, but the mate, Mr. Thomas M`Lachlin, kindly permitted me to examine the ship's log-book, from which it appears that on Saturday, the 10th April, between three and four o'clock p.m., they saw a steam-ship on the starboard bow, lying close to the wind, and heading N.N.W., wind at the time N.N.E., lat. 12 N., long, 33, by ship's dead reck oning. Moderate breezes and cloudy. From the mate gathered the following particulars :—The steam-ship had three masts, a tremendously large funnel (to use the mate's own expression,) and only one funnel; sails set upon main, fore, and wizen-masts ; could not recollect whether the ship had paddle-boxes or not. Sighted the ship until dark, but saw nothing of her the following morning. The steamer was at a considerable distance, and at the windward of the Lord Saumarez, It having been suggested that the ship seen might have been the Earl of Hardwicke, I repaired on board of her, lying in the East India Dock basin, just arrived from Calcutta, Lieutenant El enning, R.N., Commander. The commander not being on board, the second officer, Mr. A. Hewitt, politely showed me the ship's log, from which it ap pears that the Earl of Hardwicke, on the 10th of April, was in lat. 6 53 N., long. 19 28, and therefore could not be the steam -ship seen by the Lord Saumarez. She has, instead of a large, a very small funnel, and is not a regular steam ship, but a kind of hermaphrodite, intended to steam in calm, and will work a ship about four miles an hour under such circumstances. The float of the President would be naturally the course of the Gulf stream, which it is well known, after approximating the Continent of Europe from the tail of the Banks of Newfoundland, turns in a circular or elliptical form to the southward. The longitude seen (33) might well be the position of the President in a disabled state on the 10th of April, having then been 30 days at sea, and the course she was steering indicates that an attempt was making to fetch the Cape de Verd Islands. I do not mean to affirm that such is the fact ; but, under all the cir cumstances, I apprehend we may fairly indulge a strong hope that the ship seen was the President. It is a remarkable fact that nothing whatever has been seen at sea floating from the President. In case of her foundering, it is quite certain that a great variety of articles, as boats, spars, trunks, boxes, &c., must have floated from so large a ship, and strewed the ocean with so many evidences of her disaster. "May ll . _ " JUNIUS SMITH." P.S.—lf the ship seen by the Lord Samnarezliaci not been disabled, she must have arrived before the present time supposing she was bound for England." The following letter is posted at the North and Sou American Coffee-house _ _ _ The steam-ship seen by the Lord Saumarez on the 10th of April, was about nine degrees south-west of Cape de Verd Islands, quite out of the tract of ships coming from the United States or the West Indies, and therefore not likely to be spoken. " 2. If the ship seen bad been outward-bound, she would not have been steering close hauled to the southward. If homeward-bound, and not disabled, sbe would have arrived, in all probability, as soon as the Lord Saumarez or the Earl of Hard wicke ; not having arrived, the natural conclusion is that she was disabled. " 3. The mate of the Lord Saumarez stated that the brig outsailed the steamer, both running upon the same tack, which would hardly have been the case unless the steamer was crippled. " 4. The steamer having her masts standing, and her sails set, and not under steam-power, shows that she had lost the use of her machinery, and being a large ship with far less canvass than an ordinary sailing ship, she would make less speed, just as stated upon the supposition that the ship seen was the President. " 5. The position of the steamer 'corresponds with this idea. The President had then been 30 days at sea having sailed from New York on the 11th March. I suppose the disaster to have happened on the 15th of that month, four days out ; she bad been 26 days in drifting and sailing from lat. 28 or 39, and long. 60, to the same place where she was seen, or, in other words, in making 28 degrees of long., and about 25 degrees of southern. Nautical men, I think, will allow that, in all probability, the ship, by the Gulf Stream the early part of her passage, would accomplish that distance in the time. " Finally, if the ship, seen be not the President, can any or person name omew any a rd ste o a th m e . r B s h t i e p am w . i Isi h n i P out of time ? An outward ot do, as shown in the se . cond particular " May 12. " JUNIUS SMITH. TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS. A meeting of the council was held on Wednesday, at eleven o'clock, in the Council-chamber, within the Town-hall, as an adjourned third quarterly meeting of the Council, and also a special council, to take into consideration and determine certain subjects LOCAL ACTS AND I'OLICE BILL The TOWN:C - 1;17K laid before the Council a breviate of the Local Acts and Police Bill, the object of which is to give additional power to the Town-council and the Magistrates of Liverpool, for the improvement of the town, and the regu lation of various matters connected with the police of the town. The bill repeals, partially, the old acts on these subjects. It empowers the Council to fix and pay the salaries of the Clerks to the Magistrates, and requires the fees to be paid over quarterly to the borough fund. It also empowers the Council to pay over a portion of any excess to the poor fund. The bill empowers the justices, under certain regulations, to cause any dirty house to be cleansed at the expense of the occupier, with many other salutary provisions. It also em bodies powers for the regulation of ,streets, weighing ma chines, slaughter-houses, hackney coaches, porters, and the police ; for facilitating the apprehension of offenders and suspected persons ; doing away with dog carts punishing drunkards, and preventing fires and nuisances. The Town clerk held up two volumes of local acts, and said the object was to condense into one act all the various provisions in those two voliunes, and to embody other new provisions, in cluding the 42d clause of the Metropolitan Police Act. Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY proposed that the various clauses in the bill should be discussed clause by clause before the council. _ _ A very general feeling was expressed against this course, as the various provisions and clauses of the bill had been before the members of the council, and it bad undergone a thorough consideration, which had endured for a fortnight, before the Watch Committee, and had also been examined attentively by the sub committee. . . The TOWN-CLERK, in reply to a question, stated that the bill would have to be submitted to the magistrates before it was proceeded with. The bill was then referred back to the Health and Watch Committees, who are to receive and consider any suggestions for alterations. REVISION OF THE BOROUGH LISTS The TOWN-CLERK read the report of the Special Com mittee appointed to take into consideration the present un satisfactory and defective state of the law relating to the Municipal Burgess List, &c. The report, after setting forth the evils of the system as exemplified at the last sitting of the Revision Court, and giving an analysis of the objections taken on the overseers' list, set forth the resolutions to which the committee came at its first meeting, on• the 9th March last. These were, first, that every notice should state the grounds of objection, to which the party shall be confined ; second, that the Court shall have, in frivolous cases, power to award costs and compensation. for loss of time, to the extent of £lO and under, recoverable by dis,- tress ; third, that any one !Arty objecting to more than six persons, shall deposit forty shiilings, to abide the event of any order as to costs : fourth, that the provision as to costs should,also apply to frivolous and vexatious claims : the costs to be not less than five shillings or more than ten shillings, and to go to the borough fund ; fifth, that every objection or claim not supported by the appearance of the party, or his agent, shall be deemed frivolous and vexatious. At the second meeting, held on the 20th April last, the committee took into consideration the bill now before Par liament, far the better enrolment of burgesses, &c. The first resolution at this meeting was to communicate to the Secretary of State the opinion of the committee, as to the inadequate amount of deposits for this town, and recom mending the amount named in the foregoing resolutions. t was also further resolved, that certain amendments be submitted. The first of these referred to forms, and recom mended simplification. It was suggested that after clause 15, the clause of the act Ist Vic. c. 78, which enables the Mayor to appoint another alderman to act in consequence of the illness of any alderman, should extend to the appoint ment of any councillor. It was further suggested that the section for enabling the presiding officer to close the poll before four o'clock, if an hour should elapse without a vote, ih ould be declared to extend to each of the several booths 'or the election of auditors. Mr. HORNBY moved the confirmation of the report. Mr. BIRKETT moved, as an amendment, that the consi leration of the report be postponed to the next monthly meeting of the Counoil, and that each member of the Council have a copy of it. . . . Mr. HUGH lionNBY said he had not the slightest objec tion to this, if no inconvenience would result from it. The TOWN-CLERK said the bill would be in committee next Monday. Mr. BIRKETT said his object was tostop the bill. Mr. H. HORNBY said if Mr. Birkett's object were to see that the council did not compromise itself by too much haste, he could have no objection to as much delay as could be ob tained, but if it were to stop measures which had been taken to secure amendments which were considered so desirable, he would oppose him. Mr. BIRKETT said he had many objections to the provisi ons of the bill. He objected, for instance, to the mayor pre siding in the revision court. He thought it ought to be a barrister. Mr. CASE said Mr. Birkett had forgotten the situation in which the council was placed respecting this bill. It was a public bill, brought in by Mr. Baines, and it would be committed on Monday next. It contained clauses which were objectionable, and proceedings had been taken to get these clauses amended. If Mr. Birkett's object was to stop those proceedings he could not go with him. The town clerk had already corresponded to some extent on the sub ject. The TOWN-CLERK having referred to some documents, corrected his statement that the bill would go into committee on Monday. It would go into committee on Wednesday. The town-clerk expressed a hope that nothing would be done that would have the effect of preventing him from proceeding to effect the amendments suggested in the report. Any delay would endanger the introduction of the amendments into the bill, and it was not likely they would ever have another op portunity of introducing alerations so desirable. Mr. BustiELL said he was opposed to any measure that would have the effect of overthrowing the bill. Mr. Bushell adverted to the disgraceful proceedings at the last revision court, and said though he should have liked to have more time to consider them, yet he would not endanger the pro ceeding by causing any unnecessary delay. He would vote against the amendment. After some further discussion, Mr. Busunm. thought it might meet the desire of all parties if the subject were ad journed to Saturday, the town-clerk in the mean time being allowed to proceed. Mr. BI.KETT amended his amendment by the addition of the following words : " And that the town-clerk have per mission to proceed with his communications with the pro moters of the bill, with a view to putting an end to frivolous and vexatious objections and claims." The Council went to the vote on this amendment, when here appeared—for the amendment, 19 ; against it, 27; majority, S. _ _ . . kr. li U SHELL proposed the following motion :—" That the Council do, at its rising, adjourn to Saturday, at one o'clock, for the further consideration of the report, and of further amendments on the bill now before Parliament ; and that, in he meantime, the report, with an abstract of the bill before Parliament, be printed, and that the Town-clerk be at liberty ,o proceed upon the report in the meantime." The above resolution was at once agreed to. COURTS OF ASSIZE, &C. The resolution of the Finance Committee on the above subject was, that as the Council have already confirmed the arrangement by which the expense of this erection is to be borne by the Corporation, it be recommended to proceed with the buildings, subject to their approbation of the plans. On the motion of Mr. HORNBY, the resolution was adopted, and confirmed. Mr. BUSHELL hoped no time would be lost in commencing this erection. BUILDING REGULATIONS BILL Mr. BinKttrrl l .;;Otight forward his motion for an instruc tion to the Finance Committee, to use means to obtain an exemption in favour of Liverpool from the operation of the above-named bill. Mr. Birkett said the bill would affect various classes of cottage owners and poor inhabitants of Liverpool. Mr. CASE, alluding to the operations of the Health Com mittee, and the measures embodied in a local bill, wherein certain principles of the bill in question were recognised, said the proposed proceeding would place them in a very strange situation before the House of Commons. . . Several members ;;;;;;ecitlieiiWinion that the subject ought to be left to the Finance Committee. . Mr. Joxx H oLMEs proposed, - as ;;;;;endment, that the motion be altered as follows :—" That it be an instruction to the Finance Committee, by all means in their power, to ob tain an exemption in favour of Liverpool, from the opera tions of the Buildings Regulations Bill, except so far as is proposed by our present local bill, and to obtain amend ments in the Borough Improvement Bill now before Parlia ment, so far as they give powers to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. Mr. BIRKETT withdrew his motion, and the amendment was agreed to. CLERK TO THE MAGISTRATES A report of the justices of the peace for the borough of Liverpool was read by the town-clerk. It stated that in consequence of the appointment of Mr. Shuttleworth to the office of deputy town-clerk, the situation of junior clerk to the magistrates was vacant, and they recommended that thesalary of the office should in future be £4OO a-year. Mr. Ellis was to be senior clerk, and the person to be appointed was to be junior clerk. It was recommended, as a permanent arrange ment, that when one of the situations was vacant, the person to be appointed should always be junior clerk. The recommendation as to salary was weed to, and the standing orders were postponed, so that immediate notice might be given of the vacancy, and a person be appointed as early as possible. This course was justified on the ground of the extent of the business of the Police Court, which made it necessary that the selection of a person to fill the office should not be delayed longer than was absolutely necessary. MEMORIAL Mr. PARKER presented a memorial from the inhabitants of Everton and the neighbourhood, stating that it would be a great benefit to that part of the town, and to parties bringing agricultural produce hither, if sheds were erected at the market in Great Homer-street. The memorial also prayed that this market might be used for the sale of cattle. Re ferred to the Market Committee. EXHIBITION OF THE PLANS OF THE ASSIZE COURTS Mr. HORNBY mentioned the agreement come to at the last council meeting, that the plans of the Assize Courts should be submitted to the inspection of the public, and moved that the opportunity of inspecting the plans should be afforded. Agreed to. The committee were left to deter mine in what place the plans should be exhibited. The council adjourned at half-past one, to one o'clock on Saturday. SALE OF J. SMITH BARRY, ESQ.'S STUD The sale of Mr. S. Barry's stud, at Sandi Way Head, last Saturday, was well attended. The following were the prices realised by Messrs. Lucas, for the different horses : Lot 1. —, gray pony, 16 guineas. -2. Single Peeper— brown stallion, 50 guineas. -3. Corporal —gray horse, by Starch, 50 guineas.-4. Liberty—bay mare, 70 guineas. -5. Cambrian—bay horse, by Spectre, 57 guineas. —G. Storm — brown horse, by Old President, 130 guineas. -7. Peoverette —bay horse, by Astbury, 75 guineas. -8. Gainsborough-- brown horse, by X I Z, dam by Mac Orville, 57 guineas.- 9. Farmer—bay horse, by Memnon, dam by Snowden, 120 guineas. -10. Kestrel—bay horse, by Falcon, 60 guineas.- 11. Quicksilver—brown horse, by Plymettus ' dam by Pat shul, 80 g u ineas.-12. Gamecock—bay horse, 60 guineas.- 1:1. Goldfinder—chesnut horse, 52 guineas. -14. King of Trumps—bay horse, by Teniers, 50 guineas.-15.—Monarch —brown horse, 83 guineas.-16. Brown Bess—brown mare, by Orion, dam by Pagan, 100 guineas.-17. Conjurer —gray horse, by y . Sorcerer, 40 guineas.-18. Fisherman—bay horse, by Herbert Lacy, 70 guineas.-19. Brandy Nan— brown mare, by Manfred, 50 guineas.-20. Jessie—chesnut mare, by Felt, dam by Sir Oliver, 200 guineas. -21. Gusta vus—gray horse, 25 guineas.—Total, 1495 guineas. Afterwards the following horses were sold, at the annexed prices : • _ Lot I. Ferryman—bay gelding, 7 years old, 40 guineas.- 2. Lady Hiam—bay mare, 8 years old, 50 guineas.—Total, 90 guineas. THE LAST AMERICANISM.—A famous physician, prac tising in Pennsylvania, having prescribed a strong dose of nitre to a patient labouring under a severe cold, it caused so profuse a perspiration, durin g th e night, that he was found drowned the neat morning. DEBATE UPON LORD SANDON'S MOTION. It would be a dull affair to attempt to analyze this debate. The most happy efforts on Monday night were those of Lord Francis Egerton and Mr. W. E. Gladstone ; yet two speeches more dissimilar in their character it is scarcely possible to magine. The speech of Lord Francis was one of those beau tiful displays of lofty principle, conveyed in fine and eloquent language, which distinguish that amiable and talented noble man ; whilst that of, the member for Newark, equally correct in language and lofty in principle, addressed itself more to the business details of the question. In the concluding sen tences of his speech Mr. Gladstone alluded, with happy effect, to the position uniformly maintained upo❑ the question of slavery by the father of one member of the cabient—Mr. Zachary Macauley —and contrasted it with that which his son, the member for Edinburgh, at present occupied, as the advocate of a measure which must inevitably tend, whatever may be its effects upon the condition of the emancipated ne groes in our West Indian colonies, to aggravate the horrors of slavery and the slave trade as carried on in other countries —an allusion the more valuabie inasmuch as it had the effect of placing the glib-tongued placeman—Mr. Babington Ma cauley—upon his trial, and has afforded the country an op portunity of ascertaining with what reasoning a professed abolutionist edn defend, upon principle, the policy of govern ment. On Tuesday night, accordingly, Mr. Macauley came down with a set speech, which is verbatim reported, as all his pre pared speeches are, in the Morning Chronicle of this day. :` You cannot," urged Mr. Macauley, " dispense with the use of slave-grown products. You must have slave-grown coffee, cotton, &c. ; and why, then, your holy horror of slave-grown sugar ?" Alas, has it come to this ? Are we to be told now that all the speeches, written and uttered, of Wilberforce, Buxton, Clarkson, and Macauley—that all the diatribes of this same Thomas Babington in the pages of the blue and yellow—all the eloquent denunciations of Chatham, of Fox, of Brougham—all the amiable philanthropy of a Gur ney—have been utterly misplaced and thrown away because, although we can do without slave-grown sugar, we cannot yet dispense with slave-grown coffee, cotton, or tobacco? Shame upon you, Mr. Thomas Babington Macauley—shame upon any man whom the preservation of a seat upon the treasury bench—whom a dirty question of salary—can induce to falsify the recorded opinions of a lifetime,—to unroot and trample upon the laurel which hangs over the grave of a dead parent ! For one candid confession, however, we must thank the Secretary at War. We know now, ex cathedra, that in this sugary proposition the ministry have " miscalculated" — have committed an unfortunate error. Until the promulga tion of Lord Sandon's present motion the ministerial dreams were all "coleur de rose." They confidently expected sup port, even . from the Conservative side of the house (!) in this endeavour to recruit their exhausted treasury at the ex pense of the agricultural and colonial interests of the empire. But they know now their error ; nuy, they tell us by the mouth of Mr. Macauley that they know its consequences. They will have very shortly—hard fate !—to occupy other seats, from which they expect to witness the carrying out of the very measure which they now propose,—an expectation which we should be very glad, for my part, to allow them to gratify, when the country shall become tired of seeing them occupy thsoe seats,—but certainly not sooner. Without this admission, however, it is sufficiently evident that a grossly false move has been made by the unlucky Chancellor of the Exchequer. The " unsething" of the agricultural and colonial interests—the attempt to raise a cry of cheap sugar, cheap timber, and cheap bread, has recoiled upon the heads of the ministry ; and, worse than all, has placed them in a false position. They must now bid farewell for ever to the support of the anti-slavery party in Great Britain. They are now the avowed advocates of slavery and the slave trade. Their press already has thrown off the flimsy concealment, under which for a time, perhaps, this fact might have been concealed ; the more indiscreet mem bers of their party in parliament have abjured the profes sions of humanity to the Negro race, which in past time have formed the staple of many an eloquent diatribe—at anti slavery meetings, upon electioneering and other occasions ; and full time it was that the hypocritical pretenders were unmasked. Humanity to the enslaved African, from the supporters of infant slavery in our factories—from the supporters of adult slavery in our poor-law bastiles! No ; from henceforth the people of England will look for no such fruit upon the barren branches of the tree of Whig radicalism. DISASTER IN THE CHANNEL PAINFULLY INTERESTING PARTICULARS. (From our Second Edition of Tuesday, 11th inst.) We furnished in our first edition a brief statement of the loss of a brig, near Holyhead, on Sunday night, by being run into by the ship Brooklyn, outward bound, to New York, and which left this port on that day. The supposition then was, from those on board of the Brooklyn, that:the then unknown vessel, (which was supposed to be of about 300 tons:bur then,) had suddenly disappeared with all:those who were on board of her. We are glad, however, to state, that six of the crew were saved, and from one of them—the mate—the following particulars are derived : The vessel was the ship Mary Scott, from Valparaiso, bound to Liverpool, with a cargo of copper ore, &c., and a quantity of specie. She wa s the property of Mrs. Little. widow of the late Mr. Littl e , of Liverpool. She sailed 12th January. On Sunday night, when off Point Lynas, she showed two lights on the starboard side for a pilot. About ten o'clock, while she was running on, a ship, without any lights that were seen by the Mary Scott, ran into her, striking her between the t wo li g ht s , abaft the main rigging. The wind was blowing fresh at the time, and the topsailsof the Mary Scott had b een ree f e d. The concussion carried away some of the spars of the latter vessel, and by the fall of one of them the captain had his back severely injured, if not broken. The Brooklyn was hailed by the Mary Scott, but, ac cor di ng t o o ur informant, did not make towards her, and they soon lost sight of her. As it was evident that the vessel was in a dangerous state, the jolly-boat was lowe re d, an d the mate told the captain that now was the time for him to save his life. He said that if the mate would fetch up a box of spice, he would follow him into the boat. The mate went down and fetched up a box, but, on his reaching the deck, he found the water up to his waist, she being in a sinking state. An attempt was then made to clear the long boat, so as to save all hands ; but she was so entangled with spars and cordage, that this could not be effected; and the mate, as the ship sunk, got into the jolly boat, together with the carpenter, four of the crew, and a boy,—being seven in all. He believes that all the remainder, amounting t o e i g ht . i n nu mber, (including the captain) sunk with the v esse l , o f w hi c h they soon lost sight. The boat drifted first towards Holyhead, and afterwards to wards the Isle of Man. Those on board had neither food nor drink, and were, in the confusion of leaving the ship, but scantily clothed. The weather was stormy, and they were left at the mercy of the wind and waves. They had se cured the chronometer, but having nothing to bail with, had to break out the works and use the metal case as a scoop or ladle. After being tossed about for about twenty-four hours they were picked up, naturally much exhausted, by a Manx fishing-boat. There were no passengers in the Mary Scott. Just before th ey were p i c k e d up , t h ey passe d a water cask which they recognised to be one of those belong ing to the Mary Scott. In addition to these particulars, we are informed that the vessel and her cargo were insured for £35,000—a1l in Liver pool. Independently of the melancholy loss of life, the de struction of property invol ve d w ill f a ll h eav il y upon our underwriters. As in all probability a legal investigation of the facts, as affecting the Brooklyn, will take place, we abstain from all remark on th e fatal disaster,—the ' more par ticularly as some conflicting testimony regarding the collision may hereafter be adduced. Captain Richardson has furnished us with the following statement of this melancholy affair On the 9th inst., at six a.m., the ship Brooklyn , under my command, proceeded, with th e ass i stance of steamer, from the river Mersey to sea. At two p.m., being seven m iles outside the Bell Bu o y, di sc h arge d the steamer, and made sail, wind light, from S.E. At 8 30 p.m. saw Point Lynas light S.W., about 8 miles distant, wind brisk, from S.S.W. At 9 p.m. brisk breezes from S.W. by. S. ; took in the studding sails. At near 10 p.m., being on deck myself, and having a good look-out kept by myself and men, we ob served a sail on our larboard bow. 1 immediately saw her, and seeing she was steering in the opposite direction, (that is E.S.E. and ourselves about W.N.W.) and she to wind ward of us ; the wind having just headed us one point, and thus favoured the strange sail, I was induced to keep my ship off, by putting my helm aport, which was done, and my ship immediately swung off two points ; but on looking to the strange sail again, to my astonishment I observed her keeping off, which caused me to believe that as we were so near each other we should soon come together, bow to bow, which would have destroyed us both almost instantly. 1, fearing so frightful a collision, thought, at the moment, that if my helm was put down my ship might come to quick enough to clear her ; cons e q ue ntly , I had my helm put to starboard, and my s hip began to come to qu i c kl y , an d h a d there been one or two minutes more time, the strange sail would have been sufficiently ahead to have cleared us, as we struck her about the mainmast. I saw her in one minute after she was seen by the look-out. I did not see any lights on board of her, neither have I learnt that any on board my ship saw any. My ship lost her bowsprit, cutwater, stem badly split, bows much in j ured ; and at the time of t he col lision, and for two hours afterwards, I had strong fears of my ship springing a l a rge leak sudde n ly, as , i n a ddi t i on to the injury just sustained, her bowsprit was thrashing her bows sufficiently to cause great anxiety for the safety of 195 souls on hoard • a l s o the foremast was much endangered by the want of head _ sta ys. As the strange sail p asse d f rom un der us after the collision, I heard dreadf u l shrieks and cries. I had no doubt they were cries of distress, and I feared the strange sail was sinking. I thought of the drowning crew, but I had not the power of affording any relief, as my ship was under full sail, and in an unmanageable and extremely dangerous state ; however. in a few minutes I let my sails fly, backed my maintopsail, and stopped the ship's way ; but did not, at that time or afterwards, hear or see anything of the strange sail, h e r boats o ac r e men,until I heard of the arriva l of some of them at this pl. ABEL W. RICHARDSON, Commander of the ship Brooklyn. P.S. Understanding that a report has been circulated very prejudicial to my character for humanity, to the effect that immediately on the c ollision taking place I cau se d t h e hatch ways to be covered for the purpose of preventing the passen gers from coming on deck, I beg most distinctly to deny it, no such order having been given by me, or by any officer on board ir.y ship ; o n the contrary, to my own certai n know ledge, I state that the hatchways were open, and that several of my passengers were on deck at the time of the accident. On the subject of the above remarks of Captain Richard son, we beg to state that one of our reporters was in the of fice. of the consignees, INlessrs. Jame s D. s Roche, Goree, yesterday, and there sa w many of th e passengers by the p Brooklyn ; our reporter interrogated many of th em on t h e subject of the assert ter had been made re s ectin the " closing of the hatches, at the time the ci rcums tance g took Captain Richard place : they one and all bore testimony t o , and the anxiety he ex son's attention and kindness to them They distinctly stated that no in preased for their safety. • structions were given to close the hatches by any one, on the contrary some of the passengers were, requested to come upon deck and assist at. the pumps : How the report origi nated that Captain Richardson gave orders to close the hatches, it is difficult to discover. We have, however, plea- sure in setting the public and the friends of the passengers right upon the subject, in denying the report which has given Captain Richardson and the consignee of the vessel great annoyance. Sixty-five of the passengers from the Brooklyn were despatched to New York yesterday, by the Rickard Anderson, and the remaining passengers will be sent by Mr. Roche's first vessel. The consignee has shown a good deal of liberality on the occasion, having provided for the pas sengers, so that they should experience as little delay, in convenience, and loss as possible. THE BUDGET TO THE EDITOR OP THE MORNING POST. SlR,—Having lately addressed you on the subject of the corn-laws, in consequence of the appearance last evening of the financial Budget for the year, and the means by which it is therein proposed to provide for the deficiency in the re- venue for the present year, I am again induced Co do so. That deficiency is proposed to be made good by what is termed regulating existing taxes, and not by the erection of new ones: The - objects of regulation are'stated to be the duties now payable on timber and sugar, with the abandon ment of the principles as well as the application of the gra duated scale of duties on foreign corn, and the substitution of a fixed rate of duty, to be payable at all times, without re gard to the abundance or deficiency of our own crops. As regards timber, the contemplated changes promise to act most injuriously on the interests of our North American colonies, and those of our shipping. The apparent object of these changes is increased revenue without regard to the in jury they may be expected to inflict on those interests; the objects of the present system were to promote the interests of those colonies, first, because they afforded a wide field for emigration and employment to our growing surplus of popu . lion ; next, becaUse - these colonies were paid for the pro ace with which they supplied us, in British manufactures id the productions of our other colonies ; and, lastly, that British shipping were alone employed in the trade, it af wded a most valuable nursery for British seamen, to which le mother country could at all times look with confidence man our fleets whenever she required their assistance and 'otection Such was the policy that produced the system which has theft() be acted upon In its place it is now proposed to minish the inducements which have hitherto existed to cul- vate and protect that connection, and, in the hope of in- reasing the revenue, to encourage the importation of Baltic hnher, of which the greater part has been hitherto imported in foreign shipping, to the discouragement of our own the cost of the cargoes with the freight being chiefly paid in money and not in goods, the ships, with the exception of salt from Liverpool, an article of no small comparative value, re turning to their own ports in ballast. These are the simple facts of the case. and it is for those who will take the trouble to consider and reflect on their re- fative tendency to judge of their bearings on British interests If the effect oftheir trieasures is to increase irritation and dis• appointment in those colonies with a view to their separation filim the mother country, the object is likely to be effected, though the price to be paid for it may be considered both ex travagant and injurious. The next declared object is to reduce from 635. to 365. per cwt. the duty on foreign sugar when imported into the United Kingdom, the duty on the growth of our colonies and foreign ,ossessions being 245. - Hitherto_the growth of these colonies and possessions has been at all times fully adequate to the supply of the home market, and for many years it was considered wisdom in the legislature to protect by a small bounty included in the draw back the employment of our refiners in preparing annually ;out thirtythOusand tons of Muscavado sugar, which was exported in a refined state ; but it was reserved for the policy of our present government to withdraw that encouragement and extinguish the trade. _ _ . The supply of sugar from the West Indies, Bengal, and Ile Mauritius, is estimated for the present year at 230,000 )ns ; the home consumption (and there is now no other vent) cannot be taken at more than 130,000 tons, leaving a surplus of 40,000 tons ; yet it is now proposed to increase it by the admission of foreign sugar, alike the produce of free and slave labour, whilst the produce of our colonies is the fruits of free labour alone; in fact, to possess it, a price arge in amount was paid by the public, though barely re iunerating to those who received it. The result to them has the infliction, by ministers, of severe restrictions on ration to our colonies, and an immense increase in the of labour, caused by an inadequate population to carry r- on the cultivation and manufacture of sugar, by which the cost has, to the manifest injury of the plan - ter, been greatly and unavoidably enhanced, who is thus deprived of the - -. power of helping or protecting himself, and he is now threat ened with an overwhelming and ruinous competition in his only market of consumption, that of the United Kingdom. If this measure is persevered in by Ministers the British planters have no choice left them but to maintain the conflict against foreign growth whilst their means or resources will enable them to do so, under the protection, such as it is pro- • osed to be, that the reduced duty on foreign sugar may afford; • • • ~.. a protection most unequal to the heavy expenses to which they are now subject, and the disabilities under which they must suffer ; a competition that is likely to terminate in their . . ultimate ruin, but Which they will no doubt maintain to the As, then, the British planter has no second market to re sort to, like the foreigner, to whom the Continent of Europe if open—because, from the low price or cost of slave labour, he can afford to sell his sugars there at prices with which it is impossible for the British planter to contend, he (the planter) must at all hazards retain possession of the home market, and at whatever prices the foreigner may offer to sell his sugars here, the British planter, whilst he exists, must necessarily undersell him, since he will have no other choice to make. Let not, then, the importer of foreign sugars, who expects to find a market here, the Chancellor of the Exche quer, who expects to obtain a revenue from the increased duty, small as it is, that he will require them to pay, or the' manufacturer, who is hugging himself in the expectation of finding an increased sale for his goods to be taken in pay ment for the sugars he expects to be sold and consumed here; I say, let not any of the three united enemies of the British planter lay the flattering unction to their souls, since they must, at least for a time, be subjected to disappointment, though they may be gratified by seeing our planters strug- gling against ruin under which they would eventually perish, unless the public should awake to the policy of such a disas trous course, and, while it may yet be time, stretch out their hands to save them, by returning to the safer policy of past times, when the theories of Free Traders, as they denominate themselves, were without influence to delude and mislead the public mind. But let us for a moment, and for the sake of argument, suppose that the objects of those lovers of change were gained; and it is begun with the more formidable, the ma nufacturers, let us inquire what their gain would be ? At present our colonies and foreign possessions purchase from them all the goods they consume, and that consumption is only limited by their means of payment. Let them, as they propose, be supposed to succeed in extinguishing those means by the substitution of foreign sugar, the result must neces sarily be the loss of the colonial markets for the sale of their manufactures • and the substitute for it, the expectation of an increased demand for trade from the foreign grower, who could not be bound to receive such payment, but must be left at liberty to invest the mony received for his sugar here, or in the purchase of goods elsewhere, should he find it his interest to do so. What. then, is the manufacturer to gain from the change fie would effect by the most unnatural sub stitution of the foreign for the British planter—the labour of the slave for that of the freeman ? The disappointment of the merchants who might be the importers here of these sugars would be in all respects similar, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer would find that, for a time at least, he must be satisfied with the revenue that the present duty on British sugar might produce. It is true the great and (to the plan ter) ruinous reduction in price would probably lead to a given, but moderate, increase in consumption; but I think even his fellow ministers would hardly wish him joy of such fruits to be gained by the ultimate sacrifice of our West In dia colonies, which were once considered to be a source of wealth and of great national importance to the mother coun try, and maintained during war at an enormous expense ! The next subject I have to consider is the substitution of a fixed duty on foreign corn for the present graduated scale. I believe the comparative merits of these systems are, that the effect of the graduated scale is to protect the grower in seasons of abundance, when our crops have always proved to be adequate to the home consumption, and that supply was secured from the interference of foreign growths by a scale of duties that increased as the prices declined, thus giving confidence and security to the farmers of the United King dom and ensuring their industrious exertions to provide that supply, the only one on which it has been found the public could place a safe dependence; on the other hand, in adverse seasons, when deficiency has been experienced, that result was ascertained by the falling off of the supply, for which higher and increasing prices were to be paid ; then the scale of duties, no longer required for protection, fell in proportion as the prices advanced, until they wholly ceased, and admit ted the free importation of foreign corn at a low nominal duty for the supply of the consumers, when that supply was thus tested to have become necessary ; in this manner the gradu ated scale has been found to work well for the general bene fit, by affording the principle of protection alike to the groTer and to the consumer ; but this it is now proposed to abandon, and substitute in its place a fixed rate of duties, to be equally applied at all times, without regard to the seasons being fa vourable or adverse, the crops abundant or deficient ; the effect of which, it appears to me, will be, in seasons of scar city, when prices are unavoidably low, to load the consumer with an additional burden when least able to bear it, in the shape of a fixed duty, and in seasons of abundance, when ex perience has shown that our home growths have proved fully equal to meet the consumption, to expose our farmers to com petition with foreign supply for the introduction of which no necessity can exist—a competition which no protection from a moderate fixed duty, subject as he is to bear heavy public burthens and consequent greatly increased expense, insepara ble from cultivation here, from which the foreign grower is exempt, could protect him under, or enable him to bear up against, and although he would struggle fora time, he must, if persevered in, eventually sink under it. These appear to me to be the respective merits of the ex isting and proposed systems •, the beneficial consequences that I believe have been reaped from the first, and the dis astrous results to be, in my opinion, apprehended from the last, 1 did endeavour to point out and to condense, partially, in the letter I lately addressed to you, but before more largely (though then but briefly) in a statement I ventured to make cud submit to the to the public in January, 1839, of which I now beg to trouble you with a copy ; since then no eveftts have occured to induce me t. alter my opinions, or change the conclusions I then came to, and to which I beg to recall the attention of those of your readers who may have done me the honour to read that brief attempt to explain and support our existing system of corn laws. If, as I think I have shown, that in seasons of plenty our home growth are sufficient to meet the whole consumption, it follows that at such periods to admit foreign supply would be to increase the stock to a degree of which the unavoid able effect would be, to reduce the scale of prices to .rates much below those required to remunerate the farmers of the United Kingdom, against which they could only struggle for a time, and ultimately fall under a hopeless competition, with the foreign grower ; in such case the inevitable consequence promises to be that home production trust rapidly diminish, to be followed by the ruin of the British farmer, and the British public would be placed in a state of the most preca rious tenure, dependent for his supply of bread on the growers of foreign corn ! Let us consider the probable results of such a state of things. Our farmers thus pressed down to poverty, would no longer be the important consumers they now are of British manufactures, thus far the market for them would be di minished or lost ; but the manufacturer exults in the expec tation of foreign demand to be increased or created by our consumption of foreign corn. Let us fora moment suppose this to be the fact, would it not be only the substitution of one vent or channel of consumption for another, in the most favourable point of view, of the same extent, the home cer tain, the foreign contingent and uncertain, but still only equal in extent or amount, as they must be governed by the means for purchase to be produoed by the same sourcesoftconsump tion. If this is correct, I ask, where, then, will manu factures find the advantages they fondly flatter themselves they are to reap from the change of system they are anxi ousgy ht e m n t from to effect—taking it for granted t hey a sup posing that the foreign corn grower would take re payment them for their bread in their ma nufactures, as the home grower now does, in place of req uirin g to be paid in cash, which has hitherto been his invariable practice? I venture to say to the manufacturer, do not delude and deceive yourselves by false hopes, or continue to persevere in requiring changes in the policy of the country, that, in. my opinion, would, if adopted, (as I trust they will not be) in the end, spread ruin and dismay throughout the commu nity, from which they could not escape participating in—let them seek for the true cause of the distress they are now suffering under, and apply the remedy to remove it, which, I believe, rests with themselves alone, before it may be too late ; the cause I believe to 6e over production, supply beyond demand ; whilst that demand, after making due allowances for interruptions, occasioned but temporary, vet inseparable from the nature of commerce, has, I believe, in the aggregate, undergone no diminution of a permanent cha racter, but continues gradually to increase, whilst on the other hand, the increase of production has grown with great rapidity, stimulated by grievous success, and the application of overgrown capital, applied to the creation of new spin ning-mills in endless numbers, and of corresponding manu factories, which cover extensive districts of the coun try, and have hitherto brought up and given employ ment to a most extensive mass of population, dependent on these means for employment, which to afford them, has caused their rates of wages to be reduced to the lowest terms ; and that are now thieatened, from their increasing numbers, with still further diminished means of employment. I con fess it is frightful to contemplate such a state of things, and of society, but it can no longer be concealed; and yet the only remedy seems to be, to diminish their sources of em ployment in order to produce future or permanent good ; the love of gain, chastened by loss, will abate, and more limited, but safer undertakings, will, iu time, I hope, restore prospe rity to all; but it is said, " that whilst the grass grows the steed may starve"—to avoid this, increased niciais for immi gration will, I trust, be provided, and, fortunately, we pos sess a field for beneficial employment in our distant colonies for the industrious and well disposed ; to emigrate may, to many, be a painful alternative, but it seems now to be the only one left to us for the excess of our population of all classes.—l remain, sir, your constant reader, Carlton Gardens, May 1. JOHN GLADSTONE. BRANCH OPERATIVE PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION FOR ABERCROMBY AND RODNEY-STREET WARDS . On Tuesday evening a crowded meeting was held in the school-room belonging to St, Mark's Church, Upper Duke street, for the purpose of forming a branch of the Operative Protestant Association for Abercromby and Rodney•street The Rev. B. MARSHALL took the chair, and after prayer had been offered by the Rev. W. W. Ewbank, he opened the meeting by a few appropriate remarks. He said it had been deemed advisable that associations should be attached to the different wards in the borough, that we might have machi nery to work out our principles with more effect. St. Mark's Association was the , oldest branch of the parent society in Liverpool, and it had been found to work so well, that other churches had followed the example, and from one step to another, we had arrived at a systematic plan of dividing the .._ whole town into wards, and in each Of those wards - dif- fusing Protestant principles The Church of Rome was carrying on a syste - rn of aggression, not merely against the liberties and principles, but against the persmis of all who opposed her. But when her great guns were brought down here, such as Dr. Butler, it shewed that some alarm was felt in the enemy's camp, that the leaven of Protestantism was actively working among the mass of the people, and that the priests felt it necessary to use exertions of some kind, for they generally avoided anything like controversy upon the doctrines of their church.—The rev. gentleman, at consider able length, then contrasted the Church of England with the Romishapnstacy, and told the meeting that it was not enough for them to know the truth which was taught by one church, but fhu must practise and diffuse it. At the close of his address the rev. gentleman exhibited a sword, the property of a gentleman, a member of his congregation, one of whose ancestors fought under Schomberg, and was present at the closing of the gates of Derry. With that before them, they . might in this day call out "No surrender." (Cheers.) The Rev. D. JAMES seconded the resolution. It recog nised in the first place, that popery had made great advances in this country of late years; and in the next, that the as pect it assumed at the present moment was such as made it imperative upon all piotestants to unite in defence of the Britishcensiitution ; and further, that it wa—s—On-t7liiy-IO use all legitimate means to restore that constitution to its previous character and spirit. It would be out of his way to enter into a detail of those facts which went to prove that popery had made great advances_in this country of late years, the fact itself was so obvious. It met us at every turn, and wheresoever we went. It was his lot to have spent twenty six years of his life without having seen a Romish chapel, or falling into company with a ,Roman Catholic clergyman or layman ; but it would now be very difficult for a man, except he had the misfortune of being locked up in Bridewell, not, to see evident proofs of the progress of Popery every year in his life. A VOICE.—And in prison too. (Loud cheers.) Mr. JAMES resumed. If he had the misfortune to be thrown into prison, -too, with our friend Gregg, he should have seen the same effects. (Cheers.) But Gregg was out to tell his own tale (cheers), and he was out with this advan tage—that it was admitted upon the part of those who had imprisoned him, that they had thrown him into prison ille gally. (Great heers.) The advances of Popery, he said, were to be seen to a greater extent here than they could be seen as yet in the Principality. It was his iot to have spent the years to which he had referred in South Wales but in North Wales, he beard, a movement was going on in the present day which he thought called upon - the - inhabitants to be upon their guard against the insinuating spirit which was beginning to spread from one end of the country to the other ; Popish chapels being erecting in anticipation of a Papist population, and with the hope of making converts of those poor simple people who had hitherto had the gospel preached to them in its purity. However, they would have something to do before they could make advancis in that part of the United kingdom, Because they must first obtain a knowledge of the language so as to be able to speak it with great fluency. The inhabitants of the Principality were better acquainted with the Bible than with any book in existence ; they were well versed in the Scriptures, and though they might not altogether live up to those principles, it would be difficult to persuade them that the admission of contrary principles would benefit them either in this world or in the world to come. So far, he promised himself the con solation of seeing the struggle going on in that country with out great success on the part of popish priests. (Hear, hear.) But in England it was different. It was in vain to conceal the fact that Popish priests were making converts, and that they were wearing away the strong Protestant prin ciples from the minds of gentlemen who still remained members of the Church of England, but who willingly ad vanced them money to erect Popish chapels and schools. Seeing, then, these advances, we might learn one lesson from the conduct of the Romanists. They never gave up a point—they never sacrificed a principle—they never gave in, whatever suffering they _might endure, because they felt it their duty to stand up - for their religion. We, Protestants, must do the same. (Loud cheers.) Hi therto we had conceded one point after another, but we must in future act upon the resolution adopted by Papists themselves—to concede no point—to give up no principle— and to stand up in defence of our church, her creed, and her articles, to the last. (Great cheers.) The resolution was then carried The Rev. W. W. EWBANK moved the next resolution One part of the duty of ministers of the gospel was to preach the gospel as the gospel of peace, but it was only part of it. The other was thus expressed by a poet who was a country man of his friend Mr. James : " Woe to that shepherd who will not keep From Romish wolves his sheep, With staff and weapon strong." (Cheers.) This was an excellent commentary upon the scriptural duty of Christian clergymen under this aspect ; therefore we were not afraid of being considered political. (Hear.) It was a fact which could be proved by history, that England was not originally Popish—that the gospel preached here was not mixed with Popish superstitions, but consisted of the pure doctrines of the Word of God. This was capable of real, substantial, and historical proof; and it was essential it should be established, because Roman Ca tholics were always anxious to make us believe that Rome was really our mother, and therefore it was our duty to be obedient sons to that mother, and that we had revolted from the allegiance which we properly owed to the Pope of Rome. This was not the fact, and it could be proved by reference to past history. (Hear, hear.) It was a positive fact that there were three—Protestant he might call them, because they protested in their day against error and superstition as truly as we did in ours—bishops from this country, at a Christian council in the year 311 after Christ. (Hear.) When was Popery introduced into this country, even in its most mild and modified form ? He was not speaking of Popery in the reign of Henry the Second, or of that grosser form of it acknowledged by the council of Trent, or that Popery which murdered our bishops in the reign of Mary, but of Popery before it became so bad as it was now. He was speaking of Popery. It was introduced by the monk Augustine in the seventh century. A VOICE.—It was in the eighth century. Mr. EWEANK, in continuation, said that was so much the better. Another historical fact connected with this subject was this :—The Saxons were victorious over the Britons, and drove them into the mountains and fastnesses of the country. The true church of Christ, however it was first introduced into this country, of which there was no exact and particular proof, existed before that among the Britons, and when Augustine came over to establish Popery, he attempted to convert the Saxons, and be succeeded. The consequence was that the bishops and clergy of the Britons, properly speaking, protested against the Popish heresy of that day, as we now did at this very hour. Indeed, they actually refused to eat and drink, or to have any conversation with, those who held the doctrines of Augustine, because he had mixed up the true religion with idolatry and superstition. These were encouraging facts to look upon, because they taught us that we owed nothing to Rome, and that we never had anything to do with her, except when she had polluted and defaced the fair form of Christisnity—(cheers)—and when she took away from us the Bible, which was our birth right, and gave us instead nothing but her own fatal superstitions. (Long continued cheers. The resolution entrusted to him was, " That this meeting cannot but regard it as sinful in a Protestant government to grant any sum of public money towards the support of a sys tem which is avowedly the enemy of Protestantism, and in directly the foe of civil and religious liberty." (hear, hear.) In supporting this resolution, the Rev. gentleman ably con trasted the tolerant spirit of the Church of England, as ex hibited in her articles and creeds with the persecuting princi ples of the Church of Rome, as laid down in her authorized stindards, and concluded almoLt effective speech amidst gene ral applause. Mr. RATCLIFFE, in seconding the resolution, said he would mention a circumstance, in which he and the Rev. Dr. But ler, the Roman Catholic priest now engaged in delivering lec tures in St. Anthony's chapel, were concerned. He (Mr. Radcliffe) was tempted one evening to go and hear the Rev. doctor. He did not, however, pay anything to go in, as he had a conscientious objection to it. He told the man at the door that he had no objection to hear the lecture, but that he could not conscientiously give one farthing towards the sup port of Popery. " How then is the chapel to be supported" asked the man. " I have nothing to do with that," he (Mr. Ratcliffe) replied, and eventually he was allowed to go in free, Previously to his Mr. Baylee had sent a challenge to Dr. But ler, who had not condescended to answer it; and he (Mr. Ratcliffe) therefore took the liberty of writing a note to Dr. Butler anonymously, not that he was ashamed of his name, but because be knew they would not like him at St. Anthony's as well as they liked holy water. That note gave great of fence to Dr. Butler, for in consequence of it he attacked him (Mr. R.) from the pulpit. A person was sent to watch him ; he went to the front of the gallery, and when the rev. doctor got in his pulpit after a few preliminary re marks he said, " I have just received a very impertinent letter from a gentleman who has insulted mein my own place of worship. Is it come to this," he said, to the congregation, " that you will allow Protestant heretics to insult a Catholic clergyman in his own church ? That is the gentleman," said he, " sitting in the front of the gallery [pointing at him] who has insulted me ; he is M'Neile's clerk." Dr. Butler said he (Mr. R.) had insulted him by calling him a Romanist. He had no intention of insulting the rev. gen tleman, but he called him a Romanist for this reason ; he could not conscientiously call him a Catholic, and would not call him Papist, because he knew that term was offensive therefore he used the term " Romanist." This gave the doctor mighty offence, for he said he would have him sent to the tread-mill to learn better manners, and he a l so to ld the people lo treat him with contempt. When the lecture was over, the people were waiting outside for him, in an infuri ated state, and no doubt he would have got broken bones from them, but two priests of a better stamp than Dr. But ler, to their honour be it sp o k en, seeing the danger he' was in, in, told the people to go away. At last he wasconducted through the vestry into the chapel- past the priest's house, and in that mann er h e escaped. He would now read the note, that the meeting might judge whether he had in sulted Dr. Butler : " TO THE REV. DR. BUTLER. " Rev. Sir,—Will you be kind enough to inform your audience this evening why you have not accep ted the chal lenge of the Re v . M r. B aylee ? Be assure d t h a t, u nless you can give some satisfactory reason, your audience, both Pro testaats and Romanists, will cohie to the conclusion, not withstanding all your boasting, that Romaaisca cannot stand before the light of Divine truth.) " I am, Rev. Sir,"yours respectfully, • After a few comments on this note, Mr. Ratcliffe concluded by seconding the resolution, which was immediately adopted. The meeting then sang the doxology, and separated about ten o'clock. DREADFUL SHIPWRECK LOSS OF THE SHIP WILLIAM BROWN, FROM LIFERPOOI TO PHILADELPHIA (From the Havre Carrespondent of the Lon Post) HAVRE, MAY 10.—The Louis Philippe New York packet ship has this moment arrived. Information having reached the town that some shipwrecked seamen were ou board, the report became general that they belonged to the President, and the excitement was beyond all description. On the ar rival in dock, however, a strong body of the gendarmerie were in waiting, and immediately took into custody the mate and eight of the crew of the ship William Brown, bound from Liverpool to Philadelphia, which was sunk by an iceberg, in the latter part of last month, for as yet I cannot give you precise dates for anything except that three men were taken from the Crescent, which vessel had picked them up in their long-boat. But a tale of horror is to be told about them. It appears, when the vessel struck, thirty-three passengers, the mate, and eight of the crew took to the long-boat ; the cap tain, three of the crew, and eleven passengers took the jolly boat ; all the rest sunk with the vessel. The boats parted in the night. Some days after the mate and crew determined (as they say in order to lighten the boat) to throw seventeen of the passengers overboard, which they accomplished, and some of the most horrid and revolting scenes took place. There were two brothers and a sister of one family ; the brothers were thrown over, and the sister jumped in after them. One fine boy prayed for a few minutes to say his prayers; they refused, and hurled him into the sea at once. Some clung to the sides of the boats, praying for mercy, but their hands were cut off, and they were pushed into the deep. Fifteen ladies and two men remained in the boat. One hour after this massacre the Crescent fell in with the boat, and saved the survivors of this horrid deed. The passengers re mained on board the Crescent, the crew arrived in the Ville de Lyon ; they are now under examination before the Morning rican Consul; the result I will not fail to coin unicate you ; but yoU may rely on what I have already stated jolly-boat has not been heard of. The dates of the Ville de Lyon have been anticipated by the Acadia. LIVERPOOL QUARTER SESSIONS.-TUESDAY THEFT FROM A LAWYER'S OFFICE. Agnes Weir, aged 30, was charged with having _ . stolen a large quantity Of law-books, account-books, papers, and do cuments, from the counting-house of Messrs. Keightlev and Banning, attorneys, of this town. She pleaded guilty. William John Clements was placed at the bar with the same prisoner, charged with having received part of the above property, knowing the same to have been stolen. Mr. Henderson conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Mur phy appeared for the defence of Clements. The female prisoner was employed to clean out the office of Messrs. Keightley and Banning. One of the book-keepers, Mr. John Dixon Ford, having occasion to refer to an old letter book, went to the closet where they were kept, and found it empty. He went to another closet in which account books were kept, and found that empty also. A further search was made, and it Was discovered that a vast quantity of papers of various descriptions had been taken away. In consequence of some information which Mr. Ford had re ceived, he went to the shop of Mr. Clements, in Great Crosshall-street. Mr. Clements was just giving up his busi ness in that street, and his shop was dismantled. On the premises, Mr. Ford found a large portion of the books, &c., which had been missed from Messrs. Keightley and Ban- ning's office. Amongst them were several old folio volum. of Salkeld's, Hardwick's, and Wilson's reports. these had names in them. The firm was formerly Roc and Keightley, and some of these contained the name of Rodgers. None of the names were erased. Constable M'Combe was sent for, and he and Ford went to several other shops, and there found other books, papers, &c. Mr. Clements having a considerable quantity of this paper on his hands, was endeavouring to sell it before he gave up his shop. As it was suspected that the woman who cleaned the office had stolen the papers. Mr. Clements was asked from where he purchased them. He said he had purchased them from a woman, and offered to go and identify the woman if she could be found. He was taken to the female prisoner, and he identified her. Some of Mr. MURPHY questioned Ford as to whether it were not common for grocers to purchase old books, &c., for the pur pose of enfolding butter. Mr. Ford did not know that it was common. It appeared that the whole transaction was au open one on the part of Clements. The learned RECORDER stopped the case, and put it to the jury whether, though Mr. Clements had evidently been exceedingly indiscreet, he had acted with such a guilty mind or knowledge as was necessary to constitute a felony. The jury acquitted the prisoner. Many highly respectable persons were in court ready to speak to the character of Mr. Clements, had it been neces sary. STEALING IN A DWELLING-HOUSE John Redman, aged 25, was charged with having, on the 14th March last, feloniously entered the dwelling-house of Mr. John Harvey, shopkeeper, and stolen from thence cer tain moneys the property of John Harvey and Mary Arm Hopkins. Mr. Harding.conducted the prosecution, and Mr the defence Murphy Mary Ann Hopkins, who lived as servant with Mr. Harvey, stated, that on Sunday evening, the 14th March, she went to church. Her master and his sister were also out. She returned about nine o'clock, and, on opening the door, found that some person was in the place. She heard a noise, and knowing that no person belonging to the house was there, she became alarmed and dropped her bag, in which was 7s. 6d., on the counter. She rau out and shut to the door. She went to the house of a neighbour, and gave the alarm. A Mr. Turner and his sister went with her, and they saw a light in the shop. Mr. Turner opened the front door with the key, and he heard a noise of two men in the house. He locked the door fast, and went round to the back, with his sister, where they saw the prisoner and another man drop from the wall of Mr. Harvey's back yard. These men ran off and were pursued by Mr. Turner and his sister, who caught the prisoner. He was rescued by a body of men, and Mr. Turner was knocked down. They returned to Mr. Harvey's house, and found that it had been completely ran sacked. The goods had been turned over, and the beds tossed off the stocks. The prisoner was subsequently taken into custody by police-officer 55. He was taken to Mr. Harvey's shop, where Mr. and Miss Turner identified him. The jury found the prisoner guilty. Sentence deferred. IMPUDENT THEFT James Rooney, aged 18, was indicted for having, on the 20th April last, entered the dwelli ng -ho use o f J on arkson, and stolen therefrom a coat, a shawl, and a tippet, the pro perty of Mr. Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson resides in Bridport-street, and on the morn ing of the 20th April, a Mr. David Evans, a coach spring maker, who works opposite to Mr. Clarkson's house, saw the prisoner and another man passing about the door which one of them opened and entered. The man who went in pre sently came out with a bundle: Mr. Evans and his son ran out. Mr. Evans pursued and seized the prisoner. Mr. Evans's son pursued the other man, who threw down the bundle and escaped. _ The bundle contained the articles above specified, which were identified E property. Mr. Clarkson's - The Recorder praised Mr. Evans for his excellent beha viour, and ordered him to receive half-a-sovereign tin• his 4rvices The jury found the prisoner guilty, and, as there Nias a long catalogue of offences against him, the court sentenced him to ten years' transportation. A DESPERATE CHARACTER John Stewart, aged 22, was charged with bavin b , vember last, assaulted John Arkwright, with the intention of robbing him. in No- It was stated, that the prisoner was one of the most daring and desperate thieves in the town of Liverpool, and he was now brought up from fears being entertained lest he should make his escape. He was to have been tried at the last as sizes. but he contrived to make his escape out of the dock, and he was since re-taken at Warwick. The prisoner was sentenced to fifteen years' tr tion. The Grand Jury were discharged at half-past three o'clock. They did not make any presentment. The court adjourned at half-past five o'clock to nine o'clock this morning. THURSDAY. CASE OF ASSAULT Mr. Frederick Smith was tried, by indictment, on a charge of having, on the 15th of March last, violently as saulted an old woman named Catherine Brannon, " without any lawful cause or provocation, whereby her life was endan gered." The principal circumstances of the case have, for the most part, been already before the public, through the police reports in the newspapers; and as a full denouement of the " interesting" affair (which involved a love matter be tween the accused and the noted Mrs. Beale, late of Union• street) did not even take'place on the trial, a brief notice of the facts, as adduced in evidence, will suffice.—Mr. Holland conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Murphy the defence. —Mrs. Lee, the principal witness, who was close by when the old woman fell down the stone steps at the entrance to the office where the defendant was employed, in Union street, spoke to the assault so far as seeing the prosecutrix held by the wrists by the defendant and pushed back by km, after which she fell down back foremost:, and sustained the injury—a double fracture of her leg. The push was on the landing, on a level with the first or upper step, and her foot tripped her on the .step below. She was carried to a house opposite. The witness was told by Mrs. Beale, who now lodged with her, that she would be paid her rent when the action for damages to be brought against the prisoner was settled. Hannah Beale, daughter of Mrs. Beale, admitted that the prosecutrix had gone across the street to the de fendant, and said, " You villain ; you have been the ruin of that (Mrs. Beale's) family." He said if she had anvtbiag to say to come into his office and say it. She followed him as he went into his office, and took hold of the handle of the door. When he came out he pushed her down the steps. The witness denied, in cross-examination, that she had seen any drink in the house that day, or that the prosecutrix was drunk. The prisoner had been a great annoyance to her " mamma." " She did not like him on account of his wick edness, in destroying people's characters." Mr. Smith had not addressed Mrs. Brennan before she called him a villain Mrs. Beale spoke to seeing the defendant push the prosecu trix backwards. On severe cross-examination witness sai she could not say she was a widow; but that Mr. :-,nit might have fancied that he was paying his addresses to Ir as such. From the further cross-examination of this ness, it appeared that she had quarrelled with Mr. behalf of another Adonis, Captain Curtis, who I, turned Smith out of the house ; and that she bad purchased goods from a Mr. Lynn, representing herself (as she s'••' neither as a married nor a single woman ; but defending an action at law, when the money was de. as the plea that she was married. She denied that told Mr. Smith, while he paid his addresses, that her band had died in America, or produced any certificate him to that effect. Dr. Cripps stated that the prosccutr appeared to be sober when he was called in to see leer, 1)4 tween ten and eleven o'clock, on the night after her fall which it appeared occurred at four o'clock in the after j, ; ( l , or , ) ,e r. Mr. Murphy addressed the jury at some length for the ' 63 fence. The whole prosecution was instigated, I on the spirit o,ore tnhaeteße rival.ales , u w h e o re h m ad ar d k i e s d ca s r t d r e o d ng A l l y r. Smith fora n e i i v e e i r o - e ae lo d rt b n; than those parties to his client, who had u abused him and followed him neces sary violence to eject the prosecutrtixos,edhaf:stoer and not by any o s rfi li c e e. had T g h r e os t s a l i ‘i was occasioned by her own intoxication, violence on his part—for he had blow, He - sa id that the present jto - pave the way, if possible, for an action for damages in a t a s ti t o ru n ck i n hera criminal a si court was brought expressly Y . civil court against his client, and . He was about to call several wit nessesand amongst others a profes s i ona l m defenc e, pr e o ia e ve i that the prosecutrix was blind drank a t the time case the to recorderhe, that whateverinterfered. injuryll e t snwho ought to for be would o he u r l e d P ex pressed his . e h ie e w he proseentra had received had been bro ug ht on b y her ewr m i scon d u ct and imprudence, as she h a d f o ll owe d the tlctfeed sfeolfi, the whe ant and abused him at his awn office. The jury concurred, and a verdict of acquittal was immediately returned. The recorder, addressing the prisoner, said—" Dont you live i , future in the same street with the Beaks." Mr. Murnl " Aye, dont follow the widow again." Mr. Smith was then discharged from We bar.