The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-10 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCI UNITED STATES As we anticipated in our last, the Great Western, steam ship, reached Bristol on Monday night, haiing completed her voyage in 13 days. She has brought 30 passengers, half a million of dollars, and a tolerable cargo. The New York papers are to the 23d ult., seven days later than those brought by the last Halifax boat. A destructive conflagration took place on the evening of the 15th ult., at St. John's, New Brunswick, which swept away all the buildings on Market-street Wharf, and from Prince William-street to the water, the New Market-house, &c. Large quantities of goods were placed in the Market house for safety, but were afterwards destroyed. 40 vessels are stated to have been burnt, amongst them five ships. The fire was still raging when the steamer left, which conveyed the letter in which the above particulars are given. It is also said that 75 houses were destroyed. A dreadful fire had also occurred at Vicksburg on the 10th of November, of which the Vicksbrirg Whig says - • 1 We stop.the press to announce the most destructive fire that has ever occurred in this city. It was discovered about 12 o'clock last night in the kitchen of Mr. Droz. in Main street, from which the flames spread with frightful rapdity, destroying in their course two entire squares, one on each side of Main-street, from Cherry-street to Locust-street. The wind was blowing a perfect gale, and the noble exertions of our gallant firemen were but of little avail; still all was done that strong arms and stout hearts could do to stay the progress of the destroying element. " At this late hour, wearied and worn down as we are, we cannot pretend to state the amount of the loss, but it must be immense." _ . . . . , Lord Morpeth had been at New York, and had been in vited by the British residents and a number of influential citizens to a public dinner, to take place on Monday, the 28th ult. ' which, it was expected, would prove a grand affair, as the Governor of the State of New York and several other distinguished personages had expressed their intention of being present on the occasion. The celebrated Mr. Fenimore Cooper had been figuring in the law courts, in two actions for libel against the New York Morning Courier and Enquirer for a review of his work entitled Home as Found. One of these cruses was tried on the 20th, but had ended in the jury's being dis charged without agreeing to any verdict, after being locked up from 3 in the afternoon until half-past 9 o'clock in the morning. Upon the second indictment the editor of the Enquirer had written a letter of apology to the attorney, upon which proceedings were stopped. The New York Journal of Commerce of the 20th of No vember says—" The government of the United States has filed a bill in equity in the United States Circuit Court against the Bank of the United States, the object of which is to annul all the assignments made by the bank as fraudu lent, and to obtain the appointment of a receiver to take into his possession the funds of the institution. The following is from the New York Herald of the 23rd ult..— _ _ " Our relations with Great Britain have formed a promi nent topic of discussion in the public journals for some time past, and no doubt have engaged a large share of the atten tion of the executive and his cabinet at Washington. Pre sident Tyler will send his message to congress two weeks from to-day. lie will probably suggest some mode of ad justing the several points of difference between this country and England. What his plan will he we know not ; but dictated as it will be by patriotic intentions, by sound judg ment, and a resolute determination to preserve the honour of the nation, tempered by a profound desire for peace, it is not to be doubted that the recommendations of the execu tive will be met with a proper spirit on the part of congress. One thing is certain. Our government will never acknow ledge the right of search, on any pretence, or under any cir cumstance. The inviolability of our flag will be maintained at all hazards. The nation, as one man, would go to war with any power on earth that should undertake to exercise this right. This is the nost delicate point of difference be tween this country and Great Britain, and we doubt whether it will ever be settled except by the arbitrement of the sword." _ The election of the next president is attracting great atten tion, and the Herald says there is likely to be a general break up, and dissolution of the two great political parties, into which the coutry has so long been divided. Dr. Lardner has advertised a course of lectures in New York, which it was expected would be well attended. NEW YORK MONEY MARKET, Nov. 23.—Money has of late become considerably more scarce in consequence of our banks limiting materially their discounts. The foreign de mand for specie has probably rendered this measure neces sary, though, as bills on Europe are now coming forward against the cotton crop, the pressure will not probably be long felt. Still the low prices of the staple, by retarding shipments, and the discredit of state stocks in Europe, which prevents them serving as a remittance, will probably cause the rates of exchange to rule high for some time to come. _ _ The following are the quotations of today :—London, 1093 to 1091 ; Paris, 5. 25 ; Amsterdam, 40} to 401 ; Ham burgh, 361 io 361; Bremen, 78 to 78k. At these a good bu siness was done. _ . The aspect of affairs in Mexico is more pacific, Santa Anna having been confirmcd in his authority, and the convention having been agreed to by Bustamento. By advices received at New York, we learn that the Sia mese who are at war with Cochin China, had gained a very considerable victory. The advices froni Canada are not very important. There was considerable anxiety expressed by the arrival of the new governor-general, Sir Charles Bagot, and the papers were occupied with a variety of speculations as to his future policy and measures, the loyal party auguring the best from his ap pointment, while, on the other hand, the organ of the French party, Augore des Canadas, was indulging in a series of violent articles against Sir Robert Peel's government, and endeavouring to stir up the Canadians against them. The Montreal Messenger of the 19th ult. states, that rumours of patriot movements were growing rife, and that meetings of men who were known to be disaffected were being held in the country parishes. Fears had consequently arisen of a new series of troubles during the winter, but it was hoped that the lessons taught the insurgents in 1837 and 1838 would deter them from any fresh outbreak. Much satisfaction was felt that Mr. Murdoch, the secretary of the late Lord Sydeu ham, had been re-appointed secretary to the new governor general. TO CORRESPONDENTS, We have received a long report of a deputation appointed to inquire into the merits of the dispute between the London masons and their employers, but we have already said sufficient on the subject. The lines entitled " The sweet voice of love" are defective in many respects. Have we not already anticipated the suggestions of " A Protestant Operative ?" Mr. Michael Alexander Gage must be profoundly ignorant of the respect which is due to the conductors of a public journal, or he would not ha ve asked us to insert a com munication which appeared in the columns of a contempo rary several days since. "A Staunch Conservative" is evidently sincere, and wishes us well; we therefore feel anything but offended by his well-intentioned remarks. The attention of the authorities is called to a nuisance arising from the distribution of waste at a feather-dressing ware house in Cable-street. If a " Lover of Harmony" will divest his communication of the offensive allusion to an excellent clergyman, we have no objections to insert his letter. Ebr Zibrrpool g9tanbarb. NEW SOUTH WALES The news from Sydney is to the 27th August. No abate ment was perceptible in the commercial and monetary em barrassments of the colony. The market for almost every description of goods continued in the same depressed state as previously advised, and it was almost impossible to effect sales without a great reduction on their actual cost. The de mand was limited hi the extreme, and neglected, while the sales by the hammer continued numerous of every variety of merchandise, which went off heavily, even at a reduction of 25 per cent. on the original cost. There had been consider able speculation i❑ coffee, owing to the market having been bare in tea, and the disturbed state of affairs in China ; but in consequence of the arrival of the Giraffe and the Jean with full cargoes, coffee had declined in consequence, and a full clean bean Manilla coffee was worth only 7d. per pound, with every prospect of a further decline. The landed proprietors of the colony were labouring under great distress in conse quence of the importation of foreign grain and flour from countries where it could be grown at a much lower rate than it can now in New South Wales—more particularly since the discontinuance of the assignment of convicts, and the ex treme scarcity and high price of free labour. Notwithstand ing the heavy losses in wheat and flour last year, large arri vals from Calcutta and Valparaiso had taken place, which were sold at very low prices. The finest South American wheat was not worth more than ss. 6d. per bushel, and two or three cargoes from Valparaiso sold at £lB per ton, while American barrel flour was held in large quantities, and scarcely saleable. THE BRITISH QUEEN AND PRESIDENT, STEAM-SHIPS A meeting of the Cork shareholders in the British and American• Steam Navigation Company was held on Friday, when a statement of the receipts, expenditure, profits, losses, and liabilities, was submitted by the mayor, who had spent four or five days in London seeking for information. Some persons had paid up from 20 to 60 per cent. of the capital, all of which, amounting to £67,000, was lost, and there was a deficit in the assets in hand to meet the outstanding liabilities of £9,199 ss. 3d. The losses were chiefly attributed to the establishment of the Cunard line of packets, with a bounty from the government, whilst further discouragement was given by the proposed West India line, supported by a go vernment subsidy, and the example being followed by the French and Belgian governments. The establishment of the Cunard line, it was stated, reduced the passage-money 20 per cent., diminished the passengers from an average of 240 to an in of 165 per voya g e, an d as a resu lt ma d e a differ ence n the receipts on the three voyages in 18-10, corres pondent to those of 1839, of £8,266 in passage-money alone. It was expected th a t th e payment o f arrears, with an addi tional call of £lO pe r cen t., wou ld c l ear t h e company of al l liabilities, and the directors agreed not to recommend the creditors to proceed against those who paid £6O per cent. until after those who had not paid up that amount were co erced to pay up £6O per cent. The directors had lost fully one-third of the whole. Mr. Bainbridge 105t1.£6.000. besides the world of trouble and annoyance he had, for which, he said, £12,000 would not pay him. 'Sir. Fitzgibbon said, that the prospectuses set forth that they would build eight vessels at £50,000 each, while it ap peared that the two they did build cost £181,431. He accused the directors of bad management. The Mayor.—The_defaults amounted to £6,900, £3,500 of which was considered good. He believed that one of the largest shareholders was in America, who had paid up hut 40 per cent., and his deficiency would have to be paid by the other proprietors. The assets of the company were put down at £5,875, and supposing £3,500 recovered, it would make about £9,400 to meet £15,400, which was a deficiency of £6,000 ; £22,000 had been paid by the fork shareholders, though but few at the time had paid 60 per cent. Mr. Laird had paid up his full shares, £lOO each. After con• . iderable discussion of a desultory nature, the foltbwing resolution was adopted : " That, in order to avoid law expenses, the proprietors who have not paid up 60 per cent. are requested to do so forthwith, and lodge the same in the hands of Mr. Thomas Lyons ; that he then be requested to ascertain the further liabilities, if any, of the shareholders, and report the result to a future meeting, with a view to bring the affairs of this unfortunate company to a close." The following are copies of some of the documents read at the meeting : Total receipts of nine BRITISH voyages, v iz. : UERN Passage money Freight Parcels Letters . £61,583 15 9 . 13,980 15 10 . 348 0 9 . 6,088 10 2 £82,001 2 6 Total expenses on n i ne voyages Average receipts per voyage, Average expenses per voyage Average profit per voyage 1,256 13 6 Total number of passengers, nine voyages-1,714 PRESIDENT Total receipts on three voyages, viz Passage money Freight Parcels Letters £14,181 14 6 9,183 4 8 129 2 6 2,440 4 11 £25,934 6 7 Total expenses on three voyages 21,183 3 7 Average receipts per voyage.. Average expenses per voyage Average profit per voyage. 1,350 7 8 Total number of passeng ers , three voyages-414. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES, OCTODZIL 15, 1841. Balance at bankers... ..................... £2,055 19 8 Ditto due by Wordsworth and Sm ith ...... 34 7 4 2 Ditto Captain Locke .............. 200 0 0 Ditto Junius Smith ............. 148 11 6 Ditto James Beale ................ 221 19 0 Amount to be received from Belgian Govern- ment for stores Ditto for Coals at New York Coal-hulk at New York, balance per ledger, 716 10 4 1,375 0 0 814 0 7 £5,879 5 3 LIABILITIES 15,378 10 6 Outstanding claims £9,499 5 3 Dotieicasy .. FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 10, 1841 We are unfeignedly sorry for the condition of many of our brethren of the broad sheet, Conservative as well as Radical, in this time of unparalleled scarcity of the wherewith to fill their columns and to satisfy the cravings of the public for political discussion. Not a word will Sir Robert allow to escape with respect to the detail of the policy of his administration. Not a hint—not even a feeler will he condescend to throw out for the " fourth estate ". to exercise their ingenuity upon. The world goes on much in its usual way. The seasons change, the sun rises and sets, the moon waxes and wanes, as they have been accustomed to do in time bypast; but journalism stands still. The eyes of the political gladiator gaze only upon vacancy; the world around him is a blank ; he has not even a sha dow upon which to place his spear in rest, or the ghost of a measure proposed to gnaw at by way of keeping his teeth in order. And yet we cannot say, after all, that this is not as it ought to be. Far though we are from wishing to undervalue " our order," we are not by any means sa tisfied that it is good for a people to be kept in a con stant state of political fever by the discussion, through the press, of every question which it may enter into the minds of statesmen to moot, until their details and the extent of their application are fully settled. We are not inclined to place great reliance upon the wis dom of a minister or a party which, because undecided upon a principle or a measure, throws out its undigest ed materials to be moulded into the particular form which popular prejudice may devise for it. We have no confidence in a minister or a party which has so little reliance upon self that it cannot and dare not ma ture its plans before ushering them forward upon the world, and whose measures are thrown up like straws to be fanned into compactness by the breath of agita tion, and approved or condemned before we have either the opportunity or the power of viewing them as a united whole. It may be said, indeed, and it has been said, that the public has a right to be acquainted with the views of a government upon such important questions as those which are now occupying the attention of so large a portiGn of the people of this empire ; that we have a right to be put into possession of the views of Sir Ro bert Peel upon the operation of the corn laws and upon our commercial policy generally. But, we may ask, do we not already know perfectly well the opinions held by him upon these important subjects ? Have we not had ample opportunities of ascertaining the bearing of those opinions, and of determining the po licy to which they point, as likely to be adopted by him ? Undoubtedly we have; and it is not a little unreasonable, we think, that we should insist upon being made acquainted with the details as well of the measures which he may propose to carry out those opinions without allowing adequate opportunity for their being brought to maturity. We have had enough, in all conscience, of ad cap tandum propositions, and of merely tentative measures within the past ten years. We have had abundance of specious promises—of crude and undigested measures thrown out as tubs to the whale—as baits for the po pular maw and subjects for the appetite of hungry journalism. We have had hopes raised—bad hopes— which were never intended to be gratified. We have had a government bidding for popularity, through the instrumentality of the press, which it never intended to earn by performance. We have had professions in abundance, theory in abundance, and the assertion of principle in abundance; but the result of all this pro fession and fine-spun theory—where is it ? In public disappointment; in the conviction on the part of the people that charlatanrie and the party by whom these instruments were used are inseparably allied ; and we are quite satisfied, therefore—although as journalists we feel its inconvenience in being occasionally driven to bestow our remarks upon subjects of merely local in terest, when we might, if we had chosen, have been dilating in large terms upon more speculative ques tions—to wait his own time to discuss the measures of Sir Robert Peel when they come before us in an au thenticated form. Our local contemporary the Times has fallen foul of the able and eloquent minister of Christ Church, for having made what he calls a " malicious and detesta ble insinuation" contained in the passage of a speech delivered at a meeting of the Bolton Protestant Asso ciation, and which passage he recites, we know not upon what authority. To what extent the insinuation was either "malicious" or " detestable," however, we shall enable our readers to judge, by extracting what we believe to be a correct report of the passage in question from the Bolton Chronicle of the 29th ult. It is as follows : " The rev. gentleman quoted a portion of the resolution that the church was " constantly surrounded by watchful enemies," and said, that a few years ago the two Houses of Parliament had been destroyed by fire ; shortly after that the Royal Exchange was burned, and at one of our ports ships were fired, and no one could tell how they were done. Since that, also, there had been a fire at the Tower, and no one could tell how it had happened ; and in the newspapers of that day he had read cd an attempt to fire the Horse Guards —and when the question was asked " how it had hap pened," no one knew how it was done. They were sur rounded by enemies, and eaese things having happened so recently, they had every reason to recollect Guy Fawkes. They had to recollect what had been done, and, if possible, prevent its being done again." Such is the material out of which a Whig and Pa pietical journal has attempted to frame a bill of indict ment—plentifully interlarded with epithets of great sound and fury, and enlarged upon with the usual ar tifices—against the Rev. Mr. Ould. But we would remind his accuser that extreme mental perturbation, such as he palpably evinces, is unfavourable to logical discrimination, and shall take upon us to assure him that in a sober moment, so far from regarding Mr Ould's speech as either " malicious " detestation," he gill he forced to admit with us the perfect candour of its statements and the soundness of its reasoning. " or worthy of The name of " Guy Fawkes " may sound harshly to some ears, but the foul conspiracy in which the in cendiary was engaged, and the signal deliverance which the nation experienced from his treason, must never theless remain on the page of history as a warning to the simple and an instruction to the judicious. Mr. Ould may have excited the displeasure of the liberal journalist by alluding to this celebrated conspirator; but if history be " philosophy teaching by examples," and not, as some would like to treat it, "an old al manack," useful only to mislead, the reverend gentle man was perfectly justifiable in so doing with a view to derive thence a useful practical lesson. Every body must admit that the great fires which have lately taken place, in this country, have been, taking them in the aggregate, strange mysterious, and remarkable; and they have not, as Mr. Ould observes, been accounted for. The Rev. Sir Harcourt Lees al leges that they are the work of Jesuits, states that he is in possession of much important information on the subject, and that he is anxious for an opportunity of proving his allegations before a committee of either house of Parliament; but with that reverend baronet or his discoveries Mr. Ould does not appear to identify himself. Mr. 0. does not take upon himself to say by whom these several fires have been raised, nor whe ther they have been the effects of design or otherwise. On the contrary, he contemplates them as peculiarly mysterious, inasmuch as they have not been accounted for. On this subject, however, in common with others, he gives a caution. "We are surrounded with enemies," he observes, " and shall do well to he cau tious; remember Guy Fawkes." Ay, remember Guy Fawkes; there's the rub. How " malicious" and " detestable" it was of the reverend gentleman to talk of that Popish conspirator, and allude to the Gunpow der Treason in connection with the burning of the Houses of Parliament, the Tower, and other recent fires ; how slanderous, how abominable of him to in sinuate that, as a combination of Jesuits and fanatics had, in the year 1605, made all things ready to de stroy, "in a most barbarous and savage manner, be yond the examples of former ages," the Sovereign, the Queen, the Princes, and all the royal branches, with the nobility, clergy, and commons of England then assembled in Parliament—a similar combination might in the year 1841 be again at work, and be the effectual authors of great undertakings of mischief—of a cha racter not perhaps so bloody and diabolical, but, ne vertheless sufficiently injurious to be considered in the light of national calamities. Such reasoning was, to be sure, excessively shallow, and quite illiberal ; we have got so enlightened in these days, and Popery, Je suitry, and fanaticism are so different now from what they formerly were ! On the alleged prodigious im provement which has taken place in Popery in latter times, Mr. Ould adduced a most remarkable illustra tion from a recent letter addressed by the Earl of Shrewsbury to Ambrose Lisle Phillips, Esq., giving a devout pilgrim's account of two as gross, blasphe mous, and disgusting "lying wonders" of the Pope's church, at the present hour, as ever were got up, and stupidly believed in, in the darkest ages. Bernard Ca vanagh is, God be praised, doing penance just at pre sent, on the tread mill; but if he should ever escape thence, and make a tour to Italy, doubtless some Popish tourist, if not my Lord Shrewsbury, will be found to exalt him to a par with those wondrous ladies whom his lordship describes, and for whose genuine miraculosi ties he vouches, namely, the Estutica of Caldaro, and the Addolorata of Capriana. We must refer to Mr. Ould's speech, or to the Popish Earl's letter, for the details; we shall only say with him, that " two such cases of blasphemous imposition no one would have set their name to who did not imagine that there was credulity in England capable of swallowing such hide ous falsehoods, as well as monstrous absurdities." Here then is a fact pregnant with evidence as to the unchanged and unchangeable character of Popery, and if like will from like, we shall make our Popish con temporary a present of all he may gain from charging an eloquent champion of our Protestant faith with in consequential reasoning, or " malicious insinuation," in connecting a detected conspiracy of Jesuits and fa natics of a past age, with the not impossible, but yet distantly surmised plots and operations of a similar coterie, in the present. We thank Mr. Ould for his fearless and powerful advocacy of our common cause at all times, and parti cularly for the very excellent speech which has let loose the flood-gates of Popish and liberal vituperation upon him so copiously in this instance. The howl of the adversary is good proof that the arrow has pierced him ; we should doubt that it had reached its destina tion, if a cry of this sort had not assailed our ears. He slavers in a rage, and pours out a vast quantity of filthy slander ; nor does even this expectoration seem suffi ciently to relieve him ; he darkly hints at the fate of the Rev. Mr. Gathereole. And what was this fate ? Why, prosecution, and persecution by nunnery people, eremites and friars—black, white, and grey, with all their trumpery—the revenge of law proceedings, and law expenses, and all the long vexation of an action for damages, or a criminal information ! But Mr. Ould may well laugh at such impotent rage, and defy the utmost malice of denunciations or menaces so per fectly contemptible. Let the abettors of Guy Fawkes bring their action by all means ; and when the plead ings are opened, the judge on the bench, and the jury sworn, may we be there to hear and see. There are no such men for maintaining liberty of speech, and the liberty of the press, by suits at law, as your thorough Liberals. We are thankful, however, that their power is not commensurate with their inclinations, and that their star is at present rapidly on the wane. Lord Palmerston has had the honour of an address consolatory from the town council of Bridgenorth, and it is pleasant to see by his answer that his lordship's accustomed buoyancy of spirit still survives, and sup ports him in adversity. He confidently expects that the reign of the Tories, or " combination of monopo lists," as he has learned to call them, will be but short, and that himself and his late colleagues—who are free traders to the death—will be sent for, and restored to the seat of honour. There is a circumstance deducible from the terms he makes use of, which will be gratify ing to all who love firmness of purpose and consistency of conduct ; it would seem that he is resolved to be not always a "juvenile Whig." Having served in all administrations, and fought under all colours, he has got fixed at last, and sink or swim, will abide by the cause of free trade to the end of his—political career. We are glad to perceive in his lordship such an evi dence of desperate fidelity. It is natural to suppose that so old a courtier, when he does fall in love—with a cause—must love it with extraordinary affection, and that free-trade and commercial people, now that he has given himself wholly to their interests, will share an extraordinary portion of his regard. There may he a question as to his age as a " free-trader ;" some may think that he is only a juvenile anti-monopolist; his own allegation, however, is, that for one who has been so versatile as a politician, he is tolerably mature in this respect. " It has always been," he says, " the study of the late government to carry into practical application those principles of civil and religious liberty which are founded upon natural justice." And " we attempted to apply to the commercial legislation of the country those principles of trade, the soundness and truth of which have long been demonstrated in reason ing," &c. Now it will be granted that they made an attempt—their budget attests it —an attempt to fix and to make those d timber imports, of other f c o h r a e n i g g n e s corn io the a n Bsugar u t a y n , which every body knows ; but to say that the ex-Fo reign Secretary, and rejected of Liverp oo l, can f oun d upon this a claim to be considered a veteran advocate of free trade, is a fact which nobody can concede to him. Palmerston and free trade for ever! Only think of the association—Lord Palmerston and—a cheap loaf !—Lord Palmerston and — no monopoly !— nay , nay, it won't do; we could not teach our parrot—one of the most educationable of birds—to repeat i t ; his stomach, poor old fellow, would rise against it ; he has a conscience, and could not be induced by any means to dotitiet in a carat - it cry so incongthOus a compound. But, headed by die town council of Bridgenortti, the ex-minister cannot fail to do wonders, let the world hat it will, whether of his versatility, juvenility, or antiquity, in free trac Robert Peel and the love, politics, or war. Sir Tories must look to - themselves— The Campbells are coming LOCAL NE WS DANCING.—The lovers of dancing will perceive that Mrs. Jackson's annual ball will take place next week. Tun CH ASE.—The Cheshire Hounds will meet to-morrow (Saturday,) the 11th, at the Three Greyhounds •, Monday, the 13th, at Kingsley Windmill; Wednesday, the 15th, at Ridley Toll-bar ; Thursday, the 16th, at Hankelow ; Satur day, the 18th, at Hurleston Village —at half-past ten o'clock. Sir W. Massey Stanley's Hounds will meet to-morrow, (Sa turday,) the 11th, at Badger Rake Gate—at eleven o'clock. CONCERTS A LA MUSARD.—A few weeks back we took occasion to draw attention to the pleasing musical soirees which, under the above title, have, during the winter months, been current at the Portico in Newington. The series was slightly interrupted by the arrival of Jullien, the band of that celebrated foreigner being principally composed of the identical gentleman who perform at the Concerts a la Musard. Now, without intending any disrespect to Jullien, we may take occasion, hereupon, to speak a word or two in praise of our townsmen. Jullien engages them, and thus they be come, to all intents and purposes, Jullien's band, and then their townsmen flock to hear them and listen " with ravished ears." We do not deny that Jullien brings other attractions in the shape of certain highly-talented individuals, capable of something extraordinary in the way of solo; but is is im portant that our native musicians are capable of showing to advantage, in company with such performers as Jullien brings in his train. Now, the band to which we are anxious to attract attention, is positively better and more complete than that of Jullien. For instance ! the latter had no bassoons, no oboe, hut one violoncello and one contra bass, while at the concerts a la Musard there is an ample provision of all these instruments. The band is, in fact, exceedingly full and complete; the members have practised together with Jullien, and are filled with a spirit of emulation, and, in short, they want nothing but that patronage and support which our townsmen, we hope, will feel it their duty to give to enable them to advance rapidly towards perfection. The fifth concert of the season, and the last but one of the series, took place on Saturday night. The following is a list of the performers, which, it will be confessed, embodies "the most promising individuals in Liverpool :—violins, Mr. H. Aldridge, jun. leader Messrs. Hammond, Tivendell, Hilton, Mackenzie, and others ; violas, Messrs. Wilberforce and Dando ; violoncellos. Messrs. Davies and Ball ; double basses, Messrs. Tavleure and Hornby ; flute, Mr. Fisher; oboe, Mr. Scruton ; clarionets, Messrs. Leonard and J. Stubbs; fagotti, Messrs. Jones and Smith; coni, Messrs. Edwards and Thompson ; cornet a piston, Mr. T. Fisher ; trumpet, Mr. Hanson ; trombones, Messrs. Druce and Brindley ; drums, Mr. Filleen, with grand casa, triangles, cymbals, &c. One proof we have had of the good quality both of the selections and of the performance, in the regular attendance of a number of talented Musical amateurs. Now we have our eye on many musical amateurs of good taste, who are ,gonnected with the fashionable world. We have looked in vain for these individuals at the concerts a la Mu sard. We are sorry for this, because one word of approval from the persons to whom we allude would fill the room. We can scarcely think the price is too low, for it is these moderately-priced entertainments that, in France and Ger many, are most fashionable. The last concert of the series will take place on Saturday next. Let us see a change come o'er the spirit of the musical patrons of our town, who can not have a more honourable or a more elevated occupation than that of endeavouring to cherish the musical taste of our community.— Courier. MRS. JOHN PALMER'S CONCERT.—This accomplished vocalist gave her annual concert at the Adel* Hotel, on Tuesday evening, and we are happy to say that this elegant concert-room was crowded by a fashionable audience who throughout expressed their warm approval of the entertain ment provided for them by their fair entertainer. The first piece, " Le rans de Vaehes," was charmingly sung by Mrs. Palmer and her interesting little daughter Cecilia, who dis plays much budding talent ; this was followed by " sweetly o'er my senses stealing," exquisitely given by Mrs. Palmer ; the same praise may likewise be awarded to all her other efforts of the evening. " Tyrant, soon I'll burst thy chains," and " Tell me, my heart," were splendidly executed. Our old favourite, Mr. Davies, had only two songs, " The Night" and " Woman," both of which he gave in his usual capital style, especially the last, which as regards both execution, music, and words, was a gem. Mr. William Holden sang delightfully Russell's " Wind of the winter night," accom panied by himself on the piano ; we do not recollect having been more pleased with any song than this ; it was loudly encored. A Miss Foster, a pupil, as stated in the programme, of Mr. G. Eyton, made a very successful. effort in " Come where the splendid harvest moon," a very sweet song by our old townsman Him:. Little Miss Palmer joined her mother in the duet of the Meeting," by Malibran, and sang her part well, but her crowning effort was, " be no submis sive wife," which sae gave with the archness of a coquette of twenty. Before we close this brief notice, in justice we must mention the pleasure we received from Mr. E, F. Smith's piano-forte playing. This gentleman possesses the most brilliant execution we have heard since we listened to Herz. His " Variations brillantes sur le Trio Favori du Pre aux Clercs," were beautiful, and many of them very difficult—so difficult, indeed, as to seem almost impossible. He was loudly encored in his fantasia from favourite subjects from " Les Huguenots." The concert was over before eleven, and the numerous and fashionable audience separated, evi dently much pleased with their evening's amusement. LIVERPOOL ARTISTS' FUND.—We perceive that the ex hibition of paintings by modern artists is announced to be closed on Saturday week. It appears really very extraordi nary, that at the most festive season of the year, when even the most sorrowful heart attempts to make itself glad—when " the scions of our noble houses" are returning borne with joyous faces to enjoy the pleasures of the holidays—this de lightful resort of the intellectual, the fashionable, and the gay, should be closed. We have no hesitation in asserting, that if the rooms were kept open during the month of Janu ary, it would answer the purpose of materially adding to the receipts, and afford children a treat they cannot enjoy, as the holiday-time is not included at any period of its being open. We know how jealous the sage limners of Postoffice-place are of interference from any quarter, or any suggestion even being made to them ; but we must and will protest against the closing of the exhibition before Christmas-time, when so many children would be delighted at the sight, If open during Christmas-week even, it would be conceding some thing to what we know is not a solitary wish. SUBSCRIPTION CONCERTS.—The subscription concerts, which have been the source of great gratification to the musi cal and fashionable world during the last few winters, are, we perceive, about to be again undertaken. These concerts appear to us to be of a two-fold benefit to Liverpool: they afford satisfaction to those who are fond of music, and cer tainly give an impetus to trade in many ways. They cause money to circulate; and though only a drop, as it were, in the great ocean of the commerce of this town, yet we could trace, if leisure permitted, in what way the benefit we have named takes place. Amongst the engagements, many of which will in due time introduce to us eminent and popular performers, we perceive Madame Caredori Allan will be one of the first. Madame Caradori Allan is a fine graceful woman, sings well, and will be an attraction. Miss Bassano has been tried here, and passed favourably through the ordeal of public opinion. Miss Whitnall is well known amongst us. She is decidedly the best chanteuse this town can boast ot. Her voice is of fine quality and compass, with good execution. Miss Whitnall is also an excellent musician. Mr. Croach and Mons. Barrett (oboe) are new to us, if we mistake not ; but in the leader, Mr. Herrman, we shall recognise a " well approved good master" of his art. The orchestra is promised to be filled with eminent performers; and we do hope that no petty professional feeling will inter fere in any way to prevent the best players in Liverpool being brought together. The drawing for the reserved seats will take place on the 29th, at the pretty little Portico-room. We have been given to understand that the subscription list this year is unusually numerous. AN Ex-MAYOR'S NEST.—This worthy ex-functionary is sadly in dudgeon with the appointment of Mr. Harhord as a member of the Education Committee; and has made the ex traordinary discovery that he was unduly elected. And how does the reader imagine? Why that he only received the greatest number of votes of three members proposed, where as Mr. Bolton maintained that he ought to have had the votes of the majority of the members present ;—in other words, that, after having had the greatest amount of support of the three, he ought to have gone again to the scale against the second best. But a more valuable discovery still Mr. John Smith has made. The worthy member for West Derby, or miscalled member, as the Toxteth-park boys have it, was of opinion that the same rule was laid down for the election of mayor in the municipal act itself; and although on ex amination the town-clerk found that no such provision was in his copy of the act, yet Mr. John Smith was quite stout upon it that "he had it at home." We presume that the West Derby Edition is a scarce book ; for we have seldom heard of variorum editions of acts of parliament. ST. BARNABAS' CHURCH AND DISTRICT.—We have pleasure in announcing to our readers that the plan, to which we alluded last week, for adding to the accommodation within this church, is to be carried immediately into effect. The committee of the Liverpool Church Building Association, satisfied of the desirableness of the proposed enlargement, with characteristic zeal and promptitude at once resolved upon its adoption. The intention is to erect a gallery at the east end for the organ, singers, &c., and to extend the upper west gallery over the space the organ was to have occupied. By this means an increase of free sittings will be provided to the amount of nearly 300, and the church will afford accom dation iii all to upwards of 1,600 persons, combined with as much of architectural beauty and propriety as is to be found in any other church in Liverpool. The entire was desirzned by Messrs. A. and G. Williams, upon whom St. Barnabas' Church reflects the utmost credit. Much is owing to the happy co-operation of the congregation and churchwardens, one of whom it is but right to mention by name—viz., Mr. Thomas Wagstaff, to whose praiseworthy exertions and judicious arrangements in all the details a considerable share of that success is, under God, to he attributed, over which, in common with all good churchmen, we do most unfeignedly rejoice. The other churches built by this association have been scarcely less successful,—St. Bartholomew's, Naylor street, and St. Clement's, Windsor, being the centres re spectively of a similar useful influence. The funds of the association are, we regret to learn, nearly exhausted ; but the committee can now come before the public of Liverpool, as stewards approved and faithful, and can confidently appeal for a renewal of that trust which they have already exercised alike to their own credit and to the advantage of the town and neighbourhood. We are sure that the appeal will be re sponded to, and that fresh funds will be forthcoming. THE LivEnroot. SWINDLERS.—This flash company, it would appear, have not been deterred, by the repeated expo sures which have been made of their systematic frauds, from attempting still to impose upon the mercantile portion of the community here and in other towns. Last week a manufac turer in Glasgow received from the fictitious firm in question a letter, containing three neatly clipped bits of jaconet, as patterns, and an order for a quantity of goods of the same description. The letter was addressed, according to the name of the gentleman, and his designation, according to the Old Post-office directory, but he has some time ago removed from the premises, a circumstance which, of itself, would naturally create suspicion. Independently of this, however, the notices which have appeared in the newspapers of late, respecting the existence of a company who hare been more ready with their orders than with the means of settling their accounts, put him upon his guard ; and notwithstanding the specious and business-like communication, he made a prac tical application of the maxim, " a bird in the hand is worth twa in the bush, by retaining his jaconets in his own pre mises to wait the chance of more trust worthy customers. These impostors have, in few instances, been successful in their attempts upon the more extensive and intelligent mer chants amongst us • but, we regret to lea rn, that, before the y were exposed by john o' Groats Journal, they managed to get into their possession several l ar g e supplies of herrings, ling, and cod, from the curers in the north, who, perhaps, are not accustomed to see the newspapers often, and who bad not been in possession of the true state of matters until it was too late. We arc not aware whether there are any means by which this company can be put down. It is evident that if they get goods into their possession they can only be pur sued for the debt at civil law, like other creditors ; but par ties who are so simple as to deal with them may find that in prosecuting them they are ch asin g a shadow ; and the best way to get the better of them , after all, will be, not t o let them get the substance. —Glasgow Gourier. , At it Meeting Of tild Grand United Order of OddfellOvis, held last week at the house of Mr. Jones, Lime-street. a handsome silver watch was presented to Mr. Parry. D.M., for his exertions in forwarding the interests of the order. THE INFIRMARY. —On Sunday last, a sermon was preached at Trinity Church in behalf of this institution, by the Rev. Thomas Briggs Dickson, B.D. The sum collected was nearly £2l. POCKET PlCKlNG. — Yesterday, at the police-office, two youths—James. Burns and Michael Duffey—were charged with picking a gentleman's pocket of a silk handkerchief, at St. John's Market. They had both been previously com mitted, and the case being proved, they were committed for three months each. MR. ALDERMAN EARLE'S CONSTITUENTS. —At the council meeting, on Wednesday, in reply to a remark of Mr, Sandbach, the alderman for Abercromby Ward was strongly of opinion that members ought to be sent atituents every year. Very kind of Mr. but who are the alderman's constituents? CONCERT.—Mr. George Eyton, a very talented musician and clever teacher, has appointed Monday next for his annual concert to take place. From Mr. Eyton's connection with the Mechanics' Institution, and his gpute in teaching the pupils there, it is to be expected that there will be a very full and fashionable attendance on the occasion. AMPHITHEATRE.—We perceive Mrs. Carman's benefit is announced to take place on Monday next. Mrs. Carman is a lady of much ability, not only as a dramatic authoress, but as an actress ; her mode of playing the charity girl, in the " Yew Tree", proves her the latter. A new piece from her pen will be represented on Monday night, under the delightful title of " Jack Ketch, or the Hangman's Bride". back to their con- Alderman Earle; THE LATE MR. CLOUGH.-it will be seen by the advertise ment, which appears elsewhere, that the Philharmonic Society, wishful to do honour to the memory of the late Mr. Thomas Clough, intend to give a concert, the receipts of which are to be devoted to Mrs. Clough and her child. The talents of the late Mr. Clough, and the great respect for him entertained by all who were acquainted with him, will, we trust, conduce to make this undertaking one of the most successful of the season. Many professionals have volunteered their services— this is as it should be. THE LATE MR. EGERTON SMITH.—A meeting of the friends of the late Mr. Egerton Smith was held at the Clarendon Rooms, on Wednesday last, for the purpose of considering whether some public testimonial should not be erected to his memory. Mr. Thomas Thornely, M.P., was called to the chair, and a committee was appointed to con sider for what sum a permanent night asylum could be erected, or a building purchased, in honour of the memory of the deceased. TuNATRit ROYAL.—We noticed in our last that Mr. Holl and Miss Honner's benefit was fixed for this evening, and we have now the pleasure of drawing attention to Mr. W. J. Hammond's on Monday night. Mr. Hammond is a great favourite here, of long standing, and is held in high esteem ; he has been buffetted about by fortune, and we are greatly pleased to find that he is about to settle amongst us permanently. We trust his friends will muster strongly for him on the occasion. and give him a foretaste of success. He has secured Mr. Tilbury's services, rendering the attraction to an already powerful bill greater. LIVERPOOL PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION.—On the even ing of Wednesday, a sermon was preached by the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, in St. Mary's Church, Edgehill, on behalf of the funds of the Protestant Association. The rev. gentleman delivered a most animated discourse from the 2nd Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, 3rd chapee, verses 12 and 13 :--" Yea, and all they who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer perse cution ; but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." The sermon was one of great power, consisting chiefly of an earnest appeal to real Christians, to stand fast by their principles. At the close of the sermon, Mr. M`Neile alluded to the education question, and intimated his belief that the committee of the town-council had, or would, come to a determination that would prove perfectly satisfactory to the friends of the Bible. A collection was made after the sermon, which amounted to about £25. Ten years ago a facetious gentleman remarked that he perceived by the newspapers that all Brighton was to be sold by Mr. George Robins. It so happened that an estate of moderate extent in Shropshire, of the value of £50,000, and called Allbrighton, was placed with Mr. Robins for public competition. Poor Theodore Hook, who was a personal friend, could not miss so good an opportunity to display his wit and shew his kindness of feeling ; and therefore, in the following John Bull, of which it is known he had the prin cipal direction, he thus delivered himself :—" Our friend George Robins has actually announced the sale of All Brighton • we may soon expect he will announce a ll Lond on to be sold." If this talented, this lamented, good-humoured man had been spared to us, what would he say now ? for half Brighton is really announced to change hands through Mr. Robins's instrumentality, It includes Mr. Kemp's fast property, the value of which is estimated at one hun dred and fifty thousand pounds.—Brighton Gazette. We understand that a memorial to the Treasury is in the course of signature, from the wholesale and retail dealers in spirits in this town, to do away with the excise survey and permit system, which has been for so many years a great annoyance to the bade, and which would, if carried into effect, be a great saving of expense to the revenue. The excise survey was taken off tobacco some years since, and has since proved to he no decrease to the revenue whatever. As a deputation of the trade intend haiing au interview with the commissioners appointed by government, which is expected will be here next week, it is to be hoped the very great annoyance to the trade will be removed if it can be proved to them that no loss can accrue to the revenue by such alteration. OLD OFFENDERS.—At the Police-court, yesterday, two men well known to the police, (Thomas Doyle and John Henis,) were placed at the bar, on a charge of having been found loitering about Peter-street on the previous night, and finally about two in the morning, apparently with intent to do something wrong. The police-officer, knowing them:to be bad characters, repeatedly told them to go home, and they moved off for the time, but again made their appearance, so that he finally took them into custody. It appeared, on re ference to the public books, that Doyle had bcen seventeen times, and Henis seven times, committed for felony. Henis said, that if the magistrate would let him go this time, he would never trouble him again, as he would enter the navy, which his friends much approved of, and was willing to ac co-npany an officer, who might see him enter. Mr. ltushton Said—" I cannot trust you, neither will the navy. Yov must each go to gaol for three months." WAGES CASE.—At the police-court, yesterday, William Francis, who had been employed as a cooper, on board Mr. Tobin's barque—the William Huskisson, on her late voyage to Bonny, applied for an order for the amount of £l9los 4d, his wages, in which he was opposed on the part of the owner by Mr, Carson. Mr. Davenport appeared for the applicant. Captain Kelly, the sailing master of the ship, said, for the defence, that the complainant was an indifferent workman, and that from not sufficiently " hardening" the hoops on the casks which he set up, they were not fit to hold palm oil, and that the other coppers had, consequently, to go over his work again. An entry had been made in the log book, (which was produced) setting forth the complainant's inade quacy as a workman, and which was signed at Bonny by the officers of the ship, and also by two other coopers who were on board. He considered £3 a month was as much as his work was worth. William Kane, the mate, said the usual wages to a competent cooper was £5 a month. Some oth er witnesses were examined, who generally agreed in opinion on the imperfect work of the complainant—one of them ad mitting that he was only slow. A captain of another ship, who had been called on board to examine his work, also said, that the work was bad, and that he should consider .£2 to £3 per month ample wages for such a man. He claimed £4 lOs per month, for which he said he had signed articles. Mr. Siddous, foreman of the coopers at Mr. Tobin's yard, was then called by Mr. Davenport. Witness admitted that he shipped the coopers for the ships of the concern ; that the complainant had been working—on trial—in the yard sonic days before the ship sailed ; that he did not consider him a competent workman, but as men werescarce, he had told him that £5 were the wages to workmen who had before been at sea, and £4 lOs for those who had not. He had not mew tioned his incompetency in the counting-house, and the man accordingly signed articles for £4 lOs a month. Mr. Rush ton said, that but for the last witness's testimony he should have awarded the complainant only £2 lOs a month ; but it appeared that Mr. Siddons shipped the coopers, and though he had him on trial, he had not mentioned his incompetency, which was clearly established ; but, lie being accepted after that trial, the full amount of his wages—£l9 lOs 4d—must be paid. A BALE OF COTTON MISSING FROM A CARGO. —John Garratt, mate of the ship China, appeared at the Police- cour t yesterday to answer a charge of having detained, or not ac counted for, a bale of cotton, alleged to have been put on board, and not delivered with the rest of the cargo. A clerk said that there was a parcel of cotton put on board consisting of 201 bales, for which he produced the bill of lading and also the defendant's receipts, but 200 bales only had been received at the warehouse. The landing-waiter who attended the ship stated there were on board, in all, 3507 bales of cotton, and that one bale was missing out of the parcel alluded to. On cross-examination in behalf of the defendant by Mr. Daven port he, however, admitted that, on the last day of unloading, five bales were missing, they . having, as he supposed, by some accident been taken away without being w e i g h e d on t h e quay. Th e warehouse was in consequence examined, and four of the missing bales were found, the one still short being that with which the defendant was charged. The value was upwards of £5, which the owners sought to deduct from his wages. Mr. Rushton said that it was by no means clear that the de fendant was at all to blame. It appeared that no fewer than five bales had at first been missed, four of which were found, and if the warehouses had been properly searched perhaps the other would also have been found. He could have no depen dence on the accuracy of the custom. house officer after he had allowed, by his carelessness or neglect, five bales to pass without being weighed. had none of them been found, the defendant would no doubt have been charged with the whole five. The defendant must have the full amount of his wages, namely, £l7 Os. ld. THEATRE-ROYAL.—We believe that, at the close of this season, Mr. Clarke retires from the lesseeship of the Theatre- Royal, the management of which he has sustained with credit to himself, satisfaction to the public, and benefit to all. Mr. Clarke, in his retirement into private life, will take with him the good wishes of every one who has known him, profes sionally or otherwise. His strict punctuality, his honourable mode of dealing, his liberality, and gentlemanly conduct, will make him greatly missed in the theatrical world. His spirit has been of the right sort : he has brought out every thing that has been well received in the metropolis, while his engagement of every leading professional has shown his willingness to please and cater well for the public. Look over the bills this season, and where shall we find a theatre in the three kingdoms that can boast of such engagements, or of such a company. No doubt Mr. Clarke expected to gain by such engagements; but who would have run the risks he has done, with so little chance of repayment ? Mr. Clarke's benefit takes place the last night of the season. if Williamson-square could be taken in it would be about large enough to hold his friends on the occasion. Mr. Clarke is succeeded by Mr. Anderson, (the Great Wizard of the North,) Mr. W. J. Hammond acting as stage manager. From the spirit, tact, and ability of these two gentlemen, much may be expected from them. If they uphold, as no doubt they will, the respectability of the profession with an equal firmness to their predecessor, neither the public nor the profession need complain. The Bishop of London has been applied to by the Gresham Committee to write the inscription for the first stone of the Royal Exchange, to be laid in January next by Prince Al bert. His lordship immediately acquiesced in the kindest manner. The preparations will be upon a scale of elegance and splendour worthy of the occasion. The entertainment to be given by the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion-house, to Prince Albert, will be the first grand entertainment of the mayoralty of Alderman Pirie ; the first day of which mayor alty has been distinguished by the birth of the heir apparent to the crown. The Queen Dowager, whom Heaven long preserve, is,'no longer a source of public anxiety as regards her health. She has surmounted the afflicting visitation, and her medical attendants have announced their intention to withhold any further bulletins of her majesty's gradual progress to conva lescence. Amongst the first acts of her majesty, o n di rect i ng her thoughts to her people, was to order the transmission of a check for £lOO, for the relief of the sufferings of the poor Spitalfields weavers. The Queen has been pleased to order letters pate n t t o b e passed under the Great Seal, for creating his Royal Hi g h ness the Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire land (Duke of Saxony, Duke of Cornwall and Rothsay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Great Steward of Scotland), Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. ni ESTRE-R0 LiVERi'OOl FOR THE BENEFIT OF MISS E. HONKER AND MR. H. HOLL /PHIS present FRIDAY EVENING. the 10th instant, I will be performed Holeroft's Comedy of the THE ROAD TO RUIN. Goldfinch Old Dorntun.... Mr. Baker. Harry Dorntou Mr. H. Holl. Jacob Mr. Slaiter. Widow Warren.. Mrs. Clarke. Sophia Miss E. Homier. After which the new Interlude of THE BOARDING SCHOOL.. James Captain Harcourt Mr. 11. 8011. Major Marsden.. Mr. Chaplin Mrs. Grosedenap Miss Mite Miss Honner. Miss Biggs To conclude with, never acted here, written by Mr. H. Hull, as performed at the Theatre-Royal, Haymarket, the Nautical Drama of WAPPING OLD STAIRS. Tom Garland Mr. H. Holl. Phoenix Mr. Baker. Capt. Spanish.... Mr. Lynne. Mary Miss Honner. Tickets may be had of Miss E. HONNER, 74, Russell street • of Mr. H. ROLL, 15, Hotham-street ; at ROCKLIFF and Emus's, Castle-street; and of Mr. MINSTER, at th- Box-office of the Theatre. THEATRE-ROYAL, LIVERPOOL, FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. W. J. HAMMOND, on which occasion Mr. TILBURY will make his second appearance on this stage. oN MONDAY next, the 12th instant, the entertainments will commence with, for the first time in Liverpool, the popular Comedy, in three acts, called WHAT WILL TA WORLD SAY ? Captain Scroop Tarradiddle Mr. W. J. Hammond Tattle Mrs. Clarke. DANCING, by Master and Miss C. Webster. Mr. W. J. HAMMOND will Sing, in Character, an entirely new and original Comic Sporting Song, written by W. L. Rede, Esq., called EPSOM RACES, with a description of the Derby, 1841. Coronation the Winner! After which, first time at this Theatre, Chas. Selby's popular Burletta of THE KING AND THE COMEDIAN ; OR, FREDERICK OF PRUSSIA. Stolbach.. (the Comedian).. Mr. W. J. Hammond. To conclude with, never acted in Liverpool, an original Farce. by T. Parry, Esq., called MEET ME BY MOONLIGHT; Or, the Black Statue. (alias Gambia the Slave, afterwards the Mr. W. J. Hammond. Timothy Trotter.... Black Statue) OUR VORTFOLIO.=-No. XI Self:destruction is said to be the crime of old comm nn and to be rare in, new states well-founded ; it would seem to be consistent ;via know of the act. In new communities the spirit o prise is awake—hope is young, and disappointment . , ships, and trials of great severity, fail to subdue the elasti nerve, because there is yet beyond all, a " hope" that bette times will come. In the advanced stages of society, th ground has been all surveyed—the depths and shallows c life have been sounded—men know better what they have t expect, and when the plans and arrangements by which the had calculated on the attainment of certain ends of happines: break down without results,—there is no yet lingering spar to reanimate their drooping spirits—the world becomes void to their imagination, and they hasten to relieve then- selves from the dreary consciousness of hopeless misery; b self-destruction. There dawns not a morning of the three hundred and sixty-five days of our year, in which the functionary ap pointed to take charge of such matters, in London and Paris, may not, if he should give himself the trouble to think on the subject, feel the most peifect assurance, as he rises out or bed, that there is work provided for him in his line of busi ness for that day. Vice and misery are his unfailing cater ers ; and it is probable that accustomed to the raga ility of suicide in every conceivable form, this worthy person a • - •• - • - - enters upon the daily labours of his vocation, with the least possible amount of disturbance from any sensitive or senti mental causes. A very short course of experience in his office, most likely, sufficed to present him with a recurrence of the same agencies ending in similar results. Here the lifeless corse of a once fair and lovely being dragged from the river, and laved in the dead-house, awaits his inspection, and the examination of evidence. It is a sad sight, and the story is a lamentable one ; but your Coroner is well versed in these affairs, and seems all up in a few words, as thus—love, se duction, a career of infamy, destitution, suicide. He has no time for further particulars ; there is another corse lying for him in another part of the town, and he must not keep gen tlemen waiting ; so away he goes. And here there is a dif ferent form of that quietus which the impatient of injury, calamity, or suffering procure for themselves ; here a gentle man in a well-furnished house, with no apparent want of friends or comforts, and a man of good repute in the world, has terminated his existence by a pistol shot, and great is the wonder—loud the lamentation of relatives and anxious inquirers ; but again, your man of business is on the wing, there he perceives that, however fair things might have looked on the outside, there was a certain derangement of affairs within that dreaded disclosure, and portended bank ruptcy—that the picture was appalling to one who had been long accustomed to a certain degree of consideration in so ciety, and that to escape its realities, he had merely taken that irrevocable steps which thousands have rashly done before. Your inquisitor of self-destroyers must again be moving; the gaming table, penury, crimes of various kinds, remorse, bodily anguish, blighted hopes,— " The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, • The pangs of despised love, the law's delay"— and many other heart-stinging incidents have provided more subjects for him ; so he just briefly jots down each case, and by a prudent economy of time, speech, and sensibility, gets through his work. " Englishmen in November" did for a long space enjoy unenviable distinction in this ungracious mode of making their exit from sublunary affairs; but late statistics of crime prove that they no longer possess a monopoly in this re spect. It now appears that the suicidal mania is quite as common among our lively neighbours the French, as it is among ourselves, and if we were to travel to other old states, we dare say it would he ascertained that this great act of re bellion against the Most High, is by no means monopolised by either. The tendency of states as they advance in years and com plexity of internal relation, is to corruption ; they rise and fall, flourish and decay—and have their epochs as the life of an individual. This crime increases as others do in the crowded city—in a high degree of luxury and refinement, lust for the reason that the temptations which lead to it are more common in such circumstances. It will, of course, be more rare in the earlier stages or society, or in a new state—such as the North American republic—where the field of ertter prize is still wide, and where, as we have said, scarcely any re verse of fortune, leaves a man entirely hopeless. It onlyre mains to inquire how it continues to prevail, as if the opinion of society had undergone no change, since it was regarded, at least by soine, as a virtue rather than a necessity. " Self murder," says our excellent Blackstone, " the pretended heroism, but real cowardice of the stoi c phil osop h ers , w h o destroyed themselves to avoid those ills which they had not the fortitude to endure, though the attempting it seems to be countenanced by the civil law,* yet was punished by the Athenian law with cutting off the band which' committed the desperate_ deed. And also the laws of England wisely and religiously consider, that no man bath a power to destroy life, but by commission from God, the author of it : and, as the suicide is guilty of a double offence; one spiritual, in in vading the prerogative of the Almighty, and rushing into his immediate presence uncalled for; the other temporal, against the king, who hath an interest in the preservation of all his subjects—the law has therefore ranked this among the highest crimes—attaching to it the penalty of an ignominious burial in the highway, with a forfeiture to the king of all the suicide's goods and chattels. The party must be of years of discretion, and in his senses, else it is no crime. But this excuse ought not to be strained to that length to which our coroner's juries are apt to carry it, viz., that the very act of suicide is an evidence of insanity; as if every man who acts contrary to reason, has no reason at all : for the same argu ment would prove every other criminal non compos, as well as the self-murderer." Our laws then give their support to the divine canon against self-slaughter, but whether in the manner wisely—is a point concerning which we may reason ably entertain somedoubt. Certain it is, that the coroner's inquest now does rarely any more than ascertain the cause and manner of the death, without giving to it that descrip tion which would involve those penalties which the law at taches to thefe/o de se. Juries are induced to stretch their consciences rather than be instrumental in giving efficacy to a statute which inflicts its :punishment on surviving friends and relatives—that is to say, upon the innocent rather than the guilty—whom, indeed, it cannot reach. The statute could only have been intended to operate as a terror to the meditators of the crime • but if the statute be rarely or never enforced, that terror, whatever it might have amounted to at any period, must have ceased altogether, and the law become a dead letter. We would not say that human laws may not, in some few instances, have an effect in checking the impi ous intent ; we can conceive a man with little fear of God before his eyes, who might be deterred from laying violent hands on himself, solely by regard to that loss of property which he would entail upon his family by the deed ; but such cases have ever been, and will probably continue to be, ex ceedingly rare compared with the great mass in which hu man laws must be wholly inefficacious. The man who makes up his mind to destroy himself, must, generally speaking, have but small regard to any consequences that may follow in this life, after he has ceased to be. There can be no effec tual terror against this madness, but that of an eventual reckoning at the dread tribunal of an angry God. Else, as our inimitable bard has argued— " Who would fardels bear To groan and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death— The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns—puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of ?" That Christianity has done much to mitigate this, as well as innumerable other evils in the world, there cannot be the smallest doubt; and we can only say that it would be miich more efficacious if its principles were more widely diffused. Of all the systems ever proposed to mankind—not to speak profanely—it is that which peculiarly and above all others offers balm to hurt minds, and teaches the way to heaven through patient suffering, and consequently presents at once the only true antidote to that poison which lurks insidiously in the veins, and ferments in the mind when calamities be come suggestive of suicide. It is the genuine elixir vitce for old as well as new communities, and happily sets at nought, as an element with which the world is as yet hut imperfectly acquainted, all old calculations upon the decrepitude or de cadence of kingdoms. * Si quis impatientia doloris, aut twdio vitae, aut morbo, aut furore, ant pudore, mod maluit, non animadvertavit in eum.—Pf. 49. 16. 6. A NOTE UPON READING-ST. CAVANAGH ! (BY AST OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR.) —" And so ended the adventures of Bernard Cavanagh, the pretended teetotal abstainer from all kinds of meat and drink whatsoever" !—We begin at the end—we will not say the wrong end—for if every knave were to have his due, far should we be from saying that this fasting impostor did not meet his desert at the hands of the magistrates of Reading. But there was something in the wind-up of the hi s t ory — and we own we have been troubled with some scruples on the subject. Perhaps we may find relief by giving them utter ance in the Standard; at all events we shall try. We were startled then, in the first place, b y fi n di ng that the knave who had freely practised his.art s in the great towns of Dublin and Liverpool, and even in the huge " wen" itself. and passed unscathed, the several ordeals of magistracy therein, should have been reserved for capture and commit tal in the comparatively obscure locality of Readi ng . W e feared that the worshipful justices of this borough had taken too much upon themselves ; we were not sure of the sound ness of their law, and we concluded either that the well-paid functionaries of Liverpool, Dublin, and London, had been singularly remiss, or that the "authorities" of the borou g h aforesaid had been remarkably vigilant, astute, and atte n ti ve . But it may perhaps he said, a rogue is no rogue till he is found out, and that neither in Liverpool, Dublin, nor Lon don, did any such curious, pertinacious, officious, detections, and obstinate old ferret of a person present him or herselfon the stage, as the female at Reading where searching optics in disguise could deceive, who knew her man through the patch on his eye, the kerchief tied round his head, and other vain attempts to mark his saintship's mug—and, finally, never let go the " patch" till she had convicted him, to the entire sa tisfaction of an admiring world, of buying bacon and saveloys with villainous intent to devour the same, and satisfy the cravings of his hunger, like an ordinary mortal! The Ro man capital was saved by the cackling of a goose, and Read ing owes a prodigious degree of renown to this lynx-eyed fe male ; but her evidence, after all, was deficient in one par ticular. She did not SEE the dissembler eat the saveloys, and chew the bacon with his own undissembled jaws. Here was a hiatus of which the rogue took immediate advantage, saying, that though he bought, he never did eat the articles of which he confessed himself guilty of purchasing; so that, after all, the proof of his being an eater, like other men, rests only upon circumstantial evidence. It is true that surgeon Bulley, of Reading, did afterwards most sa tisfactorily, and as it were, by the strength of his horns, ascertain that the seraphin St. Bernard could no more do without food—was, in short, no more a chamelion than the learned lancet himself ; this he brought out to a demon stration ; but what then ?—is not this something like hang ing a man first and trying him afterwards ? The unfortunate saint had, at this time already suffered martyrdom on the wheel for the very crime of whose commission the evidence would appear to have been still incomplete ! Now, we do not mean to say that the Reading bench did not draw a legitimate conclusion from the premisesestablished before thaw, which, we think, amounted to somewhere about these, viz.,—that Bernard and his company had visited their good town us vagabonds and strollers—much like a company of poor players who " strut and fret their hour upon the stage ", actually, and not figuratively, or a band of itine rant mountebanks, showmen, tumblers, or others who live upon the wonder—having propensities of our common nature —that he offered himself, in consideration of a small:quodam honorarium, to the gaze of all curious Readingites—as the ' most wonderful fasting man as vos ever seen in those parts' —that he was drawing houses—making fools, and filling his coffers by this device ; and that while carrying on this trade. and " doing the curiosity" with great effect, as a teetotal abstainer from all natural sustenance, he was suddenly caught in the act of secretly, and, as it were, furtively, buying sub stantial edibles with a view to their consumption by and upon his own proper person—thereby proving the fallaciousness, or, perhaps, we should say, the verity of his pretences as a genuine Romish saint; from all which sayingsand doings the worshipful bench declared the aforesaid Bernard and his company to be incorrigible cheats, rogues, and vagabonds, and pronounced upon them a sentence of board and lodging at her majesty's ex pen s e, w ith a quantum sufficit of exercise on the treadmill to aid digestion, and promote sleep. Now, we neither dispute the premises aforesaid, nor would we raise any cavil (as we have intimated), concerning the strict justice of the conclusion, per se ; our difficulty arises from what appears to us to be the inequality of the law ; we have no objection to the penance appointed unto the pre tended lying wonder of the Pope's church ; but we are not leased that he should stand alone in his glory. Out upon let the law be equal ; whip us St. John Lings, the Morri . gabonds, say we ; but vanaghs, but let not tt ns, and the Mesme Bernard Cavan he was the creature of a system—' in one of its dark phases. Thai ordinary powers of abstinenc nclusively than TOese powers covered i trut abroad unpunished• as, of course, an impostor ; but he enfant troni4 of popery he possesses very extra nobody has proved more surgeon of Reading, him- Ate man, most likely, dis greatly heightened by the ire enjoined as meritorious in some, perhaps we Juld say, a great degree, the victim of his own ignorant Anaticism. The llornish.priests in Ireland at first encouraged and abetted him in his delusions both on himself and others ; they proclaimed his eudurabitities as a miracle providentially vouchsafed to do honour to their creed; in the course of time he ripened into a confirmed knave, and*then evincing evi dently more concern for his own emolutnentary interests than the pure honour and glory of mother church, their reverences discarded him. In what light they may look upon him now that he is put up in durance vile by stranger, and still worse by " heretic "- hands, we cannot exactly say; but we incline to think that they will take him into favour again ,te chttrc as one who had suffered for the faith. Notwithstanding the commendable promptitude of th e Reading magistrates, and the strict justice of their adjudica tion, we own. we do expect at some future day to se e the emancipated " Saint " upon the world again, and probably with increased eclat. He will have learned, like his com patriot the right honourable Lord Mayor of Dublin, how to drive " a coach and six " through the meshes of an act of. parliament, and to violate the law, without incurring it 6 penalties. At Reading he proved himself a novice in this respect, and is now paying for his inexperience ; but he maY mend his hand, and with, or without the assistance of some pettifogging attorney, easily learn to avoid such a casualty in future. And after all, if people will be fools, it may be as well to let them have their way •, the maxim of our law is caveat emptor—let the purchaser beware. Was the cannon against cheats to be generally enforced, what would become of half the quack doctors, false teachers, puffing traders, cozening hawkers, bubble speculators, and " rogues" ad infinitum, with which the world abounds? If every ;wog should have " justice," who would " escape whipping Liberty is a blessing whose preservation we must not ea' danger by a too vigorous, and after all perhaps fruitless, endeavour to guard the simple "against the consequence s O r their own folly. We may remember that though the fool " should be brayed in a mortar among wheat with a pestle' yet will not his foolishness depart from him." EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE OPERA TIVE CONSERVATIVES IN TOXTETH-PARK UPON THE EDUCATION QUESTION. On Tuesday evening, a meeting of the operative copse' vatives of North and South Toxteths, to which only voter!, were admitted, was held in Toxteth-h a li, f or th e purpose In expressing the opinions of that body upon the course pur sued. by the conservative memb e r s a t th e me eting of tP C town-council on the Ist of December, with respect to We corporation schools. Mr. JOHN SHEPPARD was called upon to preside ; and havin g briefly opened the business of the meeting, and explained the circumstances under which they had been called together, Mr. HARRISON ro s e t o p ro p ose th e fi rs t resolution, which would at once express, with ou t an y l eng th en ed preface o; his, the feelings w hi c h were en t er t a i ne d b y t h e c onservative s of the Park with respect to the proceedings of Wedn etclaY last. The meeting knew well what it was that for Year s they had been fighti ng f or —th e a d vantages o f a scriptur al education ; and alth oug h th ey were con fid en t th e conduct of their own members—one of whom he was glad to see pre sent—would be satisfactorily explained, as conservatives they had a right to be dissatisfied when they found the object for which they had struggled withheld from them. He therefore moved—" That this meeting has noticed with regret the ap parent schism amongst the conservative members of the town-council, at the meeting of that body on Wednesday, Dec. Ist ; and, in consequence, they are anxious to be made fully aware of the senti m e n t s o f th e represen tatives of theirwards on that important subject, ' the school question.' Mr. ROBERT M'CLAY seconded the res olution, and , In doing so, he did not at all suspect their member, Mr. Alex ander Sn:ith, of being lukewarm in the cause. That gen tleman had declared that he would support a scriptural Os: tem of educati on i n th e corporat i on schoo l s. Th e y fount' , however, that he had divided on Wednesday against their friend Mr. Harbord and the resolution of the Education Committee to do away with the present system, and they : thought that he ought t o s t a t e w h at were hi s v iews in doing. He had himself every confidence in Mr. Smith. so trusted tat he would be able to satisfy the meeting were about to have Christian education in the fear that of God , and that he would go to the cou nc il t o - morrow prepared to t • vote for it. The meeting had n o w i s h t o o ff en d either ut their members present—Mr. S m ith or M r . Harbord; hoped, on the contr a ry, to s t reng th en th e i r h an ds. He hirn self was not afraid o f i rreverence t owar d s th e Bible being created by its being placed i n th e h an d s o f children. Chr ist they himself had said that children should be taught to " read his statutes." He would never sanction the religion of popery being taught, or the Douay version of the Bible being tole rated, in the corporation schools ; for he would not be a party to teaching the children of any other man what he would not teach his own. In reply to a GENTLEMAN, who considered that the course pursued by the meeting was hasty, and that the votes of those conservative members of the council which had been given against the resolution of the present Education Committee to rescind all the regulations of the late committee , wa s q uite justified u n d er the circumstances that many members of the council had never read those resolutions, Dr. HARBORD explained the circumstances by which the operative conservatives of the Park had been induced to take that course. They had been taunted by their enemies on every side, and told that they had been deserted by their re presentatives in the council on this question. The resolution was then passed unanimously. Mr. SANSON then rose to move the next resolution, viz.-- " That this meeting has viewed with d ee p regr et the conduc t of Mr. John Smith, the mis-called representative of the bur gesses of West Derby Ward ; and that this meeting stronglY. recommends to the aforesaid burgesses that they dernano Mr. John Smith's immediate resignation." The seec ke S contended that the conduct of Mr. J. Smith fully mer it ! this censure. He had gone into the council under conserva tive„ colours, and was now "going the whole hog" wi t ",, o c i o pery, which he proceeded to show by reading extracts , er various works, and amongst others, from the volumes of Dens, was one which could not with safety be propagated do a protestant country. It was th e d u t y o f t h e e l ecto rs t o their, duty even if th e e l ec t e d did not ; and although t hey would not attempt, an d h a d not a tt emp ted, to dictate, ."„ their representatives upo n genera l ques ti ons , y e t upon tin' one of Scriptural education they could allow of no surrend er ' (Applause.) Mr. YOUNG (an operative) briefly seconded the motion. He considered that it was awful to gull p ro t es t an t s with th e cry of " Th e Bibl e , th e whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible." Why should any one hesitate, he asked, upon this question ? IC he believed the Bible he would fear no man. A proposition was made to include other names in the re solution, which, however, was opposed by Mr. HAnnon°l the conservative member for North Toxteth, on the group,' that many of the gentlemen aimed at had erred from a mis understanding of the nature of the question before the coun cil. Mr. 1 - larbord contended that the course taken by th e Education Committee in rescinding the resolutions was strictly corre c t, an d i n t a ki ng it th e y h a d ac t e d u p o n the ad vice of the Town-clerk, who had advised them that t he) : could arrive at no goo d conclusion unless they first got rid of the voluminous ma s s of rules w ith w hi c h th e y were bese t. ~ Mr. Harbord' s exp l ana ti on was rece i ve d w i t h the fulles t satisfaction by the meeting. The resolution, after a short discussion upon a proposition. to modify its t erms , w hi c h th e meet i ng h owever w ould no t entertain, was ultimately passed in its original form. t h a t Mr. ALEXANDER SMITH then rose, and complainew the committee of th e o p era ti ves i n calling this meeting , an"' as it were, placin g hi m u p on hi s trial before his constituents, had acted with a want of courtesy towards him in not giving him sufficient noti ce b e f ore h an d o f t h e i r i ntent i on, to enable him to prepare himself fully with an explanation of his tirea sons for voting as h e did upon t h e e d ucat i on question. He was as staunch as any man upon the principle of religion? education. He was quite prepared to exclude from the schools the Douay version of the Bible, in which he found through out the sense perverted by notes to fsvour the views and th e doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. He should , se his constituents would see, if they gave him time, support 11 0 other system except one b ase d u p on th e reso l u ti o n which I s to have been p ro p ose d b y M r . D av id H o d gson , t h a t the schoo should be opened and closed with prayer, that the authorised version of the Bible should alone be freely used, and that the children of Church of England parents should be taught the church catechism, His reasons for voting as he did agains t the resolution of the Education Committee were, that he thought it inconsistent to rescind the former committee s resolutions without time being allowed for the members to have made themselves acquainted fully with them ; and e° many of his friends entertaining s i m il a r views, he though t any other course would damage the cause of education, as if he arid the others had voted differently, although they might have affirmed the course taken by the committee, yet theY, would have done so by so sm a ll a majority, that he preferre d virtually postponing the question, as was the case by the result of the course which he took, and which he would take again under similar circumstances. He was confident that to-morrow the conservative body would have no Cause left to complain of him or the friends who voted with him, and that the question would be decided by the result of Mr. Bolton's motion, which he anticipated would be defeated by a majoritY of at least twenty. Mr. Smith having concluded, The CHAIRMAN rose and said, I beg to make a remark touching that part of Mr. Alexander Smith's speech wher e he alludes to a want of courtesy—indeed I think he ha s reason to complain—in not having been sent a copy of the resolution bearing upon the subject under discussion previ ous to his coming to this meeting. Now, I must observe, that the first time I heard of the meeting was this m orning ; on my way to atte n d m y d u ty as a p oor -l aw guar di a n. I w ag accosted by a gentleman who asked if I h a d rec eived a El i e to attend he r e thi s even i ng . I rep li e d i n t h e nega ti v e. El. then reque s t e d m y a tt en d ance , an d 1 promised it. I h a p," done so, and was urged upon my entr ance t o t a k e t h e char; This honour I at first declined, feeling that as I was not 7. member of the association, some p erson b e l o nging to th e; " body should preside; but again was solicited, and withonw, further hesitation complied. How could 1 have done other wise when I reflected upon the many acts of kindness shown towards me by the conse rva ti ve e l ectors of North an d South Toxteth Wards? And allow me here, gentlemen, to sat e that upon no occa s i on h ave I f elt your kindness towar ds to greater than upon a recent one, when confined to my h °Lise t by indispositio n — unso li c i ted by me ; for indeed I did desire the hono ur —M any of you got up a memor i a l to te` conservative members of the Town Council, requesting th e r e to appoint me an alderman, for that in your estimation ii ° % deserved it bett er . I h ave been informed the memorial was presented, but that ere it reached its destination the copse` vative alderman had been selected. Once more 1 thank pour and pr a y rest assured, that whether it he in this tow n °r elsewhere, y ou will always find me manfully supporting t he Protestant principles of protestant England. Mr. INMAN rose to propose the next resolution this meetin g b egs l eave to express its unqualified approbatnlf of, and its confidence in, the conservative representatives their wards upon this occasion, feeling convinced, from their. well-known conservati ve an d Prorestant principles, that the: , : conduct will always be in strict accordance with their pr inel pies,"--which was passed nem. con. Thanks were then voted to the chairman by acclamati,°, l3 ; when, having left the chair, he said that he could not allu ir his brother conservatives to disperse without calling th e ... attention to the assistance which they had on all occasioPe: derived from the conservative press of the town. He there - fore moved.—" That the thanks of this meeting be g iven the conservative press of this town for the zealous co-01 1 .e7,,, tion in the good cause, and it pledges itself to support there every lawful means." The resolution having been seeonded by Mr. Roh e d re , Cottin, and carried by accla mation, w as briefly acknowl edge on the part of the cons ervative press , by a gentlem an fro this office, and the meeting then broke up. th e GOVERNOR. OF PRESTON G AOL . —C ap t a i n A n thony,. governor of the Preston House of Correction, has r e notice of his wish to retire from his office in March nes' .. We have authority to condradict a paragraph which 1111 :1 appea red in several of th e pu bli c j o u r n a l s , th a t his 11 1 3 ,1 Hi g hness the Duke of S ussex i s a bout t o res i g n the Gr a b i ll Mastership of the ancient order of Freemasons. ll at „ Royal Highness h as no suc h i n t en ti on i s ev ident wa e " r t he state that he Was unan i mous l y propose d at a mee ting T ile d Grand Lodge on W e d nes d ay l ast t o fill th e distingins office for the ensuing year.—London Times. 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