The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-04-24 00:00:00

THEATRE -ROYAL LIVERPOOL of Miss ROMER, and Mr. G. STANSBURY, the popular V OC ALISTS, of the Theatres -Royal, Drury lane and Covent - garden , who are engaged for Ten Nights. THIS present formed the FRIDAY the 24th instant, will be per , Petit Comedy of the RENDEZVOUS. Mr. Baker. Lucretia Sophia.... Mrs. Tellet. Miss Cleaver Rose Mrs. Clarke. After which, Bellini's Opera of LA S ONNAMBUL A; WITH ALL THE ORIGINAL MUSIC. Amina.... Miss Romer, _ As performed by her, with the greatest success, at the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, and English Opera House. Rodolpho Mr. G. Stansbury. Elvino Mr. Barker I Alessio Mr. Baker Liza Miss Grant. To conclude with the popular Romantic Musical Drama, called the • V AMPIRE. Ruthven .... Mr. W. Howard Robert Mr. Barker Ronald MlSwill.... Mr. Baker - Effie.. .. Miss Grant I Lady Margaret.... Mrs. W. H. Bland On MONDAY next, will be produced . the Opera of the MOUNTAIN SYLPH. Eolia (the Mountain Sylph) Miss Romer, as originally performed by her in London; Hela, Mr. G. Stansbury ; Donald, Mr. Barker ; Christie, Mr. Baker; Jessy, Miss Grant. With a favourite Afterpiece. TO CORRESPONDENTS. " IF YOU WANT JUSTICE, GO TO HEAD-QUARTERS." (The Old Soldier.)—A gentleman of high standing in the nau tical world has called upon us, and communicated the following facts :—He states that a young man, a seaman, in the employ to which he himself belongs (and than which, we may say, there is not a more respectable in the port), had the misfortune to lose his leg, and become disabled ; and that he (our informant) called at the Town-clerk's office to take out the usual declaration, so that the poor fellow might Atain the allowance, or pension, that would accrue from the Maritime Fund, upon which he had become a claimant. The person who came to the counter treated him in a haughty and repulsive manner, telling him, Oh, no ; we can't indeed ! We have refused fees to the amount of £250 in similar cases, and we can't !" Our informant left the office in disgust, and mentioned the circumstance to a gentleman whom he soon afterwards met. That individual ad v i se d hi m t o go to " head-quar ters," which he did without further ado, and, on his ap plication to the MAYOR in person, his request was politely and instantly complied with. There is nothing more of fensive to sensitive minds than the insolence of " under strappers." Owing to a press of advertisements, and the length of our local reports, several articles already in type are unavoid ably postponed. Amongst these is an interesting article: on " the West India Colonies," together with some edi torial remarks on the same subject, in reply to Mr. Scoble. We shall insert Mr. Bevan's letter on Tuesday, accompanied . with some remarks in reply. Ebr tibtrpool ettanbarb. FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 24, 1840. We have received a file of the St. John's (N. B.) Weekly Chronicle to the 20th of March, inclusive. The members of the House of Assembly bad voted for the payment of the members of the Legislative Council, at the rate of £lOO per annum for each member, with an excepting clause regarding the members of Coun cil who hold any situation under Government with a yearly salary of £2OO or upwards. Captains Battersby and Hawkshaw, of the engineer department, were at 'Woodstock, selecting sites for the erection of the new barracks, and such other works as might be deemed necessary for the defence and pro tection of the place. _ _ The House of Assembly had recommended that his Excellency, the Governor, should order the Attorney _General to prosecute the Weekly Chronicle for a libel published in that paper. We have received a file of the St. John's (N.F.) Times to the 11th of March inclusive. The papers con tain some very severe animadversions on the appoint ment of a Mr. Patrick Morris to the situation of Trea surer for the colony. This person's recommendations for the office appear to have been of very doubtful character ;. but they were such as wonld entitle any one to the patronage of the Whigs. He is a Papist, and a thorough-going Radical, and has the further recom mendation of having been a bankrupt. A man who has proved himself incapable of managing his own pecuni ary affairs, can scarcely he deemed qualified for hold ing a public office of so important a character. The Legislature of Newfoundland have granted £l,OOO annually, or £3,000 in one sum, if preferred, to l',.?lit hs • e nc ourage steam navigation between the island and 43. Halifax. s• • We have received a file of Halifax (N.S.) papers to :Is4, the 30th of March, inclusive. We learn from the Halifax Journal that the legislature of the province , .4 1 "4* ~,L had beenprorogued on the 27th of March , after pass , ing an address to the Queen, in which there are seve -31444-1 Tat passages strongly impugning the conduct of the Governor, Sir Colin Campbell, and praying his re -1„L , Yt.i • moval from the government. This address was ;!:, ; 51 !J couched in terms not very courteous to her Majesty , 11 i' , —and highly disrespectful , and insulting to his Excel lency. In consequence of this extraordinary proceed n'' ing, a public meeting was held the following day, to give expression to the disapprobation of the inhabitants of Halifax of the censure contained in the address of the Assembly. The meeting was numerously and re spectably attended, and, after some discussion, the following resolutions were agreed to : Resolved;That apatt from the consideration of the several questions of colonial reform agitated by a party in this pro - vince, this meeting sincerely deplores the Address of the House of Assembly, proposing to censure the administration • • of the Government by his Excellency Sir Colin Campbell, a censure as unfounded in reason as it is inconsistent with the feelings of the majority of the respectable and influential in .habitants of the province. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this meeting that the Administration of his Excellency Sir Colin Campbell, sur rounded as it has been with difficulties, and requiring the exercise of a sound and vigorous mind in the selection of the respective councils to meet the changes introduced through • the influence of the House of Assembly, has been conducted, and the measures of Government carried out by his Excel lency with an anxious desire to meet the true interests of the people, consistent with the duty of his Excellency, to our most gracious Queen, and her Government. Resolved. That it is the opinion of this meeting, that it is the bounden duty of every well-wisher to the paternal Go vernment to rally round his Excellency at this time, and by an expression of their dissent from the opinions of the As sembly, to -evidence to our most gracious Queen, that although there may be discontented spirits in the House of Assembly, ever ready to find grievances, when few, if any, exist, yet that the majority of the people riot only duly ap preciate the conduct of his Excellency in the administration of the Government, but are satisfied with the maternal care of our most gracious Queen, and will be ever ready to support * her throne, and maintain tle connexion between this pro -4%4- vince and the parent state. Resolved, That these resolutions be embodied in an ad • 1 44. - , •, • dress and presented to his Excellency Sir Colin Campbell by ‘, s a committee to be appointed for that purpose. l':•1 The following is a copy of the address which was .7presented to Sir Colin Campbell : , 1, 44' 11 4: 1 * •To His Excellency Lieut. General Sir Colin Campbell, . • K.C.8., Lieutenant Governor and Commander - in - chief , 1 4 es te , -, in and over her Majesty's Provinces of Nova Scotia, 4 4 4 . &c. &c. May it please your Excellency, We, e udersd inha ote town of Halifax, 441 1 3 "/ begleave th to assure rs y ne xc our Excellency of f our devoted attach ,\` ment to her Majesty's royal person and government, and to 1 1 the . principles of the British constitution. We_ have learned with unfeigned sorrow that the represen tatives of the Sovereign, people of Nova Scotia have passed an Address - to our imputing to your Excellency misgovern ment of this colony, and praying her Majesty to remove your Excellency from the high office which you now fill. . . The distinguished reputation which your Excellency had 1 4‘, 11 : . acquired in fighting the b attles of y our co untry , had pre , pared the minds and hearts of the people of this province, to •,. hail with satisfaction your appointment to the government of this colony, and whilst we recognise with gratitude many beneficial acts of your Excellency's administration, we re- tain a high sense of the noble manner, in which shortly after your arrival, at a period when it pleased the Almighty to scourge our country with x malignant pestilence, your Ex cellency, in person, visited the infirmaries, ministering to the sufferers, and by your example and influence , inspiring .tip E, confidence and encouraging the inhabitants of this town to stZt exertions in the cause of humanity. 10 1 The dissolution of the old council and the subsequent con '4'4l' stitution of the executive and legislative councils, have sub rss jected your Excellency's executive administration of the . affairs of this colony to difficulties and embarrassments s tv lre•'• r that were unknown to, and unfelt by, your Excellency ' s srf! predecessors, and when adverting to the manlier in which 44 1 , your Excellency met those difficulties of your p os ition, and • klt: endeavoured to carry out, with such means as were at your re sits command, the instructions that you received respecting the 44 1.: 4 . composition of the two councils referred to, we are unable to • he re discern any design upon the part of your Excellency to • violate those instructions, we feel it a duty that we owe to 5 1 , ,- .1 - 1 1.;7i4 , •/ your Excellency, to the country, and to ourselves, to come • forward at this peculiar crisis, unparalleled in the history of Nova Scotia, and to assure your Excellency that our judg i• 4 `l l , ments and our hearts entirely absolve your Excellency from 7 %; • tet i t ?ks, such an imputation, which we are convinced is perfectly eOr •e „ S s without foundation. "4 qi 5 Liqi • Whilst we admit that it is not merely the privilege but the 11 ' 4 11 4 71 • duty of every British subject, whose home is fixed in a colony 'll 41 '''Jltf• subject to the British crown, to use every constitutional !1 5 ' 5 14, 41 , 0 .en5 s . means to render its institutions accordant, in rincile and ;ON" Liti o% practical operation, with corresponding institu p tions p in the et t t tlif parent state, we deprecate needless agitation, which has an obvious tendency, amongst other evils, to affect the high ri e , ll 3l " l ' mercantile character of this community, to cheek the tide of t ‘ 4ss..,4'im . immigration, and to prevent the introduction of British capi `,„ • tat into this province ; and when, at the present hour, we hear on the one hand, the phrases " official faction" and sos c s s s • family compact" applied opprobriously to men whose pri vate characters are respected, and confessedly respectable : ars t te t "lis se • and, on the other hand, reflect that of all those who are in vested with important public offices, it is not even pretended is it ia L L l 'iss irr e, A that any one has abused the trust reposed in him, or failed in Net el e4e e ., di ~ performance of the duties attached to the office that he fills, iQ•.ll44oiissrive cannot but consider, that the assumed circumstance of 4 o !lo re „ ) . 1 : competition for office not being perfectly open to all, doe s no t Ille"Ns.sliAisCe;'sufficient c o ns titute a reason for jeopardizing, by ex t reme %1 4 n e i fief .measures, the peace and tranquillity of this eminently loyal Z„, sh r e. ai i d hitherto remarkably happy province ; nor do we believe ISe r ,,7,eas q ~,_/110.t the intelligent and reflecting portion of its inhabitants t+siiir ei ,`will be prepared to give their deliberate sanction to the sen timentS' expressed by:their representatives in the address to her Majesty, of which the prayer is the recal of your excel lency from the government of this province. In conclusion, we beg•leave respectfully to assure your Ex cellency that we are impressed with a conviction that throughout the whole course of your administration of the Government of this province, your Excellency has been in fluenced by a sincere and single desire to sustain the honour of the Crown, and to promote the true interests of her Ma jesty's subjects in this colony ; and that your Excellency's conduct and firmness on a late occasion, in refusing to make important changes in the constitution of the province, upon the Address of the House of Assembly, without first receiv ing her Majesty's commands on the subject, justly entitle you to the warmest expression of our thanks; and we hum bly trust that the mariner in which your Excellency has dis charged your public duties as the executive head of this Go vernment, will continue to receive, as we believe it merits, the approbation of our most gracious Sovereign. To which his Excellency returned the following answer : GENTLEMEN,—It is most gratifying to me, to find that my conduct in the administration of this Government has ob tained for me the approbation, respect, and confidence of so numerous a body of the inhabitants of the capital of this pro vince. I have not language to thank you for the honour you have done me, and for the kind terms in which you have been pleased to express yourselves towards me. It has been my most anxious desire to promote the wel fare of the people of Nova Scotia; and to concede to them every just and liberal measure that would promote that end, has been the anxious object of my solicitude and duty ; but at the same time firmly to support the honour and dignity of the Crown, and to resist any attempt to encroach upon its prerogative, is a paramount duty I owe to my Sovereign, and in which it is most gratifying to me that you coincide. I again repeat my warmest and best acknowledgments for the flattering testimony of your approbation as conveyed in your Address. On retiring from the Government House the depu tation that waited on Sir Colin Campbell gave his Excellency three times three cheers. We should think that the present holydays will not furnish much in the shape of pleasure or ease of mind to her Majesty's incapables. They are released, it is true, for a brief space, from the badgering which they have endured since the commencement of the session. They are still in office, and look forward to the coming of another quarter-day. But a presage of evil lies heavy upon their souls : the cup which they drain at the social board maddens without exhilarating, and the laugh with which they strive to efface the recollection of defeat and shame is hollow as the forced defiance of a bully when the gripe of the avenger is upon his throat. The ministry has escaped extermination for a season. Like a mangy cur, it has yelped and wriggled its way from amongst the feet of its tormentors, and can now lick the mud from its well-kicked sides and enjoy its temporary reprieve from the tanyard. It has run the gauntlet through the ranks, been spit upon and de spised, but has not yet been finally drummed out of the service to the exhilarating music of the " Rogue's March." We willingly concede to the ministry the enjoyment of any consolation which it can devise from a retrospect of the past. The diseased quadruped to whom We have likened it may as well hope to cleanse itself from the leprosy which rankles in its blood, or the dishonoured soldier to wipe off the shame which has tarnished his laurels, as the members of that mi nistry to efface from the minds of the people of Eng land the contempt and loathing with which their deeds and their very names are associated. And yet what is the crisis which these degraded men have to encounter—these miserable imbeciles to whose keeping the interests of a great nation are committed ? Abroad, war presents his iron front on every side. 'We are entering upon a contest with China—with a people whose resources we know are immense, and of whose character we know absolutely nothing. 'We are at war with Naples—a petty state, it is true; but who can tell with what other powers a war even with Naples may embroil us ? 'We have Russia hovering like a bird of prey over our Indian possessions, and ready to pounce upon them the first moment she finds our attention distracted from her movements ; and in the western hemisphere we have America panting for, and even prepared to create, an opportunity of seizing upon our transatlantic possessions. On every side hostility ma nifests itself towards the name of England, and on every side that hostility is emboldened by the remem brance of past insults, endured by her with tameness, and past wrongs, suffered by her to sleep unavenged. The vantage ground which England once possessed— which she bought, and dearly bought, with the blood of her brave—has been yielded basely and treache rously, inch by inch; and though " but yesterday She might have stood against the world, now none So poor as do her reverence." And with what has England, under the present ad ministration, to meet this frowning array of enemies? Where is the lofty spirit of patriotism which, at the call of a Pitt and under the guidance of a Wellington, shook from his blood-cemented throne the conqueror of a world ? We look around in vain for the evidence of such a spirit. Where are the buoyant energies which enabled England to meet the vast expenditure of such a contest ? Look for them in our declining commerce, our suffering agriculture, our almost bankrupt exche- quer. Let us turn also to the difficulties which encounter us in our home policy—to an alienated people amongst whom the seeds of disaffection have been allowed to spring up unchecked,—nay, fostered for the purposes of faction, and with whom the laws, the ancient usages, and the time-hallowed associations of Englishmen are but flimsy cobwebs entangling the feet of a spurious philosophy. At such a crisis as the present, so filled with bitter presages of evil, is the state of society in England one of which the lover of his country's weal can he proud ? We fear it is not. There is a poison festering at the root of England's prosperity for which only the healing power of true religion can provide an antidote. There is a serpent coiling by the hearthstones of our countrymen whose defiling breath stifles, as they ascend, the aspirations of patriotism and the prayers of faith. We are told by their press—by the literary scaven gers who rake the filth from before their feet—that the members of Lord Melbourne's administration can look without dread upon the prospect which is before them. We must ourselves confess that we are not formed of such happy materials. We can see nothing in their position which is not disgraceful ; we can see nothing in the position of our country which is not pregnant with danger and difficulty. We believe that we enter tain these feelings in common with a great majority of the people of England ; and although we trust that we may be in error, yet we cannot but fear that the day is approaching when England will weep tears of blood, and England's Sovereign would give the brightest jewel from her diadem to avert even half the evil which these base and reckless men have brought upon tjieir country. We may form a correct idea of the tender conside ration with which the ministerial faction regard the welfare of our Established Church, from the feelings of bitter hostility and malignant hatred which have been levelled against it during the present Easter Ves tries. Scarcely a parish throughout England is without its anti-church or anti-church-rate agitator. The dark browed Puritan and the fierce Papist, the wily Socinian and the meek and saintly Aminadab, walk hand in hand in the attempt to spoil the altars and undermine the walls of our venerable fabric ; and, if a stone is displaced, if a buttress is weakened, or a font broken — nay, if only so much as a bell-rope can be suffered to to decay, or a pulpit-cushion to be worn out by the obstruction offered by their rancorous hatred, a yell of delight resounds throughout the land, and the eyes of thousands of the canting hypocrites, who make the profession of religion a cloak for moral 'deformity, are ready to gloat upon the prospect of the overthrow of that pure and holy church whose unobtruding piety is hateful from the contrasts which it presents to their own pharisaical professions. That these attacks upon the established religion of the land are viewed with satisfaction by the present ministry can scarcely be doubted when we observe the active and earnest endeavours which have been made by the accredited organs of the government during the last ten days, to excite the fierce passions of their sup porters, and to point out the weapons by which their object could be attained. Day after day these organs have launched forth their slanderous tirades, directed against the church, its ministers, and its doctrines. The thunder of the Chronicle has been reverberated by the small whisper of the Globe and the sputtering blus ter of the Sun. The little luminaries which spread their weekly twilight over the otherwise benighted ob scurity of our provincial towns have stirred up their wicks and shone out in rival flames whose intense bril liancy will be matter of wonder for months to come. And mark the result of all this thunder and lightning. The hallowed walls of those venerable piles which were erected only to echo to the voice of prayer have been converted, not into a den of thieves, perhaps, but into an arena of faction, disgusting scurrility, and bitter Mr. Baldwin... Mr. Gisborne.. contention. The simple matter of electing a church warden has been turned into a subject of party war fare. The laying of a halfpenny church-rate has been seized upon to supply materials for a struggle, profes sedly of principle, which can only -be properly and finally decided within the walls of Parliament. We trust we are not too sanguine in expressing our belief that in every instance the enemies of the Esta blishment will be foiled in their efforts to impair and diminish its usefulness ; for that, in reality, is the ob ject which they have in view. We have no patience with the disgusting cant by which the purity of their motives is paraded before the world. We cannot readily believe that the saving of a few pence yearly would induce men of otherwise respectable characters to engage in an aggravating and useless contest. We are told, it is true, that it is the principle of a church rate to which they object, and not its amount. Fudge ! The real and only objection which these men have to a church-rate is the purpose to which it is applied : the repairing and sustaining of those venerable walls which they would willingly pay ten times the amount to see levelled with the dust. As the friends of Mr. Joshua Walmsley appear to be attaching some importance to the connection of that gentleman with the Established Church, and suppose that he will thereby be placed in a better position than Mr. Thornely, it may not be useless to inquire, what services has Mr. Walmsley rendered to the Church of England which entitle him to the support of its mem bers ? In the first place, Mr. Walmsley is a church patron, and has lately had an opportunity of exercising his right of presentation. And how has he acted? In stead of following the laudable example of a noble minded gentleman, collaterally, we believe, related to him, and zealously seeking a clergyman of acknow ledged piety and talent, by whose untiring exertions an almost deserted church might be crowded with repent ant sinners, lie has made such an arrangement as will give him the opportunity of presenting his son, a minor and an untried man, to the living, when he may be le gally qualified to hold it. In doing this he certainly has not transgressed the law; but, surely, from one who inveighed so bitterly against the late corporation for exercising their right of presentation in such a manner a different course might naturally have been expected. Mr. Walmsley is a strenuous advocate for the sepa ration of church and state and for the voluntary sys tem. But how has he acted ? There is in Liverpool a society which has been instituted for the purpose of building and endowing churches by voluntary dona tions. How much has Mr. Walmsley contributed to this society ? Positively not one farthing; whilst num bers of his fellow -townsmen, with less means, and op posed to the voluntary system, have subscribed upwards of one hundred pounds each to it. Nor has he been more generous to the Diocesan Church Building So ciety. Now, were Mr. Wahnsley a poor man or a con scientious advocate of the right of the state to provide scriptural accommodation and instruction for the peo ple, there might be some excuse for him; but such conduct from a man who avows voluntary principles, and can afford to subscribe annually to the O'Connell tribute fund, or to lavish ostentatiously thousands of pounds upon balls and dinners, admits of no defence. Again, with respect to education according to the doctrines and principles of the Church of England, how has Mr. Walmsley acted ? It is well known that Mr. Walmsley is a staunch supporter of the system of education pursued in the Corporation Schools, which, however agreeable to the members of the Protector Society, cannot he too strongly condemned by every churchman. Mr. Walmsley is likewise well known as a director and late president of the Mechanics' Insti tution, of which not one-fifth of the directors belong to the Church of England. It would be hence ima gined that Mr. Walmsley, as a churchman and a pro fessed friend to the education of the people, would have gladly hailed the establishment of the Collegiate Institution, and at once have connected himself with it. But no : although waited upon as the Mayor of Liverpool by a deputation, he declined to award his support or lend his sanction to an institution in which religious instruction according to the doctrines of the Established Church will be for ever given ; whilst he is proud to preside over an educational establishment into whose studies, as detailed in the printed pro gramme, no religious instruction of any description enters. We have thus briefly reviewed the public actions of . the new parliamentary candidate, so far ar they are con nected with his duties as a member of the Established Church, and candidly confess, that although we find much in them to entitle him to the gratitude and sup port of the Catholics and other enemies of the church, we can glean nothing to recommend him to the notice of true churchmen. On the contrary, he appears to us as a wolf in lamb's clothing, from whom the church has more to fear in the approaching struggle for Pro testant ascendancy than the Unitarians or other avowed enemies. Let not any of his friends lay the flatter ing unction to their souls that their cause will be benefited by the connection of their candidate with the Church of England. He has been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. We beg to direct attention to a report in another column of the proceedings of the annual vestry, held on Tuesday last, at the neighbouring village of Walton-on-the-Hill. Our readers will perhaps be aware that the fabric of the church at Walton has, for the last few years, been undergoing dila pidation, and that the churchwardens, following the require ments of the law, have expended a portion of the church rate, levied for the purpose, in endeavouring to repair the ravages of time, and to restore its walls to a state of security. To complete this object, it appears that it will be necessary to levy a church-rate for the present year of 2d in the pound; and the mere supposition that such a demand would be made brought, as a matter of course, the whole force of the Whig- Radical camp, like a swarm of hornets round the ears of the worthy vicar and the parochial authorities. An amend ment was duly moved, and the array of the anti-church faction, after endeavouring in vain to throw the burthen of the expenses already incurred, upon the shoulders of the churchwardens, succeeded, on the show of hands, in nega tiving the rate. A poll, however, was demanded, the result of which will no doubt show that our national establish ment is not yet reduced so low in public estimation as to be trampled beneath the feet of its enemies. We dare say it would be abundantly delightful to some of the gentlemen who attended the vestry to witness the arrival of those halcyon days, when churches will be allowed to crumble unheeded like disused dog kennels. Such a con summation, however, the march of liberalism has not yet brought round ; and so long as the laws of England require from the inhabitants of every parish a contribution for the express purpose of preserving the sacred walls of those churches from decay, we trust that men will be found amongst their members bold enough to perform that duty even at risk of provoking a hubbub such as was presented on Tues day, or of drawing down upon themselves the virtuous in dignation of gentlemen who carry " Doctor Lushington" in their pockets. It will be seen from our report that at the close of the poll on Thursday the anti-church faction were in a large minority. We trust that still the friends of the church will not omit to record their votes. The next good thing to giving a man a good thrashing is to thrash the conceit out of him. TOTNES ELECTION. TRIUMPH OF THE CONSERVATIVES. Mi. Baldwin, the conservative candidate, was, on Tuesday, returned by a majority of seven, as the following statement will shew : CLOSE OF THE POLL. 158 151 Majority for Mr. Baldwin... LIVERPOOL PROTESTANT OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.— The monthly meeting of this association took place on Wed nesday evening last, at Mr. Tyzack's Academy, No. 1, Hill street, Toxteth-park, the Rev. S. Fenton, M.A., vicar of Fishguard, in the chair. The meeting having been opened by the Chairman with prayer, and remarks, as usual, Mr. Ratcliffe moved the following resolution :—" That this meet ing being convinced that it is only by the revival of true, ge nuine Protestantism that true religion and civil liberty can be maintained in our land, and that Protestant associations are admirably calculated, under God, to accomplish this im portant object, call loudly upon our fellow-townsmen to join our association, and unite with us in this glorio us cause ."— The speech on this occasion was delivered in a s t rong an d powerful argumentative style, and appeared to have the de sired effect upon a crowded audience. Mr. Williams, in se conding the resolution, brought forward a whole host of quo tations from Dens and other Popish writers, contrast i ng Protestantism with Popery, with much effect. Mr. Watham then addressed the meeting in a humourous, yet effecti v e style, respecting DA N a nd his tail,and made an appeal to the shipwrights to form a branch association in the Park, which was loudly responded to. A vote of thanks to the chairman having been moved and duly seconded, and a few remarks made by the chairman, the doxology was sung, and the meeting concluded by the three watch-words of this asso ciation (Ist, Scriptural Education ; 2d, Church Extension ; 3d, Repeal of the Popish Emancipation Act) being given out, as usual, at the close of the meeting, with tremendous cheer ing, clapping of hands, and cheers. The next Birkenhead cattle and cheese fair will be held on the 28th instant, two days before the great fair at Cheater. Simon OUR CONTEMPORARIES. We can seldom place much faith in the veracity of the Whig-radical press, but we do certainly think, that in their reports of public meetings a little decency might be ob served, and at any rate personalities might be avoided, even towards those parties whose opinions and facts happen to be opposed to those of the zeporter or his party. The cause must be weak indeed which requires the aid of misrepresen tation and ridicule to support it. The Mercury of Friday last proposes to furnish his readers with a report of the proceedings of the Anti-slavery meet ing held on Thursday evening. at which an assertion of Mr. Scoble, the itinerant agitator of the society, called forth from one of our most respectable merchants a complete refuta- tion, supported by facts, against which, even Mr. Scoble in vain attempted to bear up, and corroborated by the evidence of another gentleman, who spoke from personal experi ence upon the subject. We pass over the attempts made by Mr. Scoble to wriggle out of the dilemma in which he felt himself placed, our object being only to notice the extremely unfair and insolent tone in which this portion of the pro ceedings is given by the Mercury. The gentlema* who cor roborated the statements of Mr. Semple, and who is in every sense of the word as respectable a man as any iir the meet ing, is described by the reporter as " a person with red hair, who had planted himself behind Mr. Semple ;" and in another place is very impertinently described as " the red haired dissentient." We are not aware that the gentleman in question will care a straw for the vulgarity of these allu sions, but we must express our opinion, that the real friends of the Anti-slavery Society are not consulting the interest of the cause which they have in hand by tolerating so unworthy a mode of treating those who, though quite as sincere as themselves, in the wish to see Great Britain and her colo nies freed from the contamination of slavery, are at the same time of opinion that that object cannot be promoted by gross misrepresentations of facts and systematic endeavours to create a sensation in its favour at the expense of truth. The Journal has a long article upon the subject of the late decision of the Dock Committee, by which the motion car ried by Mr. Robertson Gladstone in favour of admitting reporters to the meetings of the Dock Trustees was re scinded. It is seldom, indeed, that the Conservative press is found ranged under the same banner with the organs of Whig radicalism. On this question, however, the press of Liverpool appears to be unanimous ; and, perhaps, Mr. Alderman Leathom and his supporters may find it to their advantage to respect so undeniable an evidence of the direc tion of public opinion. The correspondence between the Alderman and Mr. Robertson Gladstone, which we pub lished on Friday, will not be without its effect upon the minds of our townsmen. There are few people who are not aware how important a weapon in the hands of the whig faction, is the faculty " of enormous lying." Our contemporary, the Chronicle, is an especial adept in the use of this favourite weapon of his party, and in a leading article of his last publication, gives full swing to his propensity. It will be remembered that an expression of Mr. W. E. Gladstone, the member for Newark, during the debate on the China question, was received by the ministerial benches as a justification of the Chinese authorities for resorting even to the extreme measure of poisoning the wells from which British traders in opium were accustomed to draw their supplies of water. This misunderstanding of the sense which Mr. Gladstone intended his words to convey, was promptly rectified by that gentleman himself, and admitted by Lord Palmerston and others during the debate. Yet the Chronicle following in the wake of other equally unprin cipled journals, persists in affixing to the character of Mr. Gladstone the stain which so atrocious a sentiment would justly have brought upon it. The friends of that gentle man can well afford to despise an attack, which coming from such a source must be harmless. The animus, however, of the Editor of the Chronicle, is plainly evinced; the dispo sition to bite is not the less manifested, because the gums are toothless ; the senseless slaver of the toad is still hateful and nasty, although it may not contain► the venom of the serpent. Our contemporary of the Times, unlike any other of his contemporaries, defends the policy of excluding reporters from the meetings of the Dock Committee. We cannot, however, say much in favour of his arguments, which, in our opinion, apply quite as much to the policy of giving publicity to the proceedings of the Council as to those of the Committee. The former as well as the latter have contracts to make, ser vants to engage and discharge, and discussions to carry on, which at times are " totally unfit to meet the public eye," and may " lead to a mischievous exposure of the affairs of individuals ;" and we perfectly coincide with the opinion of our contemporary, and its applicability to both, that " a talk ing body is seldom a working body." We wonder the Times has not hinted this fact to another assembly, which is pecu liarly a talking body. It may, no doubt, be very convenient to some parties that the details of the proceedings of the Dock Committee should not be " laid open to the public gaze prematurely." It should be remembered, however, that it is these very details which the public wish to inspect. A portion of the Dock Committee is composed of members returned by the mercan tile body, and whilst their opinions are, on every question of importance, overborne by the majority returned by the Cor poration, the public have, a right to know on what ground; those opinions are opposed. The majority can carry their own dicta to the Council Chamber., where they are duly ushered forth to the public as the fruits of the collective wis dom of the Dock Committee ; but the arguments and the protests of the mercantile community, who have no seats in the Council, are dropped at the door. "So long as the pro ceedings have to pass under the review of the representatives of the burgesses of Liverpool, and to receive their sanction before they possess any force," our contemporary argues that " publicity is fully provided for." We maintain that it is no such thing. The public only know so much of the pro ceedings of the Dock Committee as those of its members, who belong to the Council, choose to reveal through the pro ceedings of the Council. The opinions of the majority of the Dock Committee are revealed ; but those of the minority we are entirely unacquainted with. The public see the results attained, but they want to see the working of the machinery. We are not surprised that our contemporary should take the illiberal side upon this question. The aristocratic section of the whig party, of which he is the organ, appear resolved to cut off all connexion and sympathy with their fellow townsmen, and to earn the thorough contempt of every member of the community. We hope they will not be disap pointed. CAUTION TO MATES, STEWARDS, AND OTHERS.—On Tuesday last, a very respectably clad young man, named William Sunter, was placed before Mr. Rushton, to meeta charge of having smuggled a quantity of tobacco. Mr. Brooks, of the customs, was present, and his officers proved that about 33 lbs. of what is called Cavendish (foreign manu factured) tobacco was found in the cabin of the ship Margaret Johnson, from Charleston, then lying in the Victoria Dock, — part of it in a wine locker, under some bottles of wine ; and part of it under a berth or sleeping place. It appeared from the evidence that, on being questioned about it, the prisoner owned that, with the exception of asmall quantity, it belonged to him. When called upon for his defence he made a simi lar admission, and pleaded his ignorance of the laws of the country,—he not having been more than two voyages to spa. The owner and the mate of the ship he had sailed with gave him a good character. Mr. Rushton regretted that the fact being proved, he had no power to mitigate the penalty, in which he must convict him,—namely. £lOO. He should, however, assist him to memorialize the Lords Commissioners, and he was glad to add that, on consulting Mr. Brooks, that gentlemanwould also recommend a mitigation of the penalty. CHURCH OF ENGLAND LIFE AND FIRE ASSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY.—This company, whose adver tisement in a remodelled form appears this day in our co lumns, is, we understand, rapidly progressing, the numbers of its supporters daily increasing by the adhesion of gentle men of high standing and great influence. It will be seen that it has been much strengthened by a junction with the " City of London Annuity Company," with their large paid-up capital and already-established business. The pro spectuses, we are informed, will be issued in a few days, when it will be seen that the company has the high sanction and patronage of a many of the bishops of our church, as well as the nobility, who take a lively interest in its success. We are glad to observe the name of our respected townsman, Samuel Holme, Esq., in connexion with the company here ; and we have no doubt that it will receive the cordial support of all the friends and members of the Church of England. GAME CERTIFICATES.—The following notice relative to the alteration of the time at which Game Certificates expire, we presume will be of serviee to our sporting friends:— " Notice is hereby given, that by the 3d sec. of the Act 2 and Victorise, c. 35, it is enacted, that all certificates for taking or killing game, granted and in force at the time of the passing of the said act (29 July 1839,) and all such cer tificates granted after that date, and before the 6th of July 1840, instead of expiring on the sth day of April 1840, shall continue in force until the sth day of July 1840 ; and that all such certificates which shall be granted at any time after the sth day of July 1840, shiall continue in force until and upon the sth day of July next after the time of issuing the same." INCREASE OF LlVERPOOL. — Notwithstanding the dullness of trade, houses have never, within our recollection, been in greater demand than they are at present in this town. About five or six years ago, it was estimated that there were five thousand houses to let in Liverpool and the neighbourhood, building having• been a complete mania for some time ; but so rapid has been the increase of the population since that time, that there is now scarcely a house to be had, for love or money, either in the town or environs. No sooner is a good house announced as being to let, than it is applied for by half a dozen persons ; and in one case that we have heard of, a dozen persons applied for a house on the same day, and two of them got to very high words about it. If it had not been for the dullness of trade and the scarcity of money, building would have recommenced before this time with great vigour.—Liverpool Times. PREJUDICES. — Every country has particular prejudices with regard to accelerating personal improvements ; but, with a few barbarian exceptions, a set of fine teeth is an object of general solicitude. The present age abounds in useful and elegant discoveries (says an eminent member of the faculty) but all yield in beauty and utility to ROWLAND'S ODONTO, which, as an embellisher and preserver of the teeth, and consequent promoter of comfort and attraction, is certainly the first dentifrice of the present age.—See advt. FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM.—We refer with great plea sure to the public meeting advertised to promote the esta blishment of a Liverpool Female Orphan Asylum. It is pro posed to extend its benefits to a distance of seven miles from the Liverpool Exchange, and it is hoped that the support of it will be extensive and liberal. The object must excite ge neral sympathy and interest. We learn that the Rev. Jona than Brooks and the Rev. Hugh M'Neile have kindly pro mised their influence and assistance, by moving the leading resolutions. HALIFAX AND BOSTON STEAMERS. —The steam-packets between Liverpool and Halifax and Boston will commence sailing from this port on Saturday, the 16th of May. This, we believe, will be the shortest voyage across the Atlantic. It will realize the plan proposed many years ago in Mac gregor's British America, and more fully developed by Judge Halyburton, in hie memoirs of the immortal Sam Slick. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE SHARE MARKET. We have viewed with considerable satisfaction the progres sive improvement in the market for railway property, which we thought was at one time depressed to a greater extent than any merely financial difficulties warranted. We are still of opinion that in many stocks there is ample room for improvement, but we must confess that we do not altogether regard with pleasure the feverish tone which our share mar ket has evinced during the past week. It is certainly natural, that when so many great works are drawing towards comple tion, the public attention should be directed towards them, and, the exact cost being ascertained, that purchasers for in vestment should become more frequent, and an advance in price be the result. But we cannot conceal from ourselves the fact, that, for the last week the feeling under which pur chases have been made has gone a little beyond the point which intrinsic circumstances have warranted. We are not satisfied that any stock has been sold too high, but we do not regard as a healthy sign the sudden impulse by which these prices have been realized. It may certainly be said, and we trust such is the case, that the present activity in the share market is produced by a reviving confidence in the prospects of our commerce gene rally, and in the security of our financial affairs. We have no doubt, that, to a considerable extent this is true ; and, provided our speculators do not allow their eagerness to out run the just limits of prudence, we shall be satisfied. But we must deprecate any approach to the reckless and gambling spirit which was displayed a few years ago, and which has entailed upon us evils so deeply felt and so widely spread. The consequences of another revulsion, similar to that out of which we are just emerging, would throw incalculable diffi culties in the way of a system, which, if allowed to progress steadily and with a healthy speed, cannot but tend to promote the happiness and the comfort of the community. MIDDAND COTTNTIRSP RAILWAT.—The works on this line as far as Leicester arein an extreme state of forwardness, and there is not the least doubt the first week in May will see the train flying over the high embankment, or through the deep cuttings to that place. From Long Eaton to Sutton Bonnington, two lines of rails are completed—the splendid bridge over the Trent being now crossed by engines and trains of waggons, and the tunnel being also quite passable. At Sutton Bonnington there is a deep cutting beside the church yard, and a station is building, which will require some little work, but the number of hands employed will soon complete that. Past Normanton-on-Soar and Loughborough all is finished, the station at the latter place being a very large one; but at Barrow-upon-Soar there still remains cosiderable cut ting to be done, one place being cut down to 50 or 60 feet and not being yet completed. At Cossington there is a little work, but at Silehy this is counterbalanced by there being a total completion, comprising several very high bridges, which support the line above the village streets, and also some ex ceedingly deep cuttings. At Sy s t on , the bridges and station are also nearly finished, the latter being only one story high, but very compact, and containing plenty of room. At Thur maston, about 1 miles from Leicester, a piece of embankment is yet to be laid, and about a mile from Leicester there is some embankment required, but near to Leicester the works are in an extreme state of forwardness. The station is a noble one ; the front facing the street is supported by five huge iron pillars. The engine house, depot for carriages, work shops for engineers, &c., are on a most extensive scale. The bridges across the railway at Leicester, viz., across the Ii um berstone-road, London-road, &c. are finished, but at the top of New Walk, a tunnel is being built which will require some time to complete. About a mile and a half past Leicester, a very fine viaduct is in course of erection ; and at Rugby ano ther viaduct, not equalled by any in the kingdom for work manship, is finished. In short, on the whole, the line may be fairly said to have sprung into being, so quick has been its progress. A new plan has been adopted at Leicester in building the bridges, viz., to build the side wall s so hi g h as to prevent any one looking over, and thus at the same time protecting numbers from accidents. The process of blasting is much practised at Leicester. In conclusion, we are sorry to add, that within the last fortnight two men have been killed on the works at separate times. A horse was also killed on Tuesday morning week, by falling down an em bankment. The Directors intend giving a grand opening day when the trains run to the Rugby station for the first time.—Notts Review. EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.—This line of rail way is getting on rapidly, and the tunnel in Bell's Park is getting forward at a quick rate. There are three steam-en gines employed at this tunnel, bringing up the stones and rubbish at three holes, technically called " eyes," and a great quantity of stuff is brought up in the course of a day.— Glas gow Chronicle. We understand that since the opening of the Great West ern line to Reading, the last of the Bath and Bristol coaches has been put upon the railway. The same has been the case with the Oxford and other coaches. THE LATE VESTRY MEETING. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SlR,—Will you allow me, through the medium of your paper, to make a few remarks upon the conduct of an indi vidual named Clarke, at the vestry meeting of yesterday. The purposes for which the parishioners were assembled might have been effected in one hour, had it not been for the idle, frivolous, and worse than useless objections and amendments of this person, who, as you will perceive by the report published in this day's Courier, had nearly all the talk to himself. Now, if this gentleman's time was of no value to himself or to his respectable employers, he ought to have considered that " time was the estate" of a great portion of the pa rishioners'then assembled, and that they could ill afford to waste two hours each in listening to his nonsense. Two hours to an individual may be nothing, but when multiplied by four or five hundred, it becomes a large portion of time, and the work that might have been gone through in that time would amount to a-very heavy sum, the whole of which is for ever lost, because an old garrulous gentleman delights to play the orator, to the amusement no doubt of himself, but to the utter disgust of the greater portion of his hearers. This letter is written in perfect good feeling: the writer does not like to see old age making a laughing-stock of it self, and he therefore trusts that Mr. Clarke s good sense will deter him from ever again furnishing the public with such an exhibition. I am, sir, yours &c., 22d Afiril, 1840. A TRADESMAN. OPENING THE BOTANIC GARDEN ON THE SABBATH DAY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Liverpool, 22d April, 1840. SlR,—Will you permit me through your valuable columns to call the attention of the Proprietors of the Botanic Gardens, to the important question which will he submitted to them next Tuesday, viz., whether they will sanction the opening of the Garden to the public on the Lord's day. • To those who have erroneous or inadequate views as to the obligation of christians to " Reme m ber th e S a bb at h-d ay, to keep it holy," it may appear a very desirable arrangement to allow the public an opportunity of spending a part of that day, by taking a walk in the garden ; but I trust the number of persons holding such sentiments, forms a small propor tion of the proprietors of our institution. Surely none who are in the habit of responding " Incline our hearts to keep this law," will be so inconsistent as to give their votes to tempt others to break it ; and surely there are also many, who, although they do not corresponct, love that holy law as much, and will join in the determination of withholding their sanction to a measure, the carrying of which would delight the hearts of the worshippers in the new " Temple of Science" and promote their objects, as well as prove a snare to'others who ought to be assembling together for Christian worship. _ _ Our senior Rector occupies a place in the direction of the Garden, and as one who is especially called upon to be a guardian of public morals, we may rely upon his vigilance and zeal to perform his part. It only requires that the pro prietors should rally round him by attending the meeting, and showing by their votes that no expectation of pecuniary assistance, however desirable, will bribe them to sanction such a violation of christian principle and morals. I would suggest, that instead of admitting the public on Sunday, they be admitted on another day of the week; and if it be objected that the working people could not reap the advantage of such an arrangement, I reply, that from April to September is the only season that the gardens are worth visiting, (except the hothouses, into which the public could not, under any circumstances, be indiscriminately admitted ;) and those persons whose avocations prevented their visiting the gardens during the day, might go in the evening, as the gardens might be kept open till dusk. Besides, the arrange ment would afford an opportunity for that large and import ant class, whose religious principles would prevent their going on the Lord's day, and the benefit proposed to be con ferred would therefore be larger, if another day were adopted. I remain, yours respectfully, A PROPRIETOR. MR. SCOBLE AND HIS MIS-STATEMENTS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR,—In your paper of Friday I am glad to find your pro mise to do Mr. Scoble justice, the harangue of that gentle man on the conduct and earnings of the emancipated negroes, was made with the most manifest disregard of that honour and honesty, which the British West India planters, as a body, had the most unquestionable moral right to expect and require from him. The principles of philanthropy, which, no doubt, he would refer to as the rule of his conduct in assuming to stand forth RS public arbiter between the negro and the planter, most imperatively required, that be should impartially and unre servedly have declared the whole truth, and not as with the morbid imagination and malicious notices of a partizan, la bour to give a false bias to the beam on thefukrum of JUS TICE, who on a true and unreserved statement of all the facts and circumstances by and relating to each party, can alone righteously weigh the question, as it were, in her scales and show the world which party is found wanting. Recrimination is not the handmaid of philanthropy, neither will the advocates of the negro advance his interests by cen suring his employers. If the abolitionists be sincere, in the avowed wish to improve the social and moral condition of the negro, they should endeavour to beget in him a habit of industry and to reconcile him to, not set him at enmity with his master, which latter they are most certainly doing by their libellous public harangues, in my opinion begetting a national evil, that even now calls for the prompt interdiction of government. Your townsman, Mr. Semple, stood nobly forward to ex pose the fallacies and sophistry of Mr. Scoble, for which the whole body of West India planters are greatly indebted to Mr. Semple, apathetic as the planters are to all wrongs com mitted upon them, surely they must now perceive the neces sity of resorting to counter harangues, or rather of giving to the world in public lectures and in print an unvarnished and irrefutable statement of all the facts, pro and con, in order the most effectually to disabuse the mind of the British peo ple of the one-sided representations of Mr. Scoble and his adherents, to confront them, visa vis, and to put these ma lignant libellers to the blush, What are the secretaries of the West India associations in London, Liverpool, and other places doing, not to challenge public discussion on the correlative situation and conduct of the negroes and planters. Since slavery is totally abolished in all her Majesty's do minions and co l on i es , i s i t compat ibl e w i t h t h e we lfare of the British natio n , that any Anti-SlaverySociety/ agit dictators, should be allowed to exist and prow l about her realms? loa A n s o t f h e a Irishman m kn ai e l e w ke h r o t w n en w t a a k e e ross tre th n e eo s ptrleeeot oil othhe opposite w os t i l t ie e side of the street, so the Rev. Mr. Keap co mes across the IS Atlantic to borrow the th tr e um ya p n e k ts ee o a f b t , the abolitionists on the other t Eng l ish Anti-Slavery agitators to rouse up side. Your oblige of the above in youAr stoti-mßosrcroßwißs E pter, will April 20th, 1840. DEAFNESS. —'Mr. Swift, surgeon and aurist, Huddersfield, whose numerous certificates of cures have so often appeared in the Leeds Mercury and other York shire papers, has en gaged rooms at the Golden Cross, S ir Thomas's-buildi ngs , and will visit Liverpool a few days every th ree weeks.—(See' advertisement.) LIVERPOOL MARINERS' CHURCH. Yesterday, the annual meeting of the subscribers to and the friends of the Mariners' Church was held in the Float ing Church, George's Dock, for the purpose of receiving the report of the committee for the past year, with a statement of the treasurer's accounts, and for the furtherance of the general objects of this excellent institution. There were a considerable number of persons present, including a large proportion'of ladies, and some individuals of the class for whose especial benefit the church was established, and they appeared to take great interest in the proceedings. The Rev. R. RAIKES, chancellor of the diocese, was called to the chair, after which the Rev. W. MAYNARD, the chaplain, implored the divine blessing. The CHAIRMAN, after having shown that the prosperity of our national commerce depended on the blessing of God, proceeded to say, that it was somewhat disheartening to find the example of the establishment of this church so slowly fol lowed in other localities. If a foreigner or a traveller were to traverse the line of the Liverpool docks, and see the wealth and population concentred about them, and then find, that out of the whole number, there was but one which had a church, (and that by no means adequate to the accommoda tion of those for whose benefit it was designed,) he would at once say there was groundfor an earnest appeal to the wealthy and affluent, for means of supplying the spiritual necessitirs of our maritime population. Many were not aware how much the wealth upon which their hearts were fixed depended upon the moral character of our maritime population. It was within our iwn recollection that some of the greatest ob structions to the commercial prosperity of the country had arisen simply from the misconduct of our seafaring men. Look at the state of our relations with China, for instance. Our difficulties with that exten s i ve coun t ry had almost en tirely grown out of the irregularity committed by some of our sailors ; and, in short, some of the most difficuit nego ciations and the most difficult points in our commercial his tory had arisen from outrages committed upon inoffensive na tives by careless, profligate:sailors, whom we had sent out. We were, in consequence, shut out from the trade to China. Similar misconduct might lead to similar exclusion in other parts ' • and if our commer c i a l wea lth cou ld b e so in different to the moral character of the men employed in our navy—if they could send out their sailors with no higher principle than that of sense, the men thus neglected would be the very cause of our destruction. (Hear, hear.) In that way God would visit upo n th e commercial wealth of England the punishment of the sin of having neglected the moral and spiritual welfare of their men. It had always constituted the peculiar charm of this church, that it seemed to be the first attempt made by the commercial wealth of England to give to seamen a decidedly religious character. If the example had been generally followed, and mariners' churches had been supplied in proportion to other churches, what might not have been the effect of those means of grace upon our maritime population! How many causes of offence might have been taken away ! How many men who had gone into eternity unprepared, with all their sins upon their heads, and without having the joy and peace of believing, might have been rescued from that fearful state ! He un derstood that the commercial seamen of this country amounted to 200,000, and that the average loss per annum was 1 per cent. on the whole, or 2,000 souls ! lie hoped, therefore, that the commercial wealth of this vast town and port would not suffer these poor men, who were the sinews of their strength and the means of their prosperity, to be exposed to the perils of the deep without providing for them the knowledge of that Saviour who alone could give them calmness in the hour of danger, and strip death of its ter rors. The rev. chairman concluded by calling on the chap lain to read the report. The Rev. W. MAYNARD then read the report. It gave a very interesting detail of the state of the church and school, and a variety of other information, of which we regret we are unable to give even an abstract. The TREASURER next read a statement of his accounts, from which it appeared that, after paying every demand, there was a balance left in his hands of £B9. The Rev. R. P. Be DnICOM moved the first resolution, to the effect, that the report and the treasurer's statement be printed and circulated. The rev. gentleman said that if ever there was a society with more vast and momentous objects in view, or that aimed at greater or more noble results than another, and to which the support was in the inverse propor tion to the importance of its object, it was the Mariner's Church. He,'therefore, called upon the wealthy merchants of the port to come to its assistance, and enable their poor seamen to learn the way of salvation. Mr. Buddicom con cluded by movir D er the resolution. The Rev. Mr. OLIVER, from Dublin, seconded the reso lution, and stated, that 18 years ago a mariner's chapel was established in that city, since which period a church had been erected. He was concerned to hear the small amount sub scribed by the numerous and opulent ship-owners of this town, because he knew they were well capable of building a church for every dock. The resolution was then carried. The Rev. HUGH M'IsTEILE was called upon to move the second resolution. He was glad (the reverend gentleman said) to respond to the call of the Secretary of the Society and the Minister of the Church; but he had a very different expectation in going there. He was ashamed to address that meeting—not of course ashamed of those who were there, but of our fellow-townsmen who were not there. He was confounded at such a sight in Liverpool—at such a disgrace. lie remembered a number of years ago being in the. gallery of the House of Commons, on the morning of which day news had come of a French vessel having been over hauled, under peculiar circumstances, by one of our ships of war, with slaves on board—slaves in circumstances disgraceful to human nature. Mr. Wilberforce got up and addressed the house for some time with great animation, on the subject of the slave trade ; arid then, to the astonish ment of everybody, he said, " Sir," turning to the Speaker, " I am not speaking to this house—no : I am not speaking to this country, but I am speaking to France, to try if there remains a blush upon her forehead." Now he (Mr. M`Neile) would try to speak to the merchants of Liverpool, busied in the things that perish —some of them giving nothing, and others satisfied with giving a little of their money towards this institution, and scarcely any of them finding time, from the slavery of Mammon, to give the countenance of their presence at the annual meeting of an institu tion like this, which ought to have been swelled and multiplied by the. number of docks along the river. It was impossible to take an intelligent, though it were but a passing view of this vast to wn , s t re t c hi ng i tse lf nort h an d south along the banks of the river, and spreading eastward over the hills, without f ee li ng th a t iere was a city of mighty influence for good or for evil ; and this impression was strengthened when we entered into particulars, threading its streets, contemplating its vast wealth, meeting its crowds of all classes and conditions of Illmk ; and when we looked- fur ther, and saw the highways and canals and railways con verging to it, each bringing their living tides of human na ture—the man of wealth for pleasure, the map of commerce for business, and the man of science for investigation, from all parts of the kingdom ; and when, again, turning our eyes along the docks, we saw the flags of every nation under heaven floating in the breeze,—these impressions, he said, deepened the solemnity of our eternal responsibility. The crowds that moved along the busy scene were passing into eternity ! There, our commerce secured no profit ! There, our banking-houses contained no treasure ! There our machinery excited no pride ! There God was all in all, the happiness of the intelligent creation ! To know him was indeed to be happy ; but there, there were no refuges of self deceit, and not to know him was to be ruined for ever. Any of our merchants might have in this world wealth the envy of his competitors, character the admiration of his country, amiability the cement and solace of his family circle and social acquaintances, yet living without Christ and without God in this world, and continuing so in the world to come, —without God, without Christ, without happiness, without a home, an eternal outcast from the harmony of creation, an everlasting discord, an everlasting grating upon the ear, hate ful to himself, hating the sight, because he could not partici pate in the enjoyment, of the happiness of heaven. All this might be. All that wealth, knowledge, rank, and fame could give a man in this world, was at the mercy of the merest ac cident. A falling timber, a sudden stroke of inward paraly sis, or an unexpected attack of fever might launch from the sumptuous table, the purple and fine linen, a wretched crea ture into; eternity ; but the true knowledge of Jesus Christ, God and man, satisfying God and sanctifying man, bro ug ht a peace with it which lived untouched amidst the war of elements, the wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds ! This was what every man should have, and without it no man was safe. And if Christian knowledge was so indispensibls for every man in all circumstances, how much more urgently, speaking after the manner of men, was it for those whose proression exposed them to multiplied risks of sudden death ! Our mariners were exposed to mul tiplied risks : the perils of the sea were added to the common perils of life. The mortality among them was great —one per cent. per annum upon the whole seaf a ring populatio n . The risk, therefore, at once struck us as being multiplied among men who spent so much of their time at sea, and as what should give them habitual preparation. He (Mr. M'lsleile) was quite aware that even upon land what was called special preparation for death, after a man was laid upon a bed of sickness, was little to be depended upon ; but even that little was not to be found in the case of the shipwrecked seaman ; there remained no time, there was no visiting mi nister, no glimpse of hope whereon Christian benevolence might grasp, and upon which Christian relatives might fix fondly au eye of affectionate remembrance after the soul was gone. - Upon the contrary, the calamity of sudden death with them was accompanied up to the very moment with such an exasperation of the natural feelings, such an excite nient of the natural character and temper, as to provoke the reiterated use of offensive language, and even the tone of blasphemy, until the tongue was silenced in the grasp of death. Oh! what became the duty of those who knew what Christian feeling and principle and Christian happiness was, who knew something of what death might be, because they had felt God's wrath? What became their duty—their plain and obvious duty ? Was it to spend their whole time in the things of this world ; to give their whole influence, their whole thoughts, their reading and writing, all their calcula tions day after day all the year round, to the perishing no things of this world ? Was it to turn with cold disdain and supercilious contempt upon the efforts made by British Christians among the very men who were the instruments of loading their tables with the choicest delicacies of every clime, and-clothing their bodies with the softest raiment that could be brought from every country? No. If there were a just feeling of the responsibility that was laid upon the British merchants who occupied the palaces in and around this town, as had been already said, there would be Mariners; Churches by every dock, and the annive rs a r y m eetings n p this society would not be attended o n ly by a stragghngh a d . ful of people, but no room in th e to wn wou ld be able to con tain the merchants and their families, and their.dependents, who should be set loose from their daily occupations to take part in it, that they might so swell and fill the benches that the Amphitheatre could not hold them; as a for what meet ing should so move Liverpool, as one meet ing for her seamen? He protested, h e man, stood in doubt about the exhibition of their Christian feeling upon other subjects, and about the g ennineness. of their Protest.. autism, when he saw the Amphitheatre crowded to the ceiling with meetings to ex. patiate (t o h n e t i tif a i rie r i P i r r o s i,es c ta h n u t re in h - ) stitutions, whilst even this loophole could not be filled for the Mariners Church Society ! He did not love such Protestantism, and he was glad o f t hi s op portunity to say so. He_ had been requested to move, " That whilst this meeting desires to return thanks t o Al mighty God for the measu re of success with which he has honoured its labours, the society calls upon the clergy, the shi powners, the m erchants, and the inhabitants of Li verpool, for increas ed exertions iu promoting its welfare." Th e rev. gentleman t h en proceeded, with astonishing effect, to set forth the am azing love of God to sinners. This, he continued, i s what we want to tell to sailors, and indeed to all sinners. What we desire to lodge in their bosoms is a fruc tifying seed, for we know the fruits that will be so produced For this purpose then, what should we have in such a town as Liverpool ? One little church for seamen, and one mes senger for grace ? Ay e , one at least for every dock ! (Cheers.) Nay, what should our merchants do for their seamen ? If the men have leisure upon the Lord's day to go to church, should expense be considered for a moment ? (Hear, hear.) Should not a large building be erected for them immediately ? Land can be found when a warehouse is wanted—(hear, hear)—land can be found whenever money can be found—(cheers)—and what should hinder the money being found for this object? It seems, however, as if the larger the money of each man, the more loath he is to part with it—it seems as if there was an attraction in money and a gravitation in men that draws and keeps them to gether, and glues them to one another. The men of large money should remember what Lord Bacon says : he compares money to a -dunghill—" keep it," he says, " in a lump, and it corrupts; but spread:it, and it is fructi fying manure." (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Every large lump, then, should be broken up ; and a large building should be erected for the sailors on Sundays, upon or near the quays, a building large enough for one, two, or three thousand peo ple, if you could get a man with a voice loud enough for them to hear. That, indeed, would be a noble tl a noble feature in our town, and I would nister of such a church, than a bishop. (Cheers.) The rev. gentleman concluded, amidst loud applause, by moving the resolution. lIP Captain M'CuLLEN seconded the resolution, and, is the course of his address, he stated that the rapid depopulation of New Zealand was owing to the vice and diseases trans . planted thither by profligate British seamen. He mentioned the various temptations they were exposed to in port, and ex pressed a most anxious desire for means to be taken to pro tect them, and- to implant in them sound religious principles. The resolution was then carried. The Rev. J. H. STZWART proposed a vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr. Maynard, and the gentlemen who had acted as officers for the last year. The rev. gentleman spoke at con siderable length on the necessity of merchants and shipowner s supporting this institution, and on the sin of despatching their vessels on the Sabbath day. The Rev. Mr. LAWRENCE seconded the resolution, and it *as carried. Mr. T. B. HORSFALL moved the next' resolution, but before reading it he begged to refer for one moment to the resolution moved by Mr. M`Neile. It was very rarely that that gentleman omitted doing ample justice to any resolution which he took in hand ; but on this occasion there had been an omission on his part. He (Mr. Horsfall) admitted that his (Mr. M`Neile's) remarks respecting merchants and shipowners were very apt and very impressive; but the resolution included also the clergy : it said that the society called on the clergy also for increased exertions. Now if he (Mr. Horsfall) might venture to make one remark, it would be to request his rev. friend, and those of the clergy who had addressed the meeting, regretting the supineness of many merchants and shipowners, to address the observations to which they had given such powerful utterance, from their pulpits to their congregations on the Sabbath day. He felt assured that the good seed thus sown would be ripened, that there would be an abundant harvest, and, from the influence those gentlemen had over their congregations, he was sure we need not despair of having, if not a church for every dock, at least the large and magnificent building of which Mr. Al`Neile had spoken. He begged to move a vote of thanks to the Chancellor of the Diocese for his kindness in presiding over the meeting. The Rev. Dr. TATTERSHALL seconded the motion. The CHANCELLOR briefly returned thanks ; and the Doxology having been sung mid a blessing p►onounced, the meeting separated. BURNING COAL MlNES.—Letters and papers from the department of the Allier, bring accounts of a remarkable conflagration which broke out in the coal mines of Commen try, on Sunday the 15th ult., and had been burning for a week with daily increasing fury. It appears that this fire which, for the last four-and-twenty years, has been silently smoul dering in the bowels of the earth—revealing its existence by perpetual smoke, and occasional outbreaks of flame, which, however, had always been confined within the limits aban doned to its dominion—had, at length, made its way through some breach into one of the vast galleries of these extensive workings ; and there, meeting with the air current so long denied it, had spread through all the subterranean chambers and passages with a rapidity before which resistance became utterly powerless; showing itself at every crevice and outlet of the vast labyrinth, and flinging its points and columns of fire far up into the air, through all the shafts that led into the wide field of the rich deposit. Luckily the solemnities of the day had emptied the workings of their human tenants ; for no mortal aid could have availed them against the sudden ness with which the fiery flood swept over all things. The authorities of the district were early on the spot, but have hitherto been little more than idle and awe-struck spectators. Neither Vesuvius, nor any other irruption, say the accounts, can give a notion of the dreadful and sublime scene. " If," says one writer, " it, were possible to forget that the flames have been, for three whole days, devouring immense wealth, and that by this conflagration three hundred fathers of fami lies will be thrown out of employment, there would be room for no other sentiment than that of admiration at the magni ficent spectacle. Imagine a deep ravine, nearly circular, in the form of a reversed cone, with its edges, however, hourly enlarging. Through fourteen large openings, issuing at about twenty feet above the ground of this ravine, and giving access to the innumerable galleries of the mines below, as many torrents of flame are poured forth, with frightful violence, from the cauldrons within—flames of a thousand hues, rush ing forth like fiery whirlwinds—dividing, and crossing, and mingling, and rising, and falling, and risi ng aga i n ! At times, a hollow cracking sound echoes through the abyss ; this is some huge block of coal detaching itself from the roof or sides of one of the galleries, and falling into the blazing gulph. Then rises up a thick column of black dust, till it reaches the openings of the galleries, where, pierced in all directions by the flames, long serpents of fire work through its volume from side to side. Sixty feet higher up, on each side of the galleries, two gaping mouths shoot into the air their dazzling columns of fire. Suddenly one of these ceases. It seems for a moment as if checked in its wrath. Then comes a long and startling groan from the entrails of the earth ; and forth again rushes the flame, blood-red, roaring and terrible, threatening in its fury to lift up the burning mountain altogether, and bury the spectators beneath its dreadful ruins. Again, loot around you ; it is midnight, and two thousand human faces are there, some grouped on the opposite crest of the ravine, some sheltered in the cavities of the rocks. Yet no sound meets the ear save that of the roar ing flames." The latest accounts state that the rafters of the galleries had all fallen, and the founts of flame nearly ceased to play. The whole had become one huge burning gulph. The loss is said to be incalculable ; millions of hectrolites of coal had been consumed. The engineers were preparing to turn the course of a stream, which flows at a league's dis tance, and direct it upon the burning mountain. Workmen were employed night and day in this operation, by which it was hoped today the mines under water.—Atheneum. •SECOND EDITION. Slamlard-office, 7 . llrec o'clock. LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE,--THIS DAY. Within the last three days we have to note a moderate quantity of Oats and Oatmeal from Ireland, but of other articles thence, or of any coastwise, the arrivals are unim portant ; while those from the continental ports of Europe contain a fair supply of Wheat and Barley, a few parcels of Oats, Beans, and Pease ; and from the American States 15,234 barrels of Flour, which, with the large accumulation previously here, form an abundant stock on hand. By the average returns of the kingdom, received this morning, the duties upon all foreign produce remain pre cisely the same as last week : in anticipation, however, of those on Wheat receding to 13s. Bd. per quarter, and on Flour to Bs. nd. per barrel, the buyers since Tuesday, ap pearing disposed to wait the result, have been very inactive, and we have consequently to report an indifferent trade gene rally from that time until to-day. Influenced by the cause above stated, and the prevalence of fine weather, we had at this day's market a slender at tendance only of local millers, who continued to purchase very sparingly; but, having some demand for the interior of the country and Ireland, sales of Foreign Wheat were ef fected to a moderate extent, partly in bond, to ship free after Friday next at a decline of 2d. to 3d. per 701b5., and for present delivery at a slight depression from the rates of Tuesday last. English and Irish Flour, superseded by the large supply of Foreign, remained almost wholly unnoticed ; and States free Flour moved off slowly at late prices. Of the latter kind in bond, however, a few thousand barrels have been taken at 275. 6d., and good parcels would readily bring 275., which importers refuse to accept at present. Fine English Malting Barley, upon a limited demand, supyorted former rates ; but grinding samples of Foreign, being difficult of sale, were the turn cheaper.—Beans and Pease remained steady in value. Oats, although not in lively request, were rather more saleable to-day at an improvement of -1-d. to ld. per 45 lbs. ; and Oatmeal sold a little more freely at our last quotations. ARRIVALS OF CORN, From the 21st to the 23rd April, 1840, inclusive DESCRIPTION. IRE- I COAST LAND. wax. PO- i UNITED TOTAL. REIGN. 'STATES. Wheat Qrs. j 397 Barley Qrs. 66g Malt Qrs 3 Oats Rye Qrs. Beans Qrs. Pease Shelled Barley . Qrs. Indian Corn Rapeseed Qrs. Oatmeal .... Loads 2707 Flour Sacks 40 Ditto . Brls. Into Runcorn, Ireland and Oatmeal, 286 loads. 6695 5195 2730 155 843 8625 6108 1173 8083 2708 1440 15309 Oats, 768 qrs.; Beans, 5 :-) -?........" , 4 , , s, ~ - \ ... t• ;, ~, ~ 4. , 4 9x --• •i 44 ..... .. ,-.4 .0 " ~.. ,:... -- i e I " - : 7 4 Ali X ..,) ;77' )tis:i : --;''' e , sr: , -% , ,; 64 ' ‹',:,.,......._!__ ~,,•vi thing : it wou i he I rather be the mi- Coastwise 75 1 15234 EXPORTS.-Foreign. Barley, 252 qrs. ; Oats, 35 qrs. ; Pease, 3 qrs. ; Flour, 3412 brls.-Ireland, IN heat, 292 qrs. ; Indian Corn, 131 qrs.-Coastwfse. Wheat, 419 qrs.; Barley, 232 qrs.; Malt, 40 qrs.: Oats, 110 qrs. ; Rye, 5 qrs.; Oatmeal, 79 loads ; Flour, 107 sacks, 445 brls. Average prices of Grain, for the week ending April 17, 1840. Wheat 695. 6d. I Barley.. 40s. 9d. I Oats.. 255. Id. I Rye .. 38s. 2d. Beans.. 425. 3d. I Pease, 41s. 6d. Aggregate average of the six weeks. Wheat.. 68s. 11. I Barley.. 395. 10. Oats.. 255. Bd. Rye.. 375. 4d Beans .. 41s. sd. Pease .. 40s. lid. Duty on Foreign Grain, Ike. this week. Wheati6s. Sd. f Barley3s. 4d. I Oats ...... 95. 3d. Rye .. 145. Od Beans, 85 .1.h% d r . Po P o e l ase. Averages,gs6week d Indian Corn 3s. 4d. I w Flours. °id ending 21st April, 1840. Wheat. I Barley. I Oats. I Beans. Pease. Qr 5..... 1 848 2091 15 0 Prices.. 525. 6d. O s . Od. 265. 3d. 435. Od. Os. Od. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. FRIDAY, APRIL 2l.—Wind W.N.W. Fair. AR RlVED.—Cheshire, Gater, from Barbados—Superb, Newlanes, from Nassau —St. Helena, Long, from Cape of Good Hope, sailed lath Feb.—Active, Baird, from Baltimore—Tallahassee, —, Im Mobile — Commerce, Julius, and Elizabeth Bruce, Johnston, frcm New Orleans—Tadlin, , from Groningen—Argo, —, from Trieste—Assistance, Johnson, from Diugle—Eclipse, Cook, from Ipswich—Louisa, Chalker, from Poole SAILED.—George, Fenwick, for Montreal—Branches, Gray, for St. John, N.B.—Salem, Milford, for Quebec—Breakwater, Pears, for Pugwash—Huntingdon, Widdicomb, for Windsor, N.S.—Eliza Sanders, Bulley, for Constantinople and Odessa—Dowthorpe, Pin. der, and Providence, Hutchinson, for St. Petersburgh—Elizabeth, Engelsman, and Anna Siebesdina, for Rotterdam—Jeremiah, M' L 1.- ren, for Narva—Nais, Easton. for Cadiz Washington, --, hence at Bordeaux G. B. Van Zyelen Van Nyvelt, Wyk, hence at Team' Emma, Angerstein, of Liverpool, from ----_, at Jack at Jack. (Africa) tith Feb. Fairfield, Lyon, hence to New York, was spoken 19th instant, in lat. 51, long. 9 Pakenham. Lloyd, from Paraiba at Falmouth Triumph, White, from Ipswich for this port at Ramsgate, with loss of bowsprit, figure-head, cutwater, and other damage, having been in contact with the "Jane Smith," from Smyrna to London Mersey, Mather, hence at St. John, N.B. Senator, , hence at the Cape of Good Hope Byker, from Rio Janeiro at Pernambuco Cyren, , and Mazeppa, -, from St. John, Newfound land at Pernambuco Fanny, , from Halifax at Pernambuco shak speare, hence to Charleston was spoken on the 29rd March, in lat. 94, long. 47 Essex, Jones, from Virginia, at this port. On Ist April, in la.. 42, long, 55, spoke the Clio, hence to Halifax. In lat. 51, long. 25, spoke the Rob Roy Robert Pulsford, Prince, from New Orleans, at this port. On 14th March, in lat. 37, long. 65, had head of foremast, foretopmast, spars, &c. carried away during a hurricane. In lat. 40, long, 17, spoke the brig Ark, from Charleston for Bremen, had suffered by heavy gales on 14th March. in lat. 35, long. 70, lost bulwarks, sails, &c. and the captain had his thigh broken, and was then (3rd April) in a dangerous state Penguin Packet, from Falmouth, at Trinidad 17th March Petrel, Bell, and Matilda, Hodgson, hence at Genoa Garland, Sinclair, from Sierra Leone, at Marl'port Harmony, -, hence for the Cape of Good Hope, was spoke n 23rd March, in lat. 34, long. 25 Rendall, henca at Sierra Leone L ady Harvey, hence at Apalachicola, was spoken on the 16th Mfu - ch in lat. 25, long. 36 Log; tor 1 0 mr• oce j Act , tile , a tes• 63° Og 37 go , # O4 0,, 0e