The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-11-04 00:00:00

OLD FRIENDS! BY MRS. CRAWFORD Old friends ! old friends! the dear old friends That time has swept away ! Ah ! what can make the heart amends For the friends of life's young day ? Oh I they were the fixed stars of lore, That never left their sphere, The beacon lights that shone above Our life's dark paths to cheer Old frier Old friends ! old fr 1 old friends ! , nds t can we forget len prim^ Those days of When round our i hearths we met, I our merry voice's chime the old hall ring to the roof with joy .... As we sang the songs of yore, Or danced to the strain of the harper boy On the bright old oaken 11oor. Old friends ! old frie Old friends ! old friends 1 as time rolls on, We miss them more and more; Those halls are dark where once they shone, And closed the friendly door ; While colder seems the stranger's eye, As we pass on earth's dull way, And think, with mem'ry's rising sigh, Of the friends of We's young day Old friend old friends 1 LITERATURE --0--- Booms FOR REVIEW. &c.—New Books, Prints, Music, &c., intended for review, may be left at Mr. C. Mitchell's, Red lion-court, Feet-street, London, addressed " to the Editor of the LIVERPOC,LSTANDARD," when they will be forwarded, and receive attention. Murray's Reading for the Rail. Essays from the Times, London : John Murray. It has often been a matter of regret to all who take an interest in the conservation of 1 erary productions of sterling merit, that the brilliant essays, ingenious criti tisms, and learned commentaries which appear from time to time in the principal journals of this country, should be consigned to oblivion after a day's, or at most a week's existence before the public eye. Some of these epheme ral essays and reviews contain more original thoughts, lame profound reflections, more wit, mere philosophy, than one half the books printed, and bound, and placed in libraries as standard works of reading and reference. 3dr. Murray, with that enterprise which distinguishes him among publishers, has shared in the regret, and has taken Steps to remove the cause of it, so far at least as one jour- mai is concerned. Having adopted a valuable suggestion, that a series of sound moral and instructive works, in a convenient and cheap form, was most desirable, he has /carried it out in the most liberal and enlightened manner, by preparing and publishing his " Readings for the Rail." The principle upon which the selection of subjects for this popular series is founded, is the dispersion of entertaining information and innocent amusement, such as may super sede and counteract the trivial and often immoral publica tions at present destroying the taste and corrupting the =orals of railway readers, more especially the young. The .first volume of the series is now before us, and contains eleven essays from The Times, being critical literary pa pers of great merit, which have appeared of late in that Journal. These essays are indeed well worth preserving in a book form. That on Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton is very interesting as a brilliant biography of two remark able characters ; and that on Dean Swift, Stella, and Vannessa, is still more interesting as the personal history of the eccentric, if not mad Dean, and his two famous must give an extract from this latter female friends t3Bay : DEAN SWIFT, STELLA, AND VANESSA " During Swift's visit to London in 1710, he had regularly transmitted to Stella, by which name Esther Johnson is made known to posterity, an account of his daily doings with the new government. The journal exhibits the view of the writer that his conduct invariably presents. It is full of tenderness and confidence, and not without coarseness that startles and shocks. It contains a detailed and minute account, not only of all that passed between Swift and the government, but of his changeful feelings as they arose from day to day, and of physi cal infirmities, that are commonly whispered into the ear of the physician. If Swift loved Stella in the ordinary accepts lion of the term, he took small pains in his diary to elevate the sentiments with which she regarded her hero. The journal is not in harmony throm; it lacks the tenderness and warmt' ...onfidential utter ance, that are so visible at the beginning. We are enabled to account for the difference. Swift had enlarged thecircle of his female acquaintance whilst fighting for his friends in London. He had become a constant visitor, especially, at the house of a Vanhomrigh, who had two daughters, the eldest of whom was about twenty years of age, and had the same Christian name as Stella. Esther Vanhomrigh had great taste for read ing, and Swift, who seems to have delighted in such occupation, condescended, for the second time in his life, to become a young lady's instructor. The great man's tuition had always one effect upon his pupils. Before Miss Vanhomrigh had made much progress in her studies she was over head and ears in love, and, to the astonishment of her master, she one day de clared the passionate and undying character of her attachment. Swift met the confession with a weapon far more potent when opposed to a political foe than when directed against the weak - heart of a doting woman. He had recourse to raillery, but, finding his banter of no avail, endeavoured to appease the un happy girl by ' an offer of devoted and everlasting friendship. founded on the basis of virtuous esteem.' He might with equal success have attempted to put out a conflagration with a bucket of cold water. There was no help for the miserable man. He returned to his deanery at the death of Queen Anne with two love affairs upon his hands, but with the stern resolution of encouraging neither, and overcoming both. Towards the dos I, the minuteness and "Before i q uittin g knr , land he wrote to Esther Vanhomrio• n h or Vanessa, as he styles her in his correspondence, intimating bis intention to forget everything in England and to write to her as seldom as possible. So far the claims of Vanessa were disposed of. As soon as he reached his deanery he secured lodgings for Stella and her compar ion, and reiterated his de termination to pursue his intercourse with the younglady upon the prudent terms originally established. So far his mind was sset at rest in respect of Stella But Swift had scarcely time to congratulate himself upon his plans before Vanessa presented herself in Dublin, and made known to the Dean her resolution •to take up her abode permanently in Ireland. Her mother was dead, so were her two brothers; she and her sister were alone in the world, and they had a small property near Dublin, to which it suited them to retire. Swift, alarmed by the pro ceeding, remonstrated, threatened, denounced—all in vain. Vanessa met his reproaches with complaints of cruelty' and neglect, and warned him of the consequences of leaving her without the solace of his friendship and presence. Perplexed and distressed, the Dean had no other resource than to leave -events to their own development. He trusted that time would mitigate and show the hopelessness of Vanessa's passion, and in the meanwhile lie sought, by occasional communication with her, to prevent any catastrophe that might resift from actual despair. But his thoughts for Va nessa's safety were inimical to Stella's repose. She pined and gradually 'ank under the alteration that had taken place in Swift's deportment towards her since his acquaintance with Vanessa. Swift, really anxious for the safety of his ward, requested a friend to ascertain the cause of her malady. It was not difficult to ascertain it. His indifference and public scan dal, which spoke freely of their unaccountable connexion, were alone to blame for her sufferings. It was enough for Swift. Ile had passed the age at which he had resolved to marry, but be was ready to wed Stella provided the marriage were kept secret and she was content to li7e apart. Poor Stella was more than content, but she over-estimated her strength. The mar riage took place, and immediately afterwards the husband withdrew himself in a fit of madness, which threw him into gloom and misery for days. What the motives may have been for the inexplicable stipulations of this wayward man it is im possible to ascertain. That they were the motives of a diseased, and at times utterly irresponsible, judgment, we think cannot be questioned. Of love, as a tender passion, Swift had no con ception. His writings prove it. The coarseness that pervades his compositions has nothing in common with the suscepti bility that shrinks from disgusting and loathsome images in which Swift revelled. In all his prose and poetical addresses to his mistresses there is not one expression to prove the weak ness of his heart. He wri‘es as a guardian—he writes as a friend—he writes as a father, but not a syllable escapes him that can be attributed to the pangs and delights Of the lover. 4, Married to Stella, Swift proved himself more eager than ever to give to his intercourse with Vanessa the character of mere friendship. He went so far as to endeavour to engage her affections for another man, but his attempts were rejected with indignation and scorn. In the August of the year 1717, Vanessa retired from Dublin to her house and property near -Cellbridge. Swift exhorted her to leave Ireland altogether, but she was not to be persuaded. In 1720, it would appear that the Dean frequently visited the recluse in her retirement, and ( - upon such occasions Vanessa would plant a laurel or two in honour of her guest, who passed his time with the lady reading and writing verses in a rural bower built in a sequestered part of her garden. Some of the verses composed by Vanessa have been preserved. They breathe the fond ardour of the suffering maid, and testify to the in erturbabli coldness of the man. .k. ..e innocence of their intercourse inere cannot be a doubt. In 1720, Vanessa lost her last remaining relative—her sister died in her arms. Thrown hack upon herself by this bereave ment, the intensity of her love for the Dean became insupport able. Jealous and suspicious, and eager to put an end to a terror that possessed her, she resolved to address herself to Stella, and to ascertain from her own lips the exact nature of ber relations with her so-called guardian. The momentous question was asked in a letter, to which Stella calmly replied by informing her interrogator that she was the Dean's wife. - Vanessa's letter was forwarded by Stella to Swift himself, and it roused him to fury. He rode off at once to Cellbridge, en tered the apartment in which Vanessa was seated, and glared upon her like a tiger. The trembling creature asked her visitor to sit down. He answered the invitation by flinging a packet on the table, and riding instantly away. The packet was opened; it contained nothing but Vanessa's letter to Stella. Her doom was pronounced. The fond heart snapped. In a few weeks the hopeless, desolate Vanessa was in her grave. " Swift, agonised, rushed from the world. For two months subsequently to the death of Vanessa his place of abode was unknown. But at the end of that period he returned to Dublin calmer for the conflict he had undergone. He devoted himself industriously again to affairs of State. His pen had now a nobler office than to sustain unworthy men in unmerited power. We can but indicate the course of his labours. Ire land, the country not of his love, but of his birth and adoption; treated as a conquered province, owed her rescue from absolute thraldom to Swift's great and unconquerable exertions on her behalf. He resisted the Enligh government with his single band, and overcame them in the fight. His popularity in Ireland was unparalleled even in that excited and generous hearted land. Rewards were offered to betray him, but a mil lion lives would have been sacrificed in his place before one would have profited by the patriot's downfall. He was wor shipped, and every hair of his head was precious and sacred to _the people who adored him. "In 1726, Swift revisited England, for the first time since .the death of Queen Anne, and published, anonymously as usual, the famous satire of Gulliver's Travels. Its immediate success heralded the universal fame that masterly and singular work has since achieved. Swift mingled once more with his literary friends, and lived almost entirely with Pope. Yet courted on all sides he was doomed again to bitter sorrow. News reached him that Stella was ill. Alarmedyatande people l p o le f self-reproaches, he hastened hom e to be re ceived b of Ireland in triumph, and to meet —and he was grateful for the sight—the improved and welcoming looks of the woman for whose dissolution he had been prepared. In March, 1727, Stella being sufficiently recovered, the Dean ventured once more to England, but soon to be resummoned to the hapless couch of his exhausted and most miserable wife. Afflicted in body and soul, Swift suddenly quitted Pope , with whom he doomed to _residing at Twickenham, and reaching his borne, was to find his Stella upon the verge of the grave. Till the last moment he continued by her bedside, evincing the tenderest consideration, and performing what consolatory tasks he mi g ht in the sick chamber. Shortly before her death part of a_co_n_- versation W between the melancholy pair was overheard. Well, my dear,' said the Dean, if you wish it, it shall be owned.' Stella's reply was given in few words. 'lt is too late.' On the 28th of January,' writes one of the biographers of Swift, Mrs. Johnson closed her weary pilgrimage, and passed to that land where they neither marry nor are given in marriage,' the second victim of oue and the same hopeless and consuming passion. "Swift stood ~lone in the world, and for his punishment was doomed to endure the crashing solitude for the space of seven. teen years. The interval WRII gloomy indeed. From his youth the Dean had been subject to pailful fits of giddiness and denfness. From 1736, these fits became more frequent and severe. In MO, he went raving mad, and frenzy ceased only to leave him a more pitiable idiot. During the space of three years the poor creature was unconscious of what passed around him. and spoke but twice. Upon the 19th of October, 1745, God mercifully removed the tersible spectacle, from his misery, degradation, and shame." The papers on Southey, of which there are two in this collection, era, if less amusing than thOse.above noticed, more valuable. Here is a passage in which is elucidated SOUTHEY'S DISLIKE OF SCIENTIFIC MEN "It is impossible to Y deny that the grave and fatal fault of Southey's character was want of reflection. It is painful to note the countless evidences of the failing. Never has there been so clear a proof given of the worthlessness of inordinate labour unaccompanied by the constant exercise of superintend ing judgment. Southey gave so much time to the minds of other men that he seems never to have had a moment to look into his own. Nothing thoroughly distinct and perspicuous can be ascertained of either his political or religious convictions, and solely because neither the one set of views nor the other was based upon well matured principles, or resulted from a severe, though absolutely essential, process of thought, Southey re treated from hard mental discipline. His likes and his dislikes depended upon no fixed rules. but partook of the nature of his own mixed temperament. He is not, it is true, all things to all men, but all men and all things before finding acceptance with him must adapt themselves to his prejudices and prepos,es sions. Hence at different times of his life, we find him a free thinker, a Unitarian, an orthodox believer, and a heterodox churchman; a socialist, a republican, a determined opnonent of Roman Catholic claim's, a stickler for the rights of con science, a party man, a Tory, and a merciless castigator of the powers that were. Is it not extraordinary that, possessing an astounding memory from his childhood and no ordinary powers of perception, he could by no ingenuity grasp the prin ciples of law, and was forced to give up the study in disgust? It would be inexplicable but for the acknowledgment, made ever and over again in these volumes, that Southey hated science and scientific men, and therefore shrunk from a pur suit that brought hint continually in contact with the objects of his dislike. I once passed an evening,' he writes, with Professor Young at Davy's. The conversation was wholly scientific. Generally speaking I have little liking for men of science. Their pursuits seem to deaden the imagination and harden the heart.' Again, in a letter to Mr. Townsend:—' As a geologist you will enjoy one more pleasure than 1 do, who am ignorant of every branch of science. Mineralogy and botany are the only braLches which I wish I had possessed. These two sciences add to our out-door enjoyments and have no injurious effects. Clomical and physical studies seem, on the contrary, to draw on veru prejudicial consequences. Their utility is not to be doubted ; but it appears as ;f man could not devote h , ntself to these pursuits without blunting his finer faculties.' Once more, with reference to the great Sir Humphry Davy—' These scientific men are, indeed, the victims of science : they sacrifice to it their own feelings and virtues and happiness.' Can any conclusions be more monstrous, or indicafe r more certainly utter want of reflection upon the part of the man bold enough to utter them?" The first volume of Murray's " Readings for the Rail" amply fulfils the design of the publisher. Half Hours of .English History. Selected and Illus trated by Charles Knight. London C. Knight. The design of this publication is to give a half-hour's reading narrative of each of the more graphic parts of English history, in succession, chronologically arranged. Thus those striking portions of the history of our coun try, upon which general renders, and the young especially, delighted to dwell, and in which some incident or y is complete in itself, and capable of popular illus tration, are presented in an attractive form, and with a dramatic effect. The design is so far well carried out. 'ler down to the battle of Evesham. The articl of are taken from eood sources A chronology rincipal events at the end serves to freshen the me ory, and is a useful accompaniment to the half-hour's historical entertainment. Knight's Pictorial Shakspeare. National Edition London : Charles Knight, We have Parts 22 and 23 of this carefully.printed and nicely-illustrated edition of Shakspeare's plays before us, and we can conscientiously recommend the work for accuracy of text, and for general excellence as a popular and cheap copy of the comedies and traeedies of our great dramatist. Part 22 contains The Winter's Tale, complete, and Part 23 The Tempest. The introductory remsrks to each play, the foot-notes explanatory of the text, and the notices relating to costume, &c., are written with Mr. Knight's usual discrimination and antiquarian learning. When complete, this edition of Knight's Pictorial Shakspeare wili be indeed a " national" one. On the Ordinance of Baptism as it was instituted of God, kc. By Seacombe Ellison. London : Simpkin, Mar- shall, and Co. This is a zealous and able elucidation of the ordinance of baptism, according to the author's views ; in which he contends that the observance of baptism by water is neces sary according to the declarations and promises of the gospel, for entering into covenant with the Lord and into fellowship with the Apostles. In expounding the subject he.quotes largely of the sacred Scriptures, and glances at some of the different opinions professed by various preachers of the present day. Statistical Chart of the Principal Commercial Countries of the World. By Leoni Levi. London : Simkin and Co This is a most useful sheet-chart to hang up in the merchant's counting-house for ready reference on all occasions. It is compiled from the most authentic sources and latest accounts, and it shows at a glance the superfi cial area in English square miles, the population, the revenue in pounds sterling, the expenditure in pounds stealing, the public debt in pounds sterling, the manufac tures, the produce, the mines, the imports in pounds sterling, the exports in pounds sterling, and the shipping, of the principal commercial countries in the world. There is besides some miscellaneous information respecting the railway system and monies, weights, measures, &c.. in a supplemental column. We have every reason to believe that the chart is carefully compiled, and it certainly pre sents at one view an immense amount of commercial information. The Chess-Player's Pocket Companion. By Samuel Comyn, of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law. London : Simpkin, Marshall and Co The game of chess is almost as difficult a study as that of the laws of England, though probably it is not so dry a one. Mr. Comyn thinks it, however, sufficiently amu sing to devote to it the hours he snatches from Coke and Lyttelton and he has digested his various readings on the subject into a most compendious and, as far as we can judge, easily-understood abridgment, showing the learner the scientific modes of playing the game. Having been induced to make a selection from the almost innumerable variations in the different openings, and finding that he was greatly instructed thereby, he has presented in this little volume the fruit of his laborious study to those who are unable to find leisure to perform the task for them selves. In order to render this chess•player's manual as complete as possible, he has divided it into five parts. The first contains the introduction and the laws of the game; the second, a synopsis of the ordinary openings, with observations thereon ; the third, some of the most desirable modes of attack, with the best defences for the second player to adopt, including the best mode of eva ding the king's gambit; the fourth is devoted to the king's gambit ; and the fifth contains a few of the endings of the game. The students of the ingenious and fascina ting game of chess will derive much instruction from this " pocket companion," On the Prevention and Cure of Spinal Curvatures, and Deformities of the Chest and Limbs. By Mrs. Godfrey, Liverpool. London : John Churchill. A work on surgery by a lady is an uncommon thing in this country, although in America several have appeared, which for scientific knowledge, combined with good sense, are equal to many published by the professional practi tioners of the male sex. Mrs. Cioarrey has had great ex perience in the treatment of spinal and other deformities, and has bad an amount of success corresponding with her large practice ; and she has considered it her duty to com municate to the world the observations she has made on the leading cases submitted to her skill, and to propagate the theory she has based on a close anatomical study, and on a careful attention to the symptoms and cure of a nu merous close of patients. Her treatise is one of great value to medical men, as expounding the mode of treat ment which she found to produce the most beneficial re sults, and as suggesting a theory, reasonable and well supported, which, if generally admitted and adopted, would explain the causes of spinal deformities, and con sequently tend very much to their diminution and cure. The treatise is of still greater importance to parents and young persons themselves, than to surgical professors, for it informs them how these curvatures of the spine, the chest, and the limbs, so numerous and distressing, may be prevented by a due attention to exercise, diet, mental exertion, and dress. On these points Mrs. Godlrey's work is particularly well worth consulting, and she has taken care to fortify the rules she recommends by the opi nions of some of the most eminent doctors of the day. We could wish to make a few extracts touching the ill effects of tight lacing, immoderate and unnatural exercises, and improper diet, on young and delicate frames; but we must refer our readers to the book itself. Here is, how ever, a hint that young mothers would do well to attend to:— "If the babe is made to sit up, the body is bent forward, the chest is pressed by the nurse's hand, and the back bowed ; causing a depression of the inside of the spine, and an enlarge ment of the joints on the outside. Infants should therefore be placed in the recumbent posture until the end of the first month ; and, if delicate, to the end of the second; and then should not be allowed to sit up long together. "Great care should also be paid to the manner of their lying in bed, in order that they may not lie either with their heads high, or without a pillow; some have erred through these extremes, which cause the head to fall over the top of the shoulder." THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1851. -..-- MEXICAN Lo GI c.—The ex-Governor of Massachusetts delivered an address at a late examination of the pupils of the State normal school. Towards the close, he gave the " old bachelors" a sound rating, particularly those of them who grumble at being taxed for educating other people's children. "Amlto be taxed to support children not my own ?" grumbles the old bachelor. ' Certainly." " But I have no children of my own." "So much the worse; you ought to have them." " But I have no wife." " Bad again ; you ought to have a wife, and children into the bargain ! Ana not having a wife, which no good man ought to be without, and no children, which are also ne cessary, you deserve to be doubly taxed. Go and present your case to some good lady, as one fit for her sympathy, and if you are deserving of it, you will certainly find it." A Refutation of the Charge of Imposition and Fraud against the Baroness Von Beck. By Constant Derra De Moroda. London : Richard Bentley. There is no people on the face of the earth so preyed upon by foreigners, good, bad, and indifferent, as the English. Singing Italians, guitar-strumming Spaniards, rebellion-preaching Poles, anti-Christianity-propagating Germans, all-levelling Franks, and all•contaminating Huns; in short, the refuse and the scum of all nations— Ambubiarunz colleaia, Pbarmacopitce, mimi, balatrones, id genus omne—are welcomed to our shores, and taken to our hearths and bosoms with a warmth and confidence that the unfortunate, the talented, and the unpresuming of our own countryfolk, never experience, Should the intruding foreigner introduce himself with a eoundin.a title—should be call himself Marquis, or Duc, or Count, or Baron—his reception is all the more certain and enthu siastic. He is taken for what he chooses to have himself designated on his card ; and he is addressed, and fondled, and fed, and harboured, as an " illustrous nobleman un der a cloud," whom it is the duty of all generous-hearted Englishmen to succour, and comfort, and even reward. We denounce from our souls this mania for foreign exiles, as well as the mania for all other foreign importations in preference to the home article ; but we fear it is a part of the constitution of an Englishman to be gullible, that he takes a sort of pleasure in being gulled, and that he will be gulled to the end of the chapter. However, it is one thing to err on the side of over-generosity, and another to sin on the side of cruelty and oppression. The case of the Baroness von Beck is one of the most singularly in human, disgraceful, nn-English, and, we may fearlessly add, unlawful, ever recorded in this country since it be came free. This woman, whether a baroness or not, was unquestionably gifted with rare literary abilities, was ac complished in the arts of society, and was ladylike and in offensive in her habits of life. She was received with open arms by those who ought to have examined her cre dentials in the first instance; she was acknowledged as one who had rendered most important and perilous ser vices to her country ; her brilliant and captivating book, which did much to draw attention and to enlist English sympathies in the " cause of Hungary," as it is called, was allowed to circulate through England, France, and the Continent generally, with her name in full on the title-page, and ample details of her rank, her missions, and her connexions within. For upwards of a year, while the "patriots" of Hungary were benefiting by this lady's popular literary productions, not a word was breathed in contradiction of the name, the fame, and the merit she publicly, and in the face of all Europe, made claim to. Nay, even the leading Hungarian authority here vouched for her respectability. But all at once, when she an nounced her intention to publish a second work, which the patriots feared might not be so flattering to their va nity, or so likely to raise up rich friends and contributors to their comfort in exile, as the first, she was denounced as an arrant impostor, si:e was branded as a spy--she, the confidante of the hero Kossuth, an Austrian spy !—and was dragged before an English police-court on a false charge of imposition and fraud, which could not be sus tained for a moment. The barbarity and treachery practised by Hungarian on Hungarian we might not much marvel -at, but we confess we were both astonished and ashamed at the treatment this poor sickly, broken-down, enthu siastic, and gifted woman received from our own country men. Betrayed under the mask of friendship into the hands of enemies, dragged like a murderess from a draw ing-room, in a light evening -dress, and at night, to a gaol. Left there to expire of the concentrated pangs of shame, of indignation, and of a sense of outrage which happily in this country has no name. Her troubles are over ; but what must be the remorse of those who thus persecuted her to the death ? " Though those that are betrayed Do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor Stands in worse case of woe !" Talk of the Inquisition ; this atrocious violation of all de cency, and this mock tri 1 at the Birmingham police court, after the intended victim had become a corps; out did any Inquisition that ever before WIIS heard of. For tunately for the poor lady's memory, she left one behind her able and ready to vindicate it. Her secretary, M. Constant Derra De Moroda, has just published a refuta tion of the charges in the Birmingham police-court—a refutation that is altogetherlbased on documentary evi dence, and which therefore is unassailable. He adduces the letters of Daniel von Kaszonyi, late first lieutenant in the Hungarian army, and adjutant of Major Ladislaus von Ujhazi; of Count Paul Esterhazy ; of the late Minister of Justice in the Hungarian Government; of Thade Tdzi kowski, late colonel of the Polish Legion in Hungary; of Wolfgang von Kemeny, late colonel in the Hungarian army ; of Alexander Strauss, late lieutenant of pioneers in the Hungarian army ; of Xavier Gorsky, late aide-de camp to General Bern ; and several other persons—all of whom attest to the identity of the Baroness, and vouch for the truthfulness of her representations. In our opi nion these evidences are conclusive. But we will give our readers an extract or two, and let them judge for them selves. Daniel von Kaszonyi makes this declaration In conclusion, I have still to declare, that if any doubt could exist in my mind as to the reality of the Baroness von Beck's services, and as to her identity, it would have been completely removed by the declaration of M. von Duka, late adjutant of General Arthur von Gorgey, who stated, in the presence of Cottnt Paul Esterhazy, Lieutenant-Colonel von Juhasz, the Rev. Hyacinth von Ronay, Constant von Derra, and myself, on the lst of september, 1851, that " although he did not like to give anything in writing, yet was he ready to declare, that, during the War of Independence in Hungary, he had never heard the Baroness von Beck named otherwise than as the Baroness von Beck; and also that, under this title, he had frequently announced her to the aforesaid general. Fur ther, that he had never even once heard the name Racidula ; but that the Baroness von Beck was frequently mentioned as having done many and important services to the Hungarian arm y." Colonel Thade Idzikowski, addressing the Baroness from Paris, on August 28, thus writes to her:— " I am, expecting, with the greatest impatience, the arrival of our Governor. According to the intelligence of the public pa pers, some new difficulties must have arisen regarding the libe ration of the Governor. But lam in hopes that circumstances will alter; and I have also confidence in you, Madame Baro ness, that your talent will aid. If I can be useful, lam ready to do all in my power. You will be so good as to write me a few words of hope. lam sure you will not deny me, for I have in this short time learned to know your magnanimous heart and your energy. " hope ! and courage ! I beg you most respectfully to accept my high esteem. 6 " IDZIKOWSKI, Mall. prop. " P.S.—I greet all Hungarians who are true' to thefather land, and friends of Kossuth." Xavier Goraky, late aide-de-camp of General Bem, thus declares : " As a further proof, I do hereby declare, that when in De breczin, I saw, and, in the company of many gentlemen, spoke to the Baroness von Beck, who died at Birmingham, on the 30th of August, 1951. 1 met her again at Pesth, with the Mi nister von Csanyi, Colonel Danielis, Baron Lopreati (cavalry captain), and the Government Commissioner von Boronkay. On the 27th of July, whilst travelling as aide-de-camp from Clausenberg to Szegedin, I found Madame von Meszlenyi, Kossuth's sister, in Mad, from whence I travelled with her 10 Szegedin ; and she also spoke of the merits of the deceased Baroness von Beck. . -4 4;aii;entiW27th of July, I accompanied Kossuth's Mo ther from Oroszhiza to Arad ; on which occasion also the Ba roness von Beck was frequently remembered. " All the above-mentioned persons knew Der, and entitled her Baroness Beck. ---- i , In proof of this, my own hand and seal, and, if necessary, I will confirm it on oath." There is no need of other confirmation ; but we will quote a passage or two from a letter, written by a lady who had every opportunity of knowing whether the Baro ness was a gentlewoman or not in her manners, tastes, and converse : " I was introduced to her in Liverpool, and acted as her in terpreter in July last. The newspapers state, that she was of low origin and vulgar behaviour. As to her origin I cannot speak, but her behaviour was that of a lady; and those who could assert differently must themselves have been void of common sense. I have myself been well bred. I am a native of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, in Northern Germany. My father was in easy circumstances, and spared nothing on my education. My life has been a chequered one. I have mixed with gentle and simple of many nations ; but never have! seen, in my whole experience of life, a vulgar person behave with such ease and graceful self-possession as the poor lady in ques tion, under every circumstance was ''' 4 " introduced to the Baroness, as I have stated be fosre eI by a German '99 rCc"!c§to me to act a a Hungarian Baroness, who was seeking nt in erp J i u .e l t y er las i t o: subscribers for a work she was about to publish. She had let ters of introduction to some of the first families here. I con sented, and was introduced to her. She rose in a most lady. like manner, and received me with great courtesy, and said, with tears in her eyes, Will you, Madam, take pity on a poor exile, who is endeavouring to secure a living by her literary labours, to shield her from want, until fate may decree again that she return to her dear native country?' " And again : " I cannot believe that she was an impostor. I was intro duced to Mr. Hajnick, who asked me whether I believed she was a Baroness or not. My answer was :—` Why should I not believe it, when all the Hungarian gentlemen in London did not contradict her? Her work has undergone a second edi rtion ; and there is a letter, and a very flattering one, of Count Esterhazy, in it, which, if not genuine, would have been con tradicted How is it that all the Hungarians held their peace?' He answered me only with a laugh at first, and afterwards did not wish to resume the subject. But why not ?' I said. One thing I know, and that is, that Mr. Hajnick himself said that she had reconnoitered for them—that is, for the Hungarian army. Thus then has she served her country." A rigid investigation must take place of the transaction at the police-court ; and the authority upon which the arrest of the lady and her secretary was made, and the seizure and detention of their papers justified, must be shewn. Such illegal proceedings are not to be endured in England, whatever they may be in countries where " liberty, equa lity, and fraternity," are inscribed over the door of every public building. We trust, however, that the fair fame of the deceased will not again be assailed, and that those who broke her heart will be content with their too-success ful work. Pascitur iii vivis livor, post fata quiescit, " Dear sir," lisped a great lady in a watered silk at the World's Fair, " have the goodness to inform me if there are any noblemen in the United States !" " Yes, ma'am." answered a full-blown Jonathan, who was chewing off the beauties of a cream-freezer, " and I'm one of them." LIFE WITHOUT LOVE.—We sometimes meet with men who seem to think that any indulgence in an affectionate feeling is a weakness. They will return from a journey, and greet their families with a distant dignity, and move among their children with the cold and lofty splendour of an iceberg surrounded by its broken fragments. There is hardly a more unnatural sight on earth, than one of those families without a heart. A father had better extinguish a boy's eyes than take away his heart. Who that has experienced the joys of friendship, and values sympathy and affection, would not rather lose all that is beautiful in nature's scenery, than be robbed of the bidden treasure of his heart ? Cherish, then, your heart's best affections. Indulge in the warm and gus hing emotions of filial, pa rental, and fraternal love. THE LITERPOOL COUNTY COURT. The proceedings of the court during the week have attracted a great deal of attention and called forth much comment. Mr. Rantsbay seems to complain that he is not properly respected in his court, and that parties go there to swear to facts of which they personally know nothing. He has also alluded to the proceedings against him out of doors, and on Friday concluded a speech of an hour's duration by stating, that, whatever might be the result of the forthcoming inquiry, nothing would be determined by it, for he would go through the affair though it should cost him his last shilling. MEETING IN THE CLARENDON-ROOMS •••• • 11. 1...•-• A. • VA. MA. I a, •-• • - • On Friday, at noon, a meeting was held in the Claren don-rooms, to consider the best means of raising the funds necessary for conducting the inquiry into the conduct of the judge of the County Court, before the Chancellor of the Duchy on Wednesday next." Mr. Samuel Holme occupied the chair. The meeting was addressed at length by Messrs. Brodribb, Avison, Bigham, A. H. Wylie, Hull, (of Fletcher and Bull,) the solicitor, Jeffrey, C. E. Raw lins, and others. The subject discussed principally related to the raising of the funds, the conduct of the Town Council in not taking charge of the case, and the propriety of holding a public meeting to take the sense of the town. It was stated that the cost of the inquiry would not be less than £lOOO, 300 guineas of which would go the leading counsel, who would have to be a man of eminence and ability, in order to compete with the gentleman retained by Mr. Ranashay. A subscription was eventually entered into in the room, when more than £lOO was raised, and several gentlemen took charge of lists, promising to obtain donations from their friends. The question as to the pro priety of holding a town's meeting was referred to a new committee, which was appointed to conduct the inquiry. It is stated that the counsel retained by Mr. Ramshay are the Atternay-General, Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, as leader, assisted by Messrs. Owens, Sowler, and Thorburne, all of the northern circuit. LETTER PROM MR. WM. BROWN, M.P The following letter was read by Mr. Holme, on Satur day, at a meeting of the committee for conducting the inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Ramshay : " Liverpool, November 1, 1851. " My dear Sir,—l have not been at your committee, nor did I attend your public meeting, yesterday, on Me, Ramshay's case, for I thought it better to abstain `; Ton , taking a part in measures which may have to come before Parliament. At the same time, I can see no impropriety in subscribing to a fund, in order to enable witnesses to attend at Preston to give evidence before a judicial tri bunal, when professional men will elicit the facts, whether for or against him. " I am much surprised at the Corporation having refused to pay the expenses of the inquiry, for I cannot see by what mode of reasoning they arrive at the conclusion that it does not 'come within their province. It cannot be denied that every burgess is deeply interested in this inquiry, and under their large discretionary power, I can see no difficulty in appropriating funds to enable the merits of this case to be tried. Nay, Igo further, where a feeling prevails that the burgesses, in appealing to the County Court, are treated with insult and disrespect, and the law, as is alleged, illegally stretched, to meet the caprice or feelings of the judge, I think it is the duty of the Corporation to afford the means of ascertaining whe ther these charges are right or wrong. " From the memorials presented to the Council, there can be no mistake as regards the general sentiments of the town. " I hope the Council will reconsider this. "Yours, very truly, (Signed.) " WM. BROWN, " To Samuel Holme, Esq." CHESHIRE AND WALES. Sir R. H. Cunliffe, Bart., of Acton Park, Denbighshire, has kindly returned 15 per cent. to his tenantry, besides having greatly improved his estates. At a special meeting of the Wallasey Commissioners, held on Wednesday, the proposal to hold their meetings at ten in the morning, instead of seven in the evening, was rejected by a majority of ten to•eight. CHESTER CATTLE FAIR.—One of the new monthly fairs was held on Tuesday last. The supply of beasts was very small, as also of sheep and pigs. Prices ruled the same as last fair. But few horses were exhibited. On Tuesday evening H. H. Dearsley, Esq., barrister, delivered, in the Craven-rooms, Birkenhead, the first of two lectures on the History and Policy of the Jesuits. The second lecture was delivered on Friday night. On Thursday evening, on the South-Western Railway, the engine ran off the rails near the Esher station, carry ing the carriages completely across the line. No one was injured. On Tuesday last an inquest was held before Henry Churton, Esq., on the body of a young man, aged 17, named John White, who was killed by a quantity of iron falling upon him at Birkenhead Docks. Verdict, " Acci dental death." THE VIADUCT AT TRANMERE.—The construction of the bridge between the Tranmere and Birkenhead ferries is now being proceeded with, Mr. Brassey being the con tractor. We understand that the viaduct will be upon piles. with bridges for the purpose of admitting vessels to the higher part of Tranmere Pool. The Society for the Better Observance of the Lord's Day, at Carnarvon, lately offered prizes of £lO and £3 for the best essays on the subject, by Welsh operatives. These have been awarded as follows :—The £lO prize to Mr. Evan Thomas, blacksmith, Pentrevoelas, Denbigh shire, and the £3 prize 'to Mr. William Aubrey, shoe maker, Bettws, Abergele. LAUNCH OF AN IRON VESSEL.—Mr. Laird has just launched-from his building-yard, Birkenhead, the Cla rence, an iron steam-vessel, of about 400 tons measure ment, to be fitted by Messrs. Fawcett, Preston, and Co., with a pair of 60 horse-power engines, tubular boilers, and all the recent improvements. The Clarence is intended for the coast of Australia, and will shortly sail for Sydney under the command of Captain Wiseman. _ MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AND Loss OF LIRE AT THE HOLYHEAD HARBOUR WORKS.—On Saturday afternoon a frightful accident occurred at the Holyhead works, by which two persons lost their lives. It appears that a train of four heavily laden wagons of stone from the mountain, from some cause or other was precipated over the scaffold. ing of the temporary pier, crushing one man to death, and throwing another into the water, from which he was unable to rescue himself, and he was drowned. ST. HELENS AND SOUTHPORT. — It is intended to apply in the ensuing session of parliament for an act to authorise the construction of a line from the St. Helen's Railway , at St. Helens to Southport. The line is to form a junc tion with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at Rain. ford, and with the East Lancashire Railway at Ormskirk. The length of the proposed line is 19 miles. It will also connect St. Helens with the new docks at Garston. The total estimated cost of the line is only £200,000, one-third of which, it is stated, is already subscrihed. RAILWAYS IN CHEsHIRE.---The recent movements of the Great Western Railway Company, with the object of obtaining access to this district by way of Birkenhead, have put the London and Northwestern Company on their mettle. The latter are, we learn, surveying a new line of railway from Chester to Birkenhead, and will seek from parliament, in the ensuing session, powers to construct the same. It is also stated that the Great-Western and Shrewsbury Companies ; if they take the Chester and Bir kenhead line, intend to carry a line of rails from Birken head on to New Brighton, coming back to Seaconabe on the north side of the pool. HORRIBLE OUTRAGE.—On Tuesday night, soon after nine o'clock, while a gentleman was on his way from Woodside ferry to his house in Price-street, Birkenhead, he was, on passing by the dead wall surrounding the grounds of Gough's H3tel, attacked by two men. One stood before him, and the other swung round something like a stocking with a large stone in the end of it, and struck him from behind, The blow smashed his jaw, but he did not fall, Notwithstanding the injury he received, he used his umbrella so effectually that he prevented the ruffians robbing him. Persons coming to his assistance he was carried home, and a surgeon sent for. He is still confined to his bed, and not allowed to speak. SHREWSBURY AND CHESTER RAILWAY COMPANY. — On Wednesday a special meeting of the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway Company was held in Chester, for the purpose of authorising the calling in of certain shares, the substitution of others instead of them, and also the crea tion of other new shares. Mr. Wardell presided. It was agreed to raise £92,260, by giving to every holder of £lOO a share of £lO, if he chose to have it, at guaranteed five per cent. interest for five years certain. It was also resolved, " That the 27,600 shares, of £lO each, upon which the sum of £1 per share has been paid, be called in and eancelled, that 1,380 new shares, of £2O each, be created, and that one of such shares be allotted and issued to the proprietor of every twenty shares so called in and cancelled." LOCAL TRAFFIC ON THE CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD. RAILWAY.--In the course of a short time a large amount of local traffic will be placed upon the Chester and Holy head line. The slate trade, which forms by far the most important item in the local trade, will in a brief space of time be completely thrown upon the railway. Its impor tance may be gathered from the fact that Mr. Thomas Assheton Smith has, through his agent, Mr. Roberts, contracted for the conveyance of 40,000 tons of slates for the next year. The branch line from the Llanberis quarry will be ready soon after the commencement of the year, when the produce of the quarry will be available for transit. The formation of the branch line from the Pen rhyn slate quarries throws the conveyance of many thousands of tons of slate monthly upon the line, and this will soon be in full operation. For the construction of this branch the Chester and Holyhead Company provided the rails and sleepers, Colonel Pennant being at the ex pense of everything else. A large trade in bricks is ex pected from the Buckley mountain, and ores from the lead mines when the communications with the works are opened, and 40,000 tons of coal are expected shortly to be added to the local traffic of theline.—Times. BLOOMERISM IN MANCHESTER. - It was whispered during the week that a bevy of Bloomers would make their appearance in St. Ann's-square, the fashionable lounge of Manchester, on Saturday, but the rumour was treated to a great extent with incredulity. About three o'clock, however, a lady in pettiloons actually made her appearance, leaning on a gentleman's arm. The rush of the male sex was tremendous , and the crowding and star ing sufficient to have outfaced most ladies. In this Fase the fair one " stood it" well, and looked quite impassive ; all the blushing was done by the gentleman, whose shirt collar, judging by the redheat of his cheeks, must have been in imminent danger of fire. BIRKENHEAD,LANCASHIRE, • CHESHIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY. ALLIANCE WITH THE GREAT WESTERN AND SHREWSBURY ASSOCIATED COMPANIES. The adjourned half-yearly and special meeting of this company was held on Saturday, at Monks' Ferry Hotel. Alderman Bancroft, the chairman of the board, presided, and there was a very crowded attendance. The CHAIRMAN observed that the matter formally ad journed for consideration was the supplementatv agree ment entered into with the London and North-Western Company. There was, however, another subject alluded to,—he meant their station accommodation at. Manchester. It now rested with the proprietors, there being an under standing between the company and the Bonded Ware house Company, to decide if they should take it up, upon certain terms to be agreed upon, and construct a line of railway in order to form a passenger and goods station in Salford and Manchester. partly on the river and partly in the two boroughs. The memorandum of an agreement he should lay before the meeting that the directors had en tered into, subject to the confirmation of the proprietors, to lease the line to the Great Western Company and to tke Shrewsbury Associated Companies (applause). The directors had come to the conclusion to enter into an t•'• • to pay them a per centage for station accomram agreement with the London and Northwestern Company Manchester, on the same priuciple that pali them e s per centage for the use of their line. The London and Northwestern Company could not (Nett to that course, inasmuch as it was tarrying out the same principle acted on in respect to the use of their line at large ; and, unless some of the shareholders objected, the understanding would be, perhaps, without a resolution, that the directors should make arrangements with the London and North western Company to pay so mteeb per cent. for all traffic, passengers, and goods, tak9n, to the station, it being un derstood that they were to be independent at Mancheater, and performing their point, about which - A own terminal duties. The next good deal of discussion took place, was the suppler 4en t ary very distinctle agreement ; and he might state and very decidedly that, practically viewed, the board "were satisfied now, as they bad been at the last meetirt . k, that great advantage had been secured to this cor,,, pany by the supplementary agreement. That being so, and as discussion might complicate and, perhaps, em barrass future operations, if the projectors had confidence in the judgment of the directors, he would suggest that it would be the most convenient course that they should pass over the subject. They did not ask the proprietors to pass any resolution on the matter : it was unnecessary. It was here announced that the time for the special meeting had arrived. The CHAIRMAN said he had to indicate that it was the intention of the directors, if the meeting approved of such a course, to apply to parliament for a short act to abandon so much of the scheme as lies between Lower Walton and Heaton Norris. They had agreed to do so in the agreement with the London and North-western Company, and they were not quite free from the liability. Also, if the proprietors thought fit, so much of the line as lies between Hooton and Welsby. And, in the next place, to alter the arrangements made for the extension to the docks and the approaches there, so as to avoid having to carry Canning-street over the property of the railway company. The existing arrangement would involve con siderable expenditure, interrupt the traffic of the company, and impede all interests at Birkenhead. (Hear.) He might state, that the Improvement Commissioners of Birkenhead were willing to make an arrangement on equitable terms ; he had reason to think they could arrange also with the Birkenhead Dock Commissioners and the Dock and Warehouse Company, thus saving expense. The next subject in the short bill would be to merge the forfeited shares in the company. The next point would be to consolidate the stock of the company, to convert it into stock, to adjust the share capital, and bring it to the amount named in the agreement with the Great Western and other companies. Then as to the issue of bonds. This was not a new lien at all ; it was simply the conversion of a contract debt into a bond debt to Mr. Brassey. They were now paying him four and a half per cent. upon £90,000, and he had consented to take four per cent. instead in bonds for five years,—(applause) —which was considered a very good arrangement. He now came to a matter of very great importance, and about which there might be a discussion :—that was the pro posed agreement with the Holyhead Company. The terms were, that the Holyhead Company should pay a gross sum of £3OOO for one year, say, from the Ist Nov, inst., to the Ist Nov., 1852, for the use of the lines of this company, that was the line from Chester to Birkenhead, and the line from Chester to Lower Walton, undertaking themselves to perform all the duties, so that it should be a nett sum of money payable to the Birkenhead Company. This arrangement was deemed so important in principle that the directors had decided to submit the subject to the approval of the shareholders. The board had assented to this arrangement with the Holyhead Company, and, after submitting it to the proprietors intended to carry it out, with no apprehension that any difficulty would arise from any quarter, and they felt bound to that agreement in every sense of the word. He now came to the more important matter, that was the memorandum of the agreement entered into between the board of this com pany and the Great Western associated companies. The terms of that agreement were already in the possession of every proprietor. They were, in substance, that from June next, that company should receive 3 per cent. upon two millions of money, an invariable amount, 31- per cent. the next year, and four per cent. afterwards in perpetuity, with the option, if that company should think proper to exercise it, of merging into or amalgamating with the associated companies at par. Assuming that, when the companies came to amalgamate, one company got 4 per cent. and the other 5 ; assuming that the Great Western Company got 5, and the two Shrewsbury companies 4 per cent., they would have to adjust their capitals in propor tion to those dividends. The result would be that the £lOO of Great Western capital would remain intact, but the £lOO of Shrewsbury would have to be reduced to £BO, ten per cent. less ; they would then receive a uniform dividend for ever. It was simply an adjustment of capitals, and when the capitals were so adjusted, the Birkenhead Company would merge into them a capital of £2,000,000 at par. That was the basis of the arrangement agreed upon. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN put it to the meeting, in reference to station accommodation at Manchester, if the board were to understand that they might make an agreement upon the principle indicated ? After considerable discussion and protest on the subject, the chairman and the board agreed to a suggestion that they should go on till the 30th of June next, with regard to station accommodation, without entering upon any further agreement. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN said the next and first special business was to order the issue of the bonds. He moved—" That the company be authorised to borrow on mortgage or bond a sum not exceeding £90,000, under the provisions of the Cheshire Junction Railway Act, of 1846." Mr. TITHERINGTON said it would perhaps be better to go on with the subject of alliance first. Mr. Wm. JACKSON, M.P., agreed with this suggestion. He said, supposing the Great Western agreement not gone on with, those who bad paid on the £27 shares stood in a different position to those who held the £22 and £3l shares. If parliament refused to sanction the amalga mation, the old paid-up shareholders would be receiving 14 per cent. per annum, and paying to Mr. Brassey 4 per cent. The holders of £22 and £3l should every one be made to pay up, and then let Mr. Brassey have his money. (A laugh.) The motion, which had been seconded by Mr. BROWN, of Glasgow, was then put and carried ; as was also another formal resolution ordering the £90,000 so raised to be borrowed from Mr. Brassey. It was then decided to take the memorandum of agree ment with the Great Western and associated companies as read, a copy being in the hands of every proprietor, and The CHAIRMAN then moved that it be approved of and confirmed. The resolution which he had just moved would be followed by another : " That the directors, in virtue of the aforegoing resolution, are hereby authorised find specially empowered to ratify and affix the common seal to any extended agreement for giving more formal effect to the conditions and terms in the memorandum and agreement thereby confirmed, in like manner as if such extended agreement had been submitted for confir mation to a meeting of the proprietors," &c. It was found that the time was too short to have an extended agreement drawn to include all details. It had. therefore, been agreed between the companies that a confirmation of the memorandum of agreement should be held as a confirmation of the detailed agreement when put under the seals of the respective companies." The first resolution, which had been seconded by Mr. Gibb, was about being put, when Mr. TITHERINGTON said he would like to know from the chairman the nature of the guarantee, whether it was jointly or separately. It was desirable that that should be made public. The CHAIRMAN said this was the guarantee of the united companies, and they looked to them either together or apart, or in any capacity. (Laughter and applause.) In answer to a question from Mr. JACKSON, The CHAIRMAN said the " lands reserved" were those valued by Mr. John Stewart and Mr. Weightman at the beginning of 1831 ; they included the land where the offices were situate, and also some at Tranmere Pool. The £2,000,000 would not pay all debts and give them the land free. The following report from Mr. Beloe as to the capital of the company was referred to :—" I find the total expen diture of the company, up to the 18th October, 1851, together with all liabilities for work done, land purchased, and contracts still to be completed—but deducting the value of the land reserved, the cash received on forfeited shares, and uncalled on the £22 and £3l shares—may be fairly estimated at £2,045,000, being an excess of £45,000 over the amount upon which the company have proposed to negotiate with the associated companies, and will require a reduction on the respective classes of shares to the following extent :—On the £27 10s. shares fully paid up, 12s. 9d., £22 10s. 2d., £3l 14s. 4d. The CHAIRMAN said it would be seen from this report that there was an excess of two millions capital, but it had always been agreed to strike off a part of that. He was then putting the resolution, when Mr. JACKSON, M.P., rose to enter his protest against thi s amalgamation, and he did so upon the ground which he had always held, that to be allied to any great company would most materially injure the position, the ultmate good to be derived by the .proprietors of this company ; and that the amount of per centage to be given either by the Great Western or the Northwestern Companies would not amount to what they would receive from the line if maintained in an independent state. (Hear, hear.) Ho had hoped that when he had brought about the arrange ment with the Holyhead Company and this company, that when they could fully develops what the Birkenhead line could do, by penetrating into a district of purely a mieer ef —. character, it would have led them, not to have shut sa.u . Holyhead line up and deprived them of a free comagil% cation to the eastward, but rather to have freely open! this line as the common conduit pipe from the trelti brought by all the competing parties to Chester. An a r looking wereato portion wneilling to pay f 60 agreement, o f prreeemceenntt. now ,namely, that Ol e parties upon this' line, that, thinkand 75 per with cent. theuponGreat the local Western traffic, and Shrewsbury he coul a no I but Companies terminating at Chester, the London and Nort hwestern competing with them at that point, a rail-mi ing to them from Wales, and another from Mancnester• with the docks of Birkenhead to back them,—he cou ld not hut think that the traffic on the line would have yielded more than the 60 per cent. which they were ° sk i ing. (Hear, bear.) They would find, if this agree ment were ratified, that the London and Northwestern Com pany would make preparations, and preparations the ° , af w o e tre r t e nh m ey making, be knew, for a new line into the di .. ;,rierr y ea would x p n e o r t ie b n e ce sh o u f t t o h u e t. bat ( t H le e o a f l ..e S b o i : Ja - ,: dic i :n. g cr ir et o b_ ai narrow guages, he had great do a - übt ' whether Parham in would sanction or not this am"' were they ) Mr. Roy -.lgatnation. If not, where: lang .e u p ag li e ed , t . ha H t if e t r is g a ge m d al t g o am st a a t t io e n , i w n e t r b e e ca r ri l out, it should remain open to all. (Applause.) Th e Y; the associated companies, had suffered themselve s from the opposite view, and knew too well its injurious eff ect " he meant by the prevention of traffic coming over i nc e line, ever to practise that system upon another. A. 13° 0 was entitled to state, as he knew it to be the unao leiu sentiment of the members of the three boards of the ase ° ; elated companies, that they would give to the Holyher Company and the London and Northwestern ComPe, l3 ' when they chose to come to Birkenhead, the most al; lute facility, the most perfect absence from anything I t i h e obstruction or prevention of trade coming there, th at strictest orders or the most zealous exertions could secehre to them. (Applause.) They would go further. If t d Holyhead Company chose, this session of Parliament , l ie it was not too late for a bill to that effect, to giv e ;id associated companies the same facilities, they / 1°- put in clause for clause with them. If the Load°. and Northwestern Company chose to give there the sa m e facilities to run into Manchester to conduct the trade th eru that they require to conduct the trade here, (at Birket head), they were perfectly wel come t o it by a C BP Se the bill. (Applause.) There should b e no mincin g :- the matter, acid no mistake about it. It was to the . 11 " terest of this line, and 3f those who guarantee it, to brill every description of traffic upon it which would pal ; 89 4 if they did not do this they ought to be sufferers, and oug't to bear not only the pecuniary loss but the disgrace °. such misconduct. They had before offered this totP: Holyhead Company, when it had a bill in Parliam ew : Now, if the object of the hon. gentleman were limited,ilet that, and he put it to the meeting whether it was aue ° else, where stood he now ? a Mr. BUCKLEY supported Mr. Jackson's view, 8 . 13 . thought it would be better to remain an independent 10 ;1 Mr. WINCH remarked that the proposed arrangere e ". with the Shrewsbury and Great Western companies Wo g : natural and proper alliance to be made with this cornea e /I and that the terms were such as ought to be consider ed satisfactory. (Applause.) Mr. TITHERINGTON said he also felt perfectly satisfiel for those for whom he was in trust, that it was the very be, s .. arrangement which could be made ; and he asked to" proprietors to look back. The Northwestern Corell had sent along this company's line 3,000 tons of traffi within the last twelve months ; the Holyhead Conaft l . had sent 35,000 tons ; and the Shrewsbury CoulPen' — l id 100,000 tons of traffic. Was it reasonable that they should be afraid the London and Northwestern Company wo f i make a second line to Birkenhead ? (Laughter.) 1 !,, e most cordially approved of what the board had done bringing about the lease or amalgamation.. Mr. LIDDELL said, it had been stated that, if the! realised six per cent., it would go into the pockets of t i e f allied companies. He thought that did not follow. they found, in 1856, that they bad 6 per cent., care Wo w be taken that they were secured for ever 6 per cent. Mr. BUCK, of London, expressed his approval of the lease. objec ted Mr. BURGESS, as an old proprietor, strongly objeC' - to the proposal to lease or amalgamate. The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, which //- carried amid loud applause, with only six dissentients . _ Mr. BURGESS begged for his dissent to be recorded' °"' the books. The CHAIRMAN said he could not do that. The CHAIRMAN then moved that the board be powered to proceed for an act in the ensuing session ot carry out the agreement. Mr. BUCK seconded the motion, which was carried. r The next subject was the agreement with the Ches' e and Holyhead Company. Mr. 6ANDY seconded the motion. Mr. KNOX moved, as an amendment, the negative. Mr. TREVOR seconded the amendment. After a short debate the amendment was put and car" ried, about eight or ninehands being held up against itl st Mr. Kriox moved that the supplementary agreeto cu A with the London and No r th- w e s t ern C om p an y beadjouroe' sine die. Agreed to. The meeting then broke up. CHURCH-RATE MEETING AT PRESO r. DISORDERLY PROCEEDINGS. On Friday, the 25th ultimo, the rate-pavers of el? parish were convened in Vestry, fo r th e p ur p os e of elect he school-wardens, and of makin g a Ch urc h-rate. appointment of feoffees to superintend the interests of tk Free Grammar School was conducted in an amicable sit rit. Messrs. Cross and Ward, soli c ito rs , wer e reelecte d without opposition ; and to fill up the two vacancies' created by the elevation of Mr. Galloway to the coroner ship of the manor, and of the Rev. Mr. Evans to the nits of " a foreman of the town," Mr. Appleton and in ' t ' E. Twist were selected,—the former u nan i mous ly, the 114 ter with but little opposition. Thus far the business of the Vestry proceeded we! gentlemanly decorum. No sooner, h oweve r, had t " .- 0 ever fruitful source of local strife, the Church-rate, beet mooted, than some in the asse m bly a pp eare d —in t 1 34 . 101 rancour against the rate—to fo rge t th e sanc tity or 1 , 1 place in which they were met togeth er , an d the revel . '" character of their president, the Vicar. Mr. GALLOWAY, one of the churchwardens, stated til i : t e k a most economical estimate bad bee n ma d e as t° , probable expenses of the ensuing twelvemonth ; and if compared with the outlay of the l as t an d p rev ious Yea r o d it would be found that a rate of o n e p enn y i n the pp u d; was not more than sufficient to cover the sum require and he therefore proposed a rate to that amount. , Mr. LONGTON, the senior chu rc h war d en , seco nded Galloway's proposition. •,1 t. Mr. JNo. DAGLISH, a gentleman well known 1 - ate Helens, moved as an amendment, th a t th e ra t e b e limite r , one farthing in the pound, which was seconded by MARSH, a solicitor of St. Helens, retained, it Wa s 9- of by the Romanists of that town, to resist the i mp osition ns , an adequate rale. In the course of his observati ° „ er , which were delivered in a becoming tone and manger, this gentleman inveighed generally aga i ns t cer tain cher to, which he denounced as illegal, in the wardens' a ccoun ted audited and passed by the Easter Vestry ; and he reene, s .ot that the several items mi g ht be rea d over , i n order '_o, he might specify those in particula r t o w hi c h he took v ro , ception. This, though an irregular and nugatory P o ge ceeding, was assented to by the Rev. chairman, " t he courtesy was rewarded with singular gratitude V o re mover of the amendment, who, as the various items an d being read, gave free license to rambling a ssertiel t he impudent bluster, and not unf r equently addresse!',4- Vicar himself in remarks whi c h b e t ra y e d a n utter eig- lessness of the amenities of civilised society. as ter Towards the close of a turbule n t rev i s i on of the accounts, when the patience of th e mee ti ng was fa!gsl , ing place to indismation, Mr. Ward challenged .Alr• b!( at once to bring all vague imputation to an iss';!;'fbe pointing out expressly the objectionable charges ' I , de wardens' expenditure. For some time Mr. ikis r ,:„ o3 o --- clined to do this, but at length impugned three "' tb e one, of refreshments at the confirmation ; anoth er /yes' fee for ringing on the death of Sir Robert four and a third, the annual allowance of £l6 to the churchwardens. be en On this last item, the sense of the meeting ha "° taken, it was decided by a majority that it 0 ' 95 r tic e l reasonable gratuity ; and with reference to the otbeehoull it was understood that for the future such charge s he so t ; not be incurred. Yet, notwithstanding an a lr e eou r 't minute discussion of almost every item in the ,_ B e re pot had been afforded, and that with no exception tn ric i i elt a ; of the Vestry auditor had been confirmed by ov er „ t itti e ; r ing majorities, the farthing advocates persisted W s 01 0 their motion ; and even after their defeat, in ,;(Bi i° crowning attempt to stultify the Vestry, their; tbre o l g o spirit still held fast its tenacity witbin them, an, d, To their organ, Mr. Marsh, a poll was dernah "ea.m., ati appeal to the parish at large commenced a t teP'o, dap, Monday, Oct. 27, and at its close the f0110w11,,, four p.m., the result was— For the one penny rate. .... • ' 13' Ai For the farthing rate ............ •• • • Majority for the churchwardens. •• • st , it fi t. btr t Throughout the whole of this exciting cont t e urer s °l aw justice to the gentry and principal manu, f4e ct theY, i ,, e ri gect Helens to add, that by their votes and con" w e b I""liev e nantly repudiated the factious recklessness Ny we be t ba the parish into the turmoil of a poll. Indeed,ate e ven fie that a sense of shame did at length Pene' r of all. off promoters of this unjustifiable movement. . 11 the A e a s s ter whose insolent declamation was so gross I coul d h is not one, even the mover of the farthing rate , „ ti d ree° composure enough to go to the Town Hall effrontery by his vote. ....—........-•.-----_ _--- THE GREAT BRITAIN STEAM-SIIIP.--ThiS olb-6/8; vessel was on Thursday removed from the San d ° 0 sin c e ving Dock, where she has been undergoing reo,l l. w ile! April last, and brought into the Wellington mntool'e soil her engines will be placed in her. She is breas t .0 boilers, three on each side, and two funnels, a lo de ! s , each other. The machinery, which has been 11 ,,, 0 0 1, London, is on its way to Liverpool. The alterte'o, of; the ship have added materially to her aPPeara,, bonsrj deg.. - on increased her capacity. By means of the new e out _., the ship will be able to carry coals for the v0Y11,.g.,,,e55ur.4 home, about 600 passengers, and 3000 tons or f iwi llf_; l o ment goods ; whilst her engines, which are 3,Y.t`i'ent, r 0 the same power as before, but really more et , v ; o eq te ' D give her a higher speed. The newt crew i 9 ri tt u d itS W e i its place : its diameter is 15 feet inch es ' 9 1. 1 on 8 19 feet. The rudder of the ship is constructed and improved principle.