The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-11 00:00:00

ame quality. Eagerness, either.to obtain money, or to save them from being plundered, causes them to be gathered before they are full, and the buyer and the vendor consequently suffer." Formerly, the luxuriant parish of St. Thomas in the East supplied the Kingston market with plantains, yams, &c. That was under the system of slavery. The slaves themselves used to sell a large amount of the produce on their own accounts. Now, the same parish, as well as many others, instead of sending bread-kind to market are obtaining supplies of bread from King ston. The provisions grown at present by the free negroes are scarcely more than sufficient for their owu consumption. We quite agree with the Royal Gazette when it re marks that the importation of those articles which drain the island of its specie must he the worst species of po litical economy. The same journal adds—" And this is the case with the articles imported from America in American vessels ; for no sooner is the cargo landed than doubloons or dollars are demanded in exchange, with which they proceed to Cuba to take in a cargo of sugar for their own market. Thus in exchange for the c ommodities of life, which, with ordinary care ought to be supplied from our own recources, we are sending gold and silver to purchase slave-grown sugar from Cuba to our own detriment and loss." For this state of things—and we would here remark, that the preceding observations are applicable to British Guiana, as well as to the West India islands—we know of but one remedy. That remedy is IMMIGRATION; and we rejoice to find that the colonial press and the colonial legislatures are becoming more and more CCM vinced of the necessity of joining heart and hand in promoting this cause. Let them continue to agitate this question unceasingly. Let them strenuously exert themselves, in their respective spheres, in encouraging immigration. If they persevere in urging their claims on the attention of the British parliament, we have no doubt of their ultimate success ; for the conviction is daily gaining ground in Great Britain that without im migration the West, Indies must be lost. , In the remarks which we have from time to time peen called upon to make upon the foreign policy of he r Majesty's government, we have never concealed our opinion of the blundering incapacity of the indivi dual to whose hands, unfortunately, the direction of our foreign affairs is committed. We have no confi dence in the talent, the judgment, or the honesty of Lord Palmerston. Confined and pettifogging in his views, that feeble nobleman will never be placed in h lB legitimate position until he is reduced to the capa city of a mere hack in the War-office, from which he emerged only to convince the world that an unprinci pled ambition and a sordid disposition are rarely found to coexist with talent sufficient to shed a lustre over aPostacy. We have no reliance upon his love of country; for we believe sincerely, and we express our belief boldly, that Lord Palmerston would sell the dearest interests of his country, one after another, for a temporary triumph of party, or for even less—the gratification of his own inordinate vanity. We have never added treason to the list of Lord Pahnerston's claims to public notice, because we have always associated with the word something of a bold and darin g spirit, which his lordship does not possess. I.'here is, however, a sneaking kind of treason--a thing w hich, avoiding- any overt or tangible act of disloyalty, and keeping clear of the gallows or the scaffold, may Yet, as etrectually as the most direct practice, destroy the prosperity and strike at the existence of a nation— of which we are quite prepared to admit him to be capable. His lordship is not the character to throw a brand into the magazine of the vessel in which he s ails ; but lie is capable of winking at the starting of a, plank, which will more slowly, but as surely, effect the destruction sought for. There are, however, we find, individuals and bodies of men, possessed of intelligence and owning a heavy stake in the prosperity of the country, who do not scruple to bring against Lord Palmerston charges of a far deeper dye than we have ever ventured to hint at. We refer our readers, for the particulars of these charges, to the extraordinary speech of Mr. Charles Attwood, delivered at a public meeting in Birmingham on Thursday • last, in which a direct accusation is brought against his lordship of having " carried on a treasonable collusion with Russia, with a view to ren der this and other European powers subservient to the aggressions of the northern autocrat," and of being, in fact, " the mere paid agent of the Russian govern- ment." These, our readers will admit, are startling charges, and such as, without the strongest and most convin cing proof, we should not venture to bring forward against any British statesman, however low might be our estimation of his character. They have, however, been made. They have been brought before a public as sernhly—not for the first time in Birmingham ; and they - would yesterday be reasserted, and evidence be Produced to support them. For that evidence we wait with some anxiety, and upon it we shall, to some ex tent at least, form a judgment as to the truth of the charges brought against Lord Palmerston ; for let that evidence be what it may—let it be weak and untena ble, or " strong as holy writ"—we cannot conceive it Possible that a British statesman, occupying the im portant post of minister of foreign affairs, can pass over it in silence. Lord Palmerston must come for ward before the public, and place the weight of his character and his innocence—if he be innocent—in the scale against the assertions and the evidence of Mr. Attwood, whose position in life, as brother of the late Membe r for Birmingham, and a man of some notoriety in the political world, is of sufficient importance to entitle him to notice, and, if necessary, to punishment. We shall, we dare say, be told that Mr. Attwood is a chartist, and upon some questions an enthusiast ; but we must also remember that that gentleman is, at the Same time, a man of considerable mercantile and poli tical knowledge. The charges which he now brings forward have been previously before the public, backed by the concurring testimony of a public meeting, held a few weeks ago in his own town, and composed of men of almost every shade of politics; and we feel convinced that it is now too late to attempt to sneer them'down unanswered. If Lord Palmerston be not impeached upon Mr. Attwood's evidence, then that gen tleman ought to be prosecuted upon his lordship's ; and unless the latter alternative be adopted, the people o! England may very fairly surmise that there is some thing in the conduct of the Foreign Secretary which that distinguished personage is unwilling or afraid to bring before the scrutiny of the public. We must confess our doubt that Mr. Attwood will succeed in establishing directly his charge. Lord Pal merston has wriggled his way through too many dirty paths to be readily entrapped, except by some treachery on the part of a coadjutor in his political intrigues. We have no idea of his lordship beipg a " paid agent" of Russia, or of any other enemy of the British name; but we are quite prepared to find him the ready dupe and the vain puppet of the subtle diplomacy of that graspi ng power. We cannot either attribute all his lordship's political failures to any foreign influence ; but for the causes of a great portion of them, we are disposed to look solely to his own indolence and his feebleness of intellect. Lord Palmerston never was, and is not now, fitted for any more serious employment than tying up and labelling the correspondence of the Foreign Office; and the idea of placing in such a man the controul of the important interests of which that office is constituted the guardian, is about as prepos terous as it would be to confide to a druggist's boy the Management of a difficult case of surgery, or to raise a corporal of marines to the command of the British fleet. The subject of Welsh bishops, since the recent va cancy in the diocese of St. David, has occupied an unusual share of the attention of Welshmen, both in t he Principality and in England. The Welsh papers of every shade of political opinions, merging their dif ferences for a great national object, have teemed with letters and editorial remarks in support of the rnea sul'e ; and the provincial press of England, along the A‘'hol e li ne of country border i ng on t h e pr i nc ip a lit y , fro m Bristol to Chester, have expressed their sympa thy With their neighbours in their demand for fit and ef licient bi s hops to su p er i nten d t h e i r na ti ona l church. ~ u.sucl t a s have had an opportunity of witnessing the act ual prostration of the church in Wales, this demand appears only just; for it cannot be denied, that unless 6 ° l ne change for the better take place, things will soon arriv e at this point, that instead of a general cry for W elsh bishops," the outcry will be, " No bishops wanted T here are at present about three dissent ing chapels to each church, and their multiplication is progressing so fast, that sufficient accommodation will at length be supplied for the whole nation, and the established church will then be voted, not only a use less thing, but an incubus on the productive energies of the country. The levellers in parliament will not omit so fair an opportunity for playing their usual game to overthrow the church. They will plead the actual state of things as a sufficient reason for confis cating the scanty revenues of the parishes, or diverting them to another channel. And an episcopal church can never exist in the principality on the voluntary system. Deprived of endowment it will necessarily die, and we question if it will ever see a resurrection from the ruins of its fortune. Impressed with these feelings, we confess we cannot withhold our approbation from the individuals who have taken every lawful means to urge upon the go vernment the necessity of appointing to the 'Welsh bishoprics men fully conversant with the Welsh lan guage. Precedent is in favour of such a measure. It was tried by Queen Elizabeth, and was found to do well for the church and the country. Why not, therefore, revert to it now. The very existence of a strong feeling in its favour is a sure indication that it will succeed, and it may not yet be too late to save from ruin the once independent British church. For want of discussion the claims of the British church to this measure are not sufficiently known to be appre ciated by the EngliSh public, and consequently some Englishmen have misunderstood the object of those who advocate the change. For instance, a writer in one of our contemporaries finds fault with Mr. James's spirited letter of remonstrance, which appeared in our columns of this day week, addressed to the Rev. Connop Thirlwall, the intended new bishop of St. David's, as if Mr. James " objected to Mr. Thirlwall's appointment on the ground that he is not a native of the principality." Whereas the objection is made only on the score of his ignorance of the Welsh language, and consequent inability to discharge the duties, of his office to the edification of the church, and satisfaction of the inhabitants. There is no objection to an Eng lishman, as such, or to a Scotchman, or to any coun tryman, provided he add to his knowledge of English a knowledge also of the Welsh speech. Nor is it the wish of the natives that their bishops should only know Welsh : they expect them, as a matter of course, to be also masters of the English language. Every clergy man in the principality knows English, having made it his study from the commencement, in order to be able to officiate to English or Welsh congregations as occa sion may require. The attempt, therefore, of the writer we have alluded to, to retort upon Mr. James his own argument, because he, a Welshman, holds an appointment in England, does not apply, either to him or to any of the 'Welsh clergy similarly situated. Let the English clergy pursue the same plan in reference to the Welsh tongue, as is adopted by the clergy of the Principality in regard to the English, and we shall hear no more complaints of inefficient and disqualified bishops presiding over the interests of the church in Wales. But it is insinuated that Dr. Thirlwall, without receiving the gift of tongues, will soon attain as good a knowledge of Welsh as the Rev. D. James possesses of English. Be it so. We shall rejoice to hear that the new bishop is studying Welsh, but we would beg to suggest, that until he shall have made himself master of it, so as to be able to reply in it to Mr. James's letter in one of equal length, force, argument, and purity of diction, lie will do well to decline the bishopric of St. David. But as soon as he has furnished this proof of his competency to officiate in the language of the na tives, he may then claim his right to be presented to a piece of preferment in "Wales on precisely the same ground that Mr. James holds one in England. So long as the Welsh language continues to be the medium of religious instruction in the Principality, the inhabitants have an undoubted right to bishops as well as priests and: deacons that understand their language : and it is a matter of deep regret that in this age of light, reform, and liberality, this boon should be so pertinaciously withheld from them. They claim no other privilege for their national church than has ever been enjoyed by the national church in England. All the bishops in England understand English : a bishop unacquainted with that language would not be tolerated in any diocese. Let all the bishops in Wales understand Welsh. Why should the principality be bowed down under the pressure of a grievance which, to say the least, is a mark of na tional insult to the Welsh people ? The insolence of the Popish faction in this country is daily becoming more and more intolerable. We understand that the 24th of this month—the anniver sary of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew—has been fixed upon for opening the new Popish Mass-house, recently erected by Mr. Bretherton at Rainhill. The selection of this day, notwithstanding its correspond ence with the Christian name of the gentleman who has built the chapel, we cannot but consider as a de liberate insult to a Protestant community ; and as cir culars have been plentifully addressed to the Protes tants in that vicinity, claiming their support and coun tenance to this new Popish conventicle, we trust that they will not fail to mark their sense of this new piece of insolence. If any of them should sanction the pro ceedings by their presence, they will prove their utter dereliction of principle, and their secret approval of the persecuting tenets of the Papacy. On Monday next, the merchants who are rate- payers will be called upon to elect four gentlemen to supply the vacancies caused by the retirement of four mem bers of the Dock Trust. The qualifications for voting will be ascertained from an advertisement which ap pears in another column. It is to be hoped that, who ever may be elected, none will be chosen but staunch conservatives. At the present moment it is particularly incumbent upon the rate-payers to select men of nerve and undeviating principle—men who will not be de terred from doing their duty to the " good old town' , —from motives of either fear or affection. It is, how ever, almost supererogatory to make any appeal to the rate-payers on this important subject. We feel confi dent that they will make a judicious choice, and one which will prove of ultimate benefit to the port and trade of Liverpool. Without entering at all upon the disputed question as to the validity or invalidity of the register of voters which has just been made out, we must again impress upon the Conservatives of Liverpool the necessity which exists of subjecting those lists to a rigid scru tiny. We are confidently assured that a vast portion of the new names that have found their way into the lists, now posted on the church doors, are those of men prepared to personate the real occupants of the premises for which they claim ; and that a great num ber of the parties who do really reside upon those pre mises have only discovered the fact of their being tenants within the last few weeks, and would be as puzzled to find the rent, if asked for it to-morrow, as to find the wit of one of our ancient Mercury's original jokes. The whole plot, in fact, in only an impudent, and we trust will prove a bungling attempt to intro duce the Tom Cassidy principle into English vot ing; and if not put down now and at once, the sure result will follow, that the future elections for the bo rough of Liverpool will have to be fought in committees of the House of Commons. The plain duty, then, of the Conservative committees in the various districts which have furnished these mushroom voters, is to institute a close and searching examination into the fact, whether or not those parties are in the bona fide occupation of the premises for which they claim to register. 'We believe it will he found as the result that, in five out of nine cases, the agents or sub-agents of the Protector Society have not been particularly nice in their choice of men, or the parties themselves very scrupulous in withholding any little fact which would militate against their rates be ing paid for them ! Our Irish fellow-townsmen are not on all occasions proverbial for saying more than will suit their interests to have known; and the fact of a husband, a father, or a brother being dead, if told to an agent of the protectors, might seriously interfere with the chance of getting a pound or two out of him to pay the outstanding demands of the rate-collector. In every suspicious case, and there will be found many, the proper notices of objection must be served, and the various imitators of the immortal family of Cassidies produced in proper person before the revis ing barrister. The ordeal will, we dare say, be an un pleasant one, and may be called illiberal; but it must be gone through nevertheless, and then—we will allow our radical contemporaries to crow and swagger to their hearts' content. Our Welsh friends have already complained loudly against the late appointment of the Rev. Connop Thir wall to the see of St. David's, on the ground of that gentleman not being acquainted with the language of the principality. We are far from denying that there is some reasonableness in this complaint; but were the reverend gentleman's want of proficiency in the Welsh language the only objection which could be brought against him, we should be disposed to overlook it in Consideration of more weighty claims which he might possess on the score of learning and piety. Placing aside, however, the question as to the pro priety of appointing to Welsh bishoprics any other than Welshmen, we may fairly ask whether the claims of Mr. Thirlwall, on other grounds, are such as to out weigh in the minds of sound churchmen, either in the principality or in England, the deficiency complained of. Unfortunately, the reply to this question must be in the negative. As members of the great body of the Church of England and Wales, we can only view the appointment in question as one of those deliberate in sults to orthodox and pious Christians which it seems to have been the study of the present ministry, in their bestowal of church patronage, to inflict. The reverend gentleman is, we are aware, a scholar of extensive and varied attainments; but here we might conclude the summing up of his title to a bishopric, unless we were to add, that in political principle he is a liberal of the first water, and in religion but a shade removed from a socinian. To a ministry whose affec tion for the church consists in administering " heavy blows and great discouragements"—whose political allies are recruited from the ranks of rabid dissent on the one hand, and of Popery, Atheism, and Socialism on the other—the good opinion of socinianism may appear to be cheaply purchased by the elevation of a socinian churchman to a seat on the Bench of Bishops. But such an appointment, we do venture to say, is not one which is likely to advantage the church or to add to the reputation of those by whom its rich prefer ments are administered. The churchmen of Liverpool will be able to form their own judgment upon the question when we inform them that the Rev. Connop Thirlwall was no later than last year recommended to a bishopric by a distinguished follower of the doctrines of Socinus, Mr. Martineau, of Liverpool, who, after quoting from his writings pas sages strongly confirmatory of his own religious views, and that too in a controversial sermon delivered in an swer to a course of lectures on socinianism, by clergy men of the Church of England, refers to him as " divine whose distinguished philological attainments have given him an European reputation, without at present raising him to that station in his own church which would best suit his merits and her dignity." It may be the opinion of Lord Melbourne that the dignity of the church can be raised by the appointment to her highest offices of men who deny the plenary inspiration of the sacred writings,—as a reference to a letter in our columns will spew that Mr. Thirlwall has done; but we must for ourselves declare that we are unable to coin cide with his lordship or with Mr. Martineau in this opinion. Robert Thom, Esq., of Macao, China, translator of JEsop's Fables into the Chinese language, and of a Chinese tale, entitled, The lasting resentment of Miss Keaou Limn Wally, into English, has just been elected an honorary mem ber of the African Institute of France. RHUBARB. — We had brought to our office, on Friday last, two noble specimens of rhubarb, gathered from the garden of John Winder, Esq., Aigburth. The length of the leaf was two feet six inches, the breadth two feet ten inches; the length of the stem one foot four inches, the circumference six inches. THEATRE ROYAL.—Mr. Wm. Farren commenced an en gagement last night as Lord Ogleby in the Clandestine Mar riage. He was loudly applauded from all parts of the house. William Tell followed, in which Mr. Anderson fully sus tained his reputation. This evening Mr. Farren will per form Larose in the drama of Past and Present. LIVERPOOL COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION.—The principal premium for the intended building was yesterday awarded to Mr. Elmes, of Loudon, who has thereby created for him self an equal reputation in the Gothic, as his classical designs for the St. George's Hall and the Assize Courts have obtained for him in the Grecian. There were twenty-nine designs offered, the whole of which will remain on view at the Lyceum Lecture Room, until the 22nd inst. The second premium was borne away by Messrs. Scott and Moffatt. THE WEATHER.—The same delightful sunny weather, which we noticed in our last, continued up to yesterday afternoon, when we had some slight warm showers, with the wind from the south-west. There is, however, no appear ance of a setting in of heavy rain,—and an occasional shower, should the general aspect of the season continue to be pro pitious, will serve to feed vegetation, and particularly the wheAt and oats. The accounts from all quarters of this island and of Ireland, of the prospects of an abundant har vest, are most cheering, and most sincerely do we hope that the expectations naturally excited will be fully realised. PEDESTRIAN FEAT.—Yesterday evening, John Townsend, the celebrated pedestrian, who recently acco m pli s h e d an ar duous six days task on the Prescot road, undertook to per form, for a benefit, on the bowling-green of the High Park Coffee House the following feat :—To pick up 100 stones, each a yard apart, with his mouth, and deposit them in a basket without touching them with his hands ;—to run a mile ;—to walk three miles forwards, and then, three miles backwards ; and, finally, to run a hoop two miles,—the whole to be accomplished in three successive hours. He commenced operations soon after five o'clock, and accomplished the feat wiih great ease within sixteen minutes of the prescribed time. He afterwards, by way of afterpiece, picked up 40 stones in the same manner as before in almost 11 minutes. This ex traordinary pedestrian is upwards of 50 years of age. A vast number of persons, witnessed the feat. THE BENLEDI STEAM BoAT.--This vessel was exten sively advertised on Saturday last, as intending to proceed on Sunday morning at seven o'clock to the Menai Bridge, allow visitors to stay five hours there, and start on her return home at six o'clock. This being a very favourite and conve nient excursion, the vessel was crowded with between two and three hundred passengers, and about half-past seven she started on the voyage. About the middle of the river two gentlemen hailed her, and the captain returned to take them on board. Having started a second time, the captain re tired into the cabin to take breakfast with some of the passengers, the vessel being steered by one of the hands. When she arrived opposite the Magazines, the steersman, whether from carelessness or intention, we cannot say which, caused the vessel to take the ground, and no efforts could bring her off. The scene that ensued was quite laughable, and what mainly contributed to it was the conduct of the captain. He seemed perfectly bewildered. Eventually some of the passengers went on shore in open boats, others by a large flat, and some returned to Liverpool by the William Stanley, Eastharn steamer, which fortunately came up. The owners of the Benledi ought to inquire into the cause of the unwarrantable disappointment caused to the passengers by their servants. PROCESSION OF FORESTERS. — Yesterday, the several benefit societies in the town, under the denomination of Foresters, walked in procession through the principal streets. They were very numerous, were neatly and respectably clad, and wore for the most part, green sashes and white aprons, ornamented with vine leaves, and trimmed with green or red. They also wore rosettes, roses, &c. A considerable num ber of them were mounted on caparisoned steeds, and each had a horn slung at his side. Some were dressed in " Kendal green," with caps and feathers ; others in a more fantastic manner, illustrative of the days of Robin Hood. Through out the procession, which bad a very gay and imposing ap pearance, there were a number of handsome and appropriate large flags, ensigns, and small banners. The poles of one of the flags were supported by a small cart drawn by a horse, a decided improvement on the straining system of carrying such ponderous banners by hand. Amongst the emblematical articles carried by the members were steel and wooden bows and arrows, battle-axes, spears, the apple-tree with the ser pent entwined in its branches, acorns surmounting poles, shepherds' crooks, &c. They were attended by six hands of music at intervals,—several of them also attired as " merry men of the green wood." After making a long route through the main thoroughfares, (all of which were much crowded on the occasion by the young and old who delight in sight-see ing), the several societies separated and betook themselves to their respective club-rooms, where they spent the remainder of the day in merriment and conviviality. DEATH FROM Loc►c-Jaw.—Last week, a man named William Cattarall, residing in Low-hill, accidentally trod upon a nail. The wound produced lock-jaw, of which he died on the sth instant. An inquest was held on view of the body on Friday, and a verdict of accidental death was accord ingly returned. DEATH FROM DROWNING.--All inquest was held on Fri day last, before Mr. Curry, coroner, on the body of Emanuel Thompson. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased who was 23 years of age, and a painter by trade, had goneinto the river near the potteries, at the south shore, to bathe on the preceding evening. He had been learning to swim, but having gone beyond his depth, was not in above a quarter of an hour before he sunk. Another young man had gone in with him, but being no swimmer, could render him no assist ance. A person afterwards dived and brought up the body. —Verdict, accidentally drowned. . tg ß tnea l ,er n noe N ft T ,fto A nril l rta . myd- S eien T iogg E ci: A tath A m f et - a, S nbpi l lar i eet i tep i s , ra . oi — ranel T at bhhi in THE ceor There ai O dr great cabin .of this ship is beautifully ornamented with pan- TilE SALOON .pesniiednreen insoa Of the OF e n a dj m elossr a sso n rf n asr e i r dja that renders them more durable than oak • they n ever can decay from dry rot, or be come worm-eaten. • nor are they combustible, or capable of bei ng b ro k en. The tab lets are ornamented in arabesques a l'o r i en t, i n b ronze scrolls of the acanthus, with gold tendrils and leaves, with sea weed on a primrose ground, which supplimentary colors accord well with the black moulding, that is richly covered with bur nished gold mapped tracery work, that has the appearance of being raised from the ground—and produces an effect alike beautiful by day or lamplight. The makers are entitled to great praise for the introduction of a material capable of ad mitting so much elegance and taste in . decoration. We h ave received a small specimen of the p d pier machi, m a d e b y Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge. It i s about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and has the appearance of a piece of very hard and strong wood. FATAL ACCIDENT. —An inquest was held on Wednesday last, and by adjournment on Monday, at the Tinker and Budget, in Oswaldtwisle, on the body of a man named Hartley. It appeared that the deceased was in Liverpool on business, and on Wednesday fortnight was going down Wapping, when, on pasing a warehouse occupied by Sir Joshua Walmsley, the mayor, a bundle of empty sacks fell upon him, in consequence of the cord breaking, and knocked him against the wheel of a cart. He was insensible for some time, but afterwards revived. After being confined in Liver pool for two or three days he came home, and died on Tuesday week. On a post mortens examination it was discovered that death was caused from the injury received by the sacks falling upon him. The jury returned a verdict of " Acciden tal death."—Blackburn Standard. GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY. The half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors of the Grand Junction Railway was held yesterday in the Cotton Sale Rooms, Exchange-buildings, for the purpose of receiving the report of the directors for the past half-year, the election of three new directors, and for the special 'purpose of autho rising the arrangement described in one of the paragraphs of the report. JOHN Moss, Esq, chairman of the board of directors, took the chair. The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said he would not detain the meeting by any remarks, but at once call upon the Secretary to read - the directors' report : . The following report was then read : " The receipts' on the Grand Junction Line for the half year ending June 30, the accounts of which will be laid before the proprietors, have been for— Coaching, conveyance of Carriages, Horses, Parcels, and Mails £165,060 5 0 Conveyance of Merchandise Live Stock 4,450 11 2 £207,487 13 6 Exhibiting a total increase of .£18,524 17s 6d, as compared with the receipt in the corresponding period of 1839. The advance has been manifested in all the main branches of traf fic, and especially of late in the merchandise business, in consequence of some arrangements which the directors have at last succeeded in making, to the benefit of the Company, and to the great advantage, as it has proved, of the public. " It is gratifying to the directors to observe, that the in creased profit of the half-year's business arises not only from an increased gross receipt, as compared with the same period in 1839, but also from a diminution in the per centage of ex penditure. In the item of locomotive power the expense has been £30,615 17s 7e, against £35,450 N 8d in 1839, which, considering the greater traffic in the present half-year, is an evidence in favour of the arrangements lately adopted by the directors for the control of this branch of expenditure. The total charges for the half-year, exclusive of interests on loans, have been £94,661 12s 9d, or about 45i per cent. on the amount received from traffic. " Since the last general meeting, the purchase of the Ches ter Branch Line, sanctioned by the proprietors, has been com pleted, and its transfer to this Company ratified by an act of parliament; the late proprietors of that railway having be come shareholders of this Company (in proportion of one £25 Share for each former Chester and Crewe Share of .£5O) on the Ist of July last, when the Line was incorporated with the Grand Junction Railway. The works on this Branch are nearly completed, and it is expected it may be opened for business at the close of the present month. " As the new proprietors thus admitted will participate in the dividend to be made at the close of the current half-year, the directors think it only fair to the other shareholders, that the nett receipt for the six months just ended should be fully divided, instead of carrying over any considerable balance to the next half-year, or increasing at present the reserved fund. The balance, as shewn in the accounts now presented, is £111,296 Gs 5d ; and although the directors think it desira ble that only the usual amount of dividend (7per cent. which would require £9,353 16s) should now be declared, they re commend that a bonus, equal to 15s per £lOO share, should be divided from the remaining surplus of £11,942 lOs sd, which would absorb £10,645 Is, leaving £1297 Os sd. Of this sum it is recommended that £1125 2s lld shall be ap propriated to liquidate the balance of the stock account, whereby the moveable property of the company will be kept up to its full value, after charging it with all the additions made to it during the past half-year; and that the remaining sum of £172 6s 4d be carried to the account of the current half-year. " the excellent condition of the line and works, the efficient state of the stock, the increased regularity in the arrivals of the trains, and the total absence of any untoward accident or misfortune during the past six months, are points on which the directors can dwell with satisfaction in reviewing the trails sactions of that period. " It may be proper to advert briefly to the proceedings of the Committee on Railway Communication in the last session of parliament, as far as they affected this company. An attempt was made by parties engaged in the carrying trade to create an impressibn unfavourable to the system on which the mer chandise business of this railway is conducted. The attempt, however, the directors believe, has been entirely defeated by the evidence offered on behalf of this company : and the im mediate advantage which the public have recently obtained by the extension of this company's arrangements, through the efforts of the directors, to the London line, has furnished a conclusive proof of the motive of the opposition ; which, although professing solicitude for the public convenience, was in reality to keep up a system whereby the public have been unnecessarily and heavily taxed for the profit of carriers. The reduction in the carriage on goods between Lancashire and London, effected by the introduction of this company's system on the London line, as compared with the rates charged when the business on that line was solely in the hands of the carriers, is on an average from 15s. to 255. per ton, or upwards of 25 per cent., and, in many articles, ex ceeds this. The bill for the regulation of railways, intro duced by the chairman of the committee in question, was attentively watched by the directors ; and their efforts, in concert with other railway bodies, have been directed to pro cure a modification of the proposed enactments, which were calculated to prejudice the interests of the company, and to interfere unduly with the internal management of their property. _ _ _ "During the past half-year the attention of the directors has been given to a question of finance, on which they now request the decision of the proprietors. On a review of the actual condition and prospects of the undertaking, in con nexion with the amount of mortgages on which money is still owing by the company, it appeared to them, that the time had arrived when measures should be taken for the progressive liquidation of the whole of this debt, by creating additional capital, to be distributed equally amongst the proprietors. The amount required for this purpose would be produced by an issue of quarter shares, in the proportion of one share of £25 for each £lOO stock held by the present shareholders, including those recently admitted as proprietors of the late Chester and Crewe Railway. The amount of this stock is equal to 17,627 shares of £lOO ; and the same number of quarter shares would raise £440,675. The amount of the company's debt is £482,222, and the balance of £41,545 would be furnished from the amount still uncalled for on the £5O shares issued in 1838. In case the proprietors approve of the directors' proposal, they would recommend therefore that 17,627 £25 shares should now be created, and allotted to the proprietors registered at the date of this meeting ; allow ing a reasonable time, say to the Ist of November next, for the arrangements which will be needed to adjust the allotment in respect of half and quarter shares to those who, as the list now stands, would be entitled to fractional parts only of new quarter shares. The quarter shares will participate at the same rate with the others in the dividend for the current half-year, to be declared at the general meeting, in January, 1841: as no calls, however, will have been made on there up to that time, and as they are created to extinguish the com pany's debt, they will be specially charged with 5 per cent. interest on the loans not yet liquidated ; this deduction of course diminishing in amount as the same are paid off. The calls will be made on the new shares as early as it is possible to apply them to the recall of the mortgage bonds outstand ing. The first will be in July, 1841, and it is intended that the whole capital shall be paid up in five years from the date of the first instalment, unless some unforeseen cir cumstances should make it hereafter appear to be the interest of the proprietors to extend the period. Notice has already been given to pay off some of the bonds for money lent to the Company, and the £lO remaining unpaid on the £5O Shares will be called for in January, 1841, whereby all the shares would be placed on an equal footing. The directors strongly recommend to the proprietors the adoption of this arrangement. The circumstance of the Company being wholly free from debt will give to the property a solidity and completeness, which, at the same time, owing to its favour able position and moderate outlay of capital, may fbrtunately be accomplished without much apprehension as to the rate of future dividends. " The accounts of receipt and expenditure belonging to the capital and income, and the valuations of stock, have been laid before the meeting. " The proprietors will be called upon to appoint three di rectors, instead of the three members of the Board, Messrs. Cropper, Earle, and E war t, w h ose term o f o ffi ce ex pi res on this occasion. The directors have to report, that the vacancy at the Board caused by the decease of Major Brooks has been filled up by the nomination in his place of Mr. Uniacke, the late Chairman of the Directors of the Chester and Crewe Railway." A statement of the accounts was then read. Mr. LAWRENCE HEYWORTH said it was with peculiar pleasure he had received the motion put into his hands, which was that the report and statement of accounts just read be received, printed, and circulated among the shareholders. He had peculiar pleasure, he said, in moving this resolution, because, in every respect, both the report and the accounts must be entirely satisfactory to every individual proprietor in this great and flourishing company. He approved of the plan of dividing the net receipts, without leaving a surplus, and he hoped that the precedent having been begun, would be continued, for, in his opinion, it was but strictly honest and honourable. In all concerns of this kind, the capital of the company changed hands very frequently, and therefore the proprietors in any half year ought to receive all their shares of the profits for that half year, the directors taking care that the line was kept in proper repair and efficiency. That having been done, and there remaining a surplus, that entire surplus, in his opinion, ought to be divided, otherwise wrong would be done to orphans or widows, who might be compelled by circumstances to sell their shares. Mr. Hey worth concluded by proposing the motion. Mr. Riun seconded it. The CHAIRMAN, before he put the motion, in consequence of Mr. Heyworth's observations as to dividing the profits so closely, begged to be excused for reading a few remarks. He then read the following The observations I have to make will not detain you long. I trust you will approve of our suggestions to increase the number of shares and pay off every engagement (including our mortgages), so that the proprietors may have a railroad entirely free from incumbrance of any kind. 1 consider this so desirable a measure that I should have advocated it, even had I felt assured that by adopting it we should reduce our dividend on the old shares to the extent of the dividend given to the new. I believe, however, that our increase of business, added to a system of economy, will remove all necessity for apprehension on that score ; besides that, w e h ave a reserve to fallback upon in case of need, viz., the raising of our fares for passengers, so as to approximate more n ear l y to t h e scale charged on the lines which joins us, north and south. At present we are about 25 per cent. below them. Some in crease, therefoie, of our fares could not be considered un reasonable, when it is recollected that the speed maintained on our line is greater than that on the others, and the ac commodation in other respects not inferior.. I think I might say that the public gain very little, and we nothing, by our charging lower fares than our neighbours over whose linen our traffic has necessarily to pas s . A t t h e same time, then, that I should consider it reasonable in us to raise our fares even to the level of our neigh bours if it became necessary, (either by reason o f t h e opening of other lines which cannot pay except by competing for the traffic on the faith of which our money was authorised to be spent, or from any other cause,) yet certainly my strong opinion is that it will before long, be found advisable for our neighbours to concur with us in reducing some at least of the fares, even below what we are now charging. It is evident, however, that we alone, (situated as our line is,) can do no thing effectual for trying the experiment of low fares, however desirable. The sum now proposed to be divided as a bonus is £ll,OOO. I should have recommended an d 1 b elieve it would have been the opinion of the board generally, that part at least of this sum should be added to the reserve fund, had not the peculiar circumstance of our admission of new part ners (viz. the proprietors of the Chester and Crewe line) made it proper to divide the whole rec e ipt s b efore admitting them. Our object in calling it a bonus is that we may not appear to be breaking in upon the arrangement proposed at the last general meeting as to the future amount of half yearly dividends,—we wish to keep the dividends regular, at seven per cent. each half-year. The advantges of laying by a surplus fund to meet every contingency becomes more evi dent ; we hold a ,very large amount of property subject to variation in, value. Locomotive engines, for instance, are not of the value they were two y ears ago by perhaps 10 per cent., owing to the increased number of persons who now manufacture them, and the improvement s constantly making. In a concern like ours, continually requiring addi tional engines, every reduction or improvement is advanta geous, and particularly so when our surpl us f und more than meets the apparent depreciation in value of our permanent stock. To the principle of a reserve fund, th ere f ore, I f u ll y adhere, thou g h I regret to differ from my friend Mr. Hey worth : of course, however, there will be less ne cess ity f or a large one if our views for entirely freeing the concern from debt duet the approbation of the proprietors. It has been to me a source of great pleasure to have passed a session of parliament without being subject to any hostile attack ; and I feel fully satisfied that the arrangements which have been made with the Manchester and Birmingham Company, and with the Chester and Crewe Company, will be found to con tribute as much to the welfare of our concern as they have to the comfort of those who have had the direction of it. I trust that parliament and the public, who have derived so much be nefit from undertakings like yours, are beginning to entertain more favourable views than they did awhile ago. What remains of ill-feeling towards us ought surely to disappear when it is recollected that railroads have reduced the cost of conveyance of passengers 50 per cent., and shortened the time of travelling seventy-five per cent. whilst as to goods a still greater reduc tion has been effected, and a considerable saving of money ; and letters are conveyed in ten hours instead of twenty-four as formerly. Although rai.road proprietors are called extor tioners and monopolists, the greatest dividend paid by any railroad is fourteen per cent. per annum ; whilst, if taken altogether, there is reason I think to fear, that even ordinary interest of money will not be derived by the railroad com panies, who have embarked above sixty millions for the chance of a profit. I should like those who apply such terms to railroad companies. to be asked why they did not attack and abuse the proprietors of the many canals which pay, and have for years paid so much greater interest than any rail road has yet paid, or is likely to pay ; and whether they would like to cancel the whole bargain between the rail way companies and the public, and travel as they did (both as to time and money) before railway companies brought out their new system ; and, whether they are willing to pay dividends to the proprietors of all those railways which, of themselves can pay none, as the condition of their being allowed to interfere with the few lines which are tolerable profitable. I have read carefully over the evidence before the committee of the House of Commons this session against railway companies, and I recommend it to your notice, and I am not afraid to appeal to any impartial person whether any abuse of power has been proved. I will not detain you longer. I will only promise that during my remaining year of office, I will do my best to consolidate the interests of this company, with which I have been so long and agreeably connected. Mr. J. E. TAYLOR suggested that the observations just read by the chairman be appended to the report. Mr. HEYWORTH, although he differed in opinion from him, should be . glad to see the chairman's observations printed, and he would amend the motion so as to secure that object. He wished to inquire how the surplus of £lO,OOO. declared at the last half-yearly meeting was invested ? The CHAIRMAN replied that it was invested in the com pany's own bonds. Mr. HEYWORTH observed that a portion of that £lO,OOO belonged to every one who was a proprietor at the time of that half-yearly meeting. If they afterwards ceased to be proprietors, then they iost their portion of it. That was the principle he wished to lay down. Every departMent of the concern ought to be well looked after, and kept in repair out of the funds for the current half year. The CHAIRMAN intimated that that could not be done without a reserved fund. He did not however think it likely that the directors would persevere in making it of a large amount. Mr. COGLAN observed that the directors stated that the payment of a dividend of .£7 per cent., and a bonus of 15s, there would be a surplus of £lO,OOO, which they proposed to carry to the reserved fund. He wished to know how much that surplus would realise if the proprietors did not agree to the proposal? The CHAIRMAN explained that there was a surplus, after the payment of the dividend upon the half year, of £ll,OOO, which would produce a bonus of 15s. The directors had not looked to the £lO,OOO to which he had before referred as being invested in the company's own bonds. Mr. COGLAN wished to know how much that would pro duce ? The CHAIRMAN replied about 14s. per share. A SHAREHOLDER inquired whether there was any under standing with the Chester and Crewe proprietors as to this £lO,OOO ? The CHAIRMAN -Certainly-not Mr. WARDLE said the basis of the understanding between the two companies was, that one £25 share in the Grand Junction should be given for two £25 shares in the Chester and Crewe. Although the question was not mooted at the last meeting, still he thought, upon the principle of the en gagement, the Chester and Crewe were entitled to all the benefits arising from the then state of the concern. The CHAIRMAN said Mr. Wardle was altogether mistaken. The arrangement was made in July only, whilst it was de cided in that room last February, that they should lay by the surplus Of £lO,OOO. There was not, therefore, the least injustice to the Chester and Crewe, but even if it should be divided, the sum that would come to them would be only about £6OO, or ninepence a share. He did not think there ought to be any difference between two great companies for such a sum as that. Mr. WARDLE had clearly said that there was no stipula tion, but that the general understanding was, that the two companies were to marry each other for better and for worse. The resolution was then unanimously carried. Mr. COGLAN moved that a dividend be declared after the rate of £7 per cent., together with a further dividend in the nature of abonus of 15s. upon every £lOO share, and so in proportion to the sum paid up upon the £5O shares out of the clear profits of the undertaking, for the half year ending the 30th of June last. Tile dividend to be payable on and after the 17th of August. Mr. TAYLEURE seconded the motion, and it was unani mously carried. Mr. TAYLEURE moved a series of resolutions, adopting the propositions of the directors for the creation of new shares to pay off the debt. Mr. J. E. TAYLOR seconded the resolutions. They were unanimously carried. A resolution was then passed, authorising the seal of the company to be affixed to the register of shareholders now produced. The CHAIRMAN said that the only business now before the meeting was the election of three directors in the place of the three who had retired. According to the act of Parlia ment they were not eligible for re-election for twelve months. Mr. J. E. TAYLOR asked whether that had always been so ? Mr. SWIFT replied, that during the construction of the works it was enacted that the directors should be eligible for re-election, but not afterwards. Mr. MOZLEY, in a highly flattering speech, proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring directors for the valuable services they had rendered to the company during their period of Mr. HEYWORTH seconded the motion, and it was carried. Mr. EARLE and Mr. CROPPER each returned thanks for the honour Mr. Robertson Gladstone, Mr. Samuel Sandbach, and Mr. Nicholas Roskell were then elected directors, in the place of those who had retired. A vote of thanks was next passed to Mr. Moss, for his conduct in the chair, and the meeting separated. DOCK COMMITTEE A special meeting of the committee of the Dock Trust was held, on Saturday, at twelve o'clock, in the committee-room, Revenue-buildings. Present, Mr. Leathom, in the chair, Messrs. George Holt,. Benn, Martin, Dixon, Bulley, and Joseph Brooks Yates, Tlie CHAIRMAN said they had assembled in consequence of a period having arrived when four gentlemen of the com mittee were to retire. There had been some difficulty in ascertaining which four gentlemen of the committee were to be the retiring members, in consequence of an election not having taken place three years ago.when,as twenty ratepayers, the number required by law, did not attend to vote, the three members whose period of service had expired remained in, according to act of parliament. In consequence of this, great doubts had arisen as to who were the parties now to retire. The opinions of eminent lawyers had been taken, and the result was the reversal of the opinion first taken on the subject. They had now obtained the opinion of three eminent legal gentlemen, at present on the assize circuit, at Carlisle, and it was confirmatory of the second opinion pre viously taken. He had, therefore, to announce, that the four genelemen who would have to retire were Mr. Horsfall, Mr. Shand, Mr. Dixon, and Mr. Ripley. It was now their business to pass a resolution, that they should communicate officially with the mayor, and request him to call a meeting for the purpose of electing four gentlemen in lieu of those retired. Mr. DIXON said he had several reasons which had induced him to come to the conclusion of declining to stand : one was, that he had disqualified himself by selling the interest which he had in steam-boats; and another was, that he should, probably, ere long, change his residence. The resolutioilto communicate with the mayor and request him to call a meeting was passed. Mr. YATES laid before the meeting the following letter, which was read by the chairman : " Liverpool, Bth August, 1840. " DEAR SIR,-It has long been my wish to retire from the Dock Committee, and I fully expected that the present recurrence of the period of election would have enabled me, silently, to withdraw, without giving trouble or exciting observation. As, however, the ' opinion of counsel' (this day received), points to the continuance for three years longer of the four committee men among whom my name appears, it becomes necessary to inform you, that it is not my intention to continue to serve. I am induced to adopt this resolution from a firm con viction, that, under the present constitution of the commit tee, the merchants and shipowners of this great port must look in vain for the accommodation and despatch which they have a right to expect in return for the enormous and un paralleled rates levied upon them. "The efforts of the few practical ratepayers who are on the committee, however anxiously and laboriously directed to the benefit of commerce, will be passed over with contempt, or superseded by crude theories or even party predilections. Such is the position of the merchants and shipowners of Li verpool. Overwhelmed by powerful majorities sent down by the Town Council, they are, virtually, unrepresented in the committee ; and the favourite but pernicious doctrine is openly avowed by their opponents, that the Dock Committee is merely one of the ordinary committees of the Town Coun cil. " Thus situated, and conscientiously entertaining these views, I consider the nomination of the eight mercantile Councilmen merely a matter of empty form, unaccompanied with the power of being useful. " It only remains for me to return my best acknowledg ments for your personal courtesy. " I have the honour to be, dear Sir, your obliged humble servant, " JOS. B. YATES. " To Thos. Leathom, Esq., Chairman of the Dock ComMittee." The CHAIRMAN observed, that he had heard Mr. Yates mention that he had some intention of retiring, but he did not think he was going to put it in execution. The business for which the committee had been summoned being concluded, the meeting broke up at half past twelve. ESCAPE FROM DROWNING.—On Tuesday afternoon last, about four o' c l oc k, a man name d K enne d y, i n the employ of a livery-stable keeper in Great Nelson-street North, while affected by liquor, rode on a horse into the water in Bootle Bay, for the purpose of washing it. The horse got out of his depth, and, with his rider, was seen to roll over. The man, after a struggle, got off, apparently with a view to make his way to the shore, but soon afterwards appeared to be drowning. A young man, Mr. Robert Walker (of the firm of Youdale and Walker, printers, Union-street, and son of Mr. J. S. Walker, of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, who happened to be bathin g from a caravan at the time, o serv ing his perilous situation, immediately called for assistance from the shore, which w as crowded with people, and made his way as qu ickly as possible to the man. He had to swim out about thirty yards after getting beyond his depth, and offered to help him out if he would not take hold of him. The man, who had be en severa l t i mes under water, however, grasped him firmly by the arm, and they went under together several times before he could free himself. Being then ex hausted, he swam towards the shore to recover his breath, and whe n he bottomed, a y oung man, with all his clothes on but his jacket, went into the water, and cried to him to go back and get hold of the man again, and he would follow and assist. Walker again went in and swan to the man, who was in the act of sinking with both hands up. He got hold of him by the waist, and, after bearing him up as well as he could for som e yar d s, t h e young man w h o ha d previously called to him came up, and, by their joint exertions, suc ceeded in getti ng hi m to t h e shore. Th e man was so muc h exhausted, when landed, that he could not stand. Too muc h praise cann o t b e g i ven to t h e young man w h o wen t in in his clothes to encourage and assist Mr. Walker. His name is Christopher Lily, a seaman, late of the ship Maryland. The horse ou which the man rode into the water was blind, and swam a considerable distance down the bay before it touch e d ground, which it did by instinctively approaching those on the shore who continued to shout. There were some thou sands of persons along the beach, and amongst th em not a few strong swimmers, but the parties named alone ventured to rescue the sinking man. MOOR GAME. — We understand that the moors i n the neighbourhood of Halifax are this year very deficient in the number of young birds. " NAUTICAL SKETCHES BY HAMILTON MOORE, JUN We have perused this work with great interest and satis faction. It is evidently from the pen of a gentleman who has seen more than " a little service in the navy," from the little man-of-war cutter, the " Tom-tit," in which he first em barked, to the fine frigate " Sea-beauty," and others which he afterwards joined: in a . higher capacity. The author states in a short and modest preface, that " he pretends to nothing beyond the satisfaction of adding a few pages of light reading to that class of literature so common to the present day, and tolerated, perhaps, even when merit fails, from a spirit of in dulgence generally evinced by Englishmen, secure on their native land, towards all which relates to their countrymen who protect it. If a jealous eye for the rights of the royal navy, and an ardent desire for its supremacy, have at times carried him beyond the limits his readers would assign him, the fault is surely pardonable. He has carefully studied to avoid the slightest personality likely to offend, and all means whereby the originals, from whom he has really attempted to draw correct delineations, may be identified." There was no need of apologetic introduction on the part of the author of this book. It is a most agreeable narrative of sea-life and adventure, blended with occasional tales or relations of inci dents more or less connected with maritime affairs,—and some of which are of a facetious and others of a pathetic character. The account of his services along shore in the gig of the revenue cutter is excellent. The " spree" of the two sailors at Lisbon is truly ludicrous and sailor-like. There is much of amiable feeling and pathos in the account of poor Jack Crutch and his dog Block, also in the story of " Love among the Rocks," and " Charles Summers." The essay on sea-songs is masterly and witty. There is a great deal of sensible remark interwoven with the general narra tive of the author's " experiences," which is well worthy of serious perusal. The finale is gratifying, Capt. Kindley'and his maritime friends Drake and Fenton having all settled in the bosom of domestic happiness in Devonshire. Towards the close of his courtship of a beautiful young lady, Fenton sings the following song,—though his heart is rather wedded to the shore : " Bend thy sails, mariner, hasten away, Smother the wish that would tempt thee to stay ; Wean thy heart from the shore—off to sea : That is the element destined for thee Look not so fondly on that face so fair, Lest in thy absence it saddens with care ; Think of the dangers that compass thy life ; Sad is the lot of the mariner's wife ! What though the sea will rage, and the wind roar, So that thou hast not a sigh for the shore? Should thy bark, tempest-tost, sink with the gale, Better that none for thee ever should wail! Such as thou made tby land, queen of the sea! Such as thou keep thy land, glorious and free! Britons' boast be thy toast, where'er thou roam, Men on the boundless sea, women at home!" The work is printed and published by Mr. W. E. Painter, of the Strand, and will doubtless become a standard book in the libraries of those who delight to peruse whatever has a tendency to elevate the character of the British seaman, and elucidate his prowess and his peculiarities. "THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, IN AMUSING CONVERSATIONS, BETWEEN .A MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN This is a most admirably written, entertaining, and highly instructive little volume. The conversations are peculiarly attractive for young people, inviting them on in an easy and pleasing manner from one prominent fact to another in the history of our country, and inspiring them, at the same time with a warm admiration of whatever is ennobling or heroic in the personages t 3 whom it relates. A religious vein also runs through the work, and the whole is compiled with great accuracy from the most authentic sources. This valuable, yet moderately priced volume is from the pen of a gifted and persevering lady " Ann Woolton," who by this successful effort has done honour to her sex and her country. It is neatly printed, by W. E. Painter, of the Strand, London, is embellished with a portrait of her Majesty the Queen, and is handsomely bound in embossed cloth. "THOUGHTS ON THE LITANY." W. E. PAINTER, LONDON. This work, as the title-page informs us, is written by a naval officer's orphan daughter. Whilst there are numbers who are ready to defend the outworks of the establishment, we are glad to see her incomparable liturgy equally well pro tected. The spirit which breathes through her services has called forth the admiration of many who agreed not with some of her arrangements, and we are glad to have now an opportunity of recommending the work before us, penned by one.who has evidently thought ,--riously on the subject which has called forth these " thofights." A strain of un affected piety runs through the whole; and, whilst every petition in the Liturgy is irrefragably confirmed by scripture, nothing is advanced which can wound the tenderest feeling of the most scrupulous dissenter. We have seldom risen from the perusal of-any work with a greater satisfaction at being members of a church which offers for the use of her worshippers such scriptural and comprehensive petitions as those illustrated in this excellent little book. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-FRIDAY ASSAULTING A PROSECUTOR. Michael Tosney, an Irish labourer, was brought up by warrant, before Messrs. Rushton and Aiken, charged with having committed an assault upon Mr. Wllonald, publican, Blundell-street. It will be recollected that about a fortnight ago Mr. M‘Donald was the means of apprehending and con victing three notorious characters, who had gone to him for the purpose of disivsing of stolen goods. The complainant stated that about seven o'clock on Tues day evening week, he had been to pay an account at Mr. Mellor's, and was returning home along Frederick -street, when the prisoner came up to him, and, without uttering a single word, struck him a blow with a stick on the head, which felled him to the earth. He (Mr. M`Donald) got up, and contrived to get into the house of Mrs. M`Ginnis. The prisoner followed him there, and again assaulted him, dislo cating one of his fingers with one of the blows. He entreat ed the man not to murder him ; but his reply was, " You vagabond, before you transport those men I will murder you," and struck at him again. He was quite sure that the prisoner was the man, for he had seen him frequently in his house. He had been in search of him night after night since the warrant had been out, but the prisoner was not to be met - with till that morning. Mr. Davenport appeared for Tosney, and endeavoured to make it appear that the prisoner had been regularly at his work, had never attempted concealment, and that there must be some mistake as to identity. Mr. M`Donald said that there was no doubt in his mind as to the identity of the man. Besides, Tooney had actually sent to beg his pardon, and to pray that he would not prose cute him. He (the complainant) refused to listen to the pro posal, because he was sure that the man meant to take his life. To the best of his belief, Tosney was sober when he committed the assault. The surgeon who attended Mr. M`Donald stated that the injuries received were laceration of the scalp on both sides of the head, apparently inflicted with a sharp instrument. He could scarcely have supposed that a stick would have done it. A fore finger was also dislocated. That had been done with a blow. Mr. Rushton said that this was a case, perhaps in itself not more atrocious than many other assaults which came before him ; but it was made much more serious from the fact of the object being to do away with the man whose evidence had been so useful in the conviction of men who had been guilty of a felony. The prisoner was committed to take his trial CAUTION. Some few weeks ago, Thos. Harrison, a beer-house keeper in Canning-place, was convicted on a charge of allowing drunken and disorderly characters to be in his house after legal hours. This being the third offence, he was fined £2O, and was disqualified to sell beer i'or the space of two years. He, however, continued to sell notwithstanding the decision of the magistrates, and information having been given, he was fined again in the sum of £2O. Yesterday, Henry Pye, who had been security for Harri son when the license was granted to him, was summoned be fore the magistrates, and proof of the non-payment of the original fine of - .1:20 having been given, Mr. Pye was ordered to pay the amount. The defendant, a bluff honest-looking man, stated that when he was security for Harrison, he was not aware that the beer-seller had been previously convicted, or most assuredly he would have refused. He thought his case was a very hard one, and asked what time would be al lowed to pay the money ? Mr. Rushton asked him whether be could not pay then? The reply was, " No, sir, I can't indeed." The magistrate then observed that it certainly was very hard to the sureties to be called upon in these cases ; but it ought to be borne in mind that the excise would not have granted the license without the surety, and it was quite ne cessary to put a stop to such houses as that kept by Harrison. He, however, would have some inquiry made into the cir cumstances'of Mr. Pye, and then state what time would be allowed for payment. A female wa s pl ace d at the MONDAY bar, on a charge of having sto len two tongues and a piece of beef from the shop of Mr. John Collins, St. John's M ar k e t. Th e p r i soner was appre hended soon after the alleged robbery, by one of the officers of the market, and the property found in her basket. Her account was that she had bought it. Mr. Collins, who, in the first instance, declined to be sworn, said he could not identify the meat ; but he applied for it to be given up to him. The Magistrate said it did not belong to him : the prisoner must be discharged, and the meat returned to her. James Scarisbrick was charged with having picked the pocket of a young woman this morning, as she was watching the procession of Forester, in the Old Infirmary Y ard. A policeman, out of uniform, who happened to be on the spot, stated that he saw the prisoner put his hand into the female's pocket, and take therefrom a key and several other articles. He immediately seized him, and found the ro-. perty in his hand. p The young woman identified the articles ; but added, that although she felt a sort of jostle against her, she was not aware of having been robb e d until the policeman informed er. Mr. Wardle, by whom the prisoner was defended, said he protested his innocence, and that his father, who was a re spectable cooper, gave him an excellent character for honesty and attention to business. Mr. Rushton said he was very sorry for the father, but this was a clear case of felony. The father told the magistrate his son had always been a very good lad. Mr. Rushton repeated that it was a distressing case. He had no doubt, however, that the prisoner had some vicious and profligate habits, unknown to his father, which he took this means to support. The father said his son was a married man, with one child. lie was very steady, and earned 20s. a .week. The prisoner protested his innocence. Mr. Rushton, addressing him, said he found he had never been before the court charged with an offence of this kind, therefore h e s h ou l d not b e impr i sone d f or the time which the law allowed. He must be imprisoned for one Month. It was as clear a case as he (Mr. Rushton) had ever heard. A WORTHY SON OF A WORTHY SIRE. John Fogo, a son of the pugilist Frosty Faced Fogo, was charged with having picked the pocket of a lady in Church r street, this morning, whilst the procession of Foresters was passing, of Bd. The robbery was observed by a policeman in undress, and he seized the thief. A long struggle took place, and it was not till the assistance of another policeman and of a gentleman on horseback had been obtained that Mr. Fogo was secured. In the mean time the lady went away, stating that as the amount was so trifling she should be at no trouble concerning it.—Mr. Rushton inquired how often the prisoner had been previously committed ? Mr. Parkinson replied that he had not been out of gaol for eight months during tho last five years, for - he had been committed 18 times, and three months each time, making four years and four months. Mr. Rushton told the prisoner he was very sorry the attend ance of the lady who had beer► robbed could not be pro-, cured. If it could he should have been sent for trial, and had he been found guilty, no doubt he would be prevented from ever picking pockets again in England. The prisoner was then cotnmited to his old quarters for another three months, this being his 19th visit to them. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Sir,—You will oblige me by giving the enclosed correspond ence a place in your paper. I remain, sir, &c, HUGH M'NEILE. Ballycastle, July, 13, My lord,—l have but just now received a copy of the Surrey Standard newspaper, dated the 26th of last month, containing a report of a public meeting, held in Guildford, to adopt a congratulatory address to the Queen. At that meeting yoiir lordship asserted that I had applied the term " Jezebel' to her Majesty. Were it possible that there could be any mistake on this point in the newspaper report, I would confine this letter to a request that your lordship would say whether or not you had made such an assertion. But the speeches of Mr. Barclay and Mr. Kemble, which followed, and in which reference is made to your lordship's statement, and to me by name, place the fact beyond all question. My present object, therefore, is to request your lordship to let me know on what authority you advanced so grave a charge. 1 have the the honour to be, my lord, Your obedient servant, To the Earl of Lo ve l ace. HUGH M'NEILE. Ockham Park, Ripley, July 18. Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th, in which you ask on what authority I stated that you had applied the term Jezebel to her Majesty. I did so from having seen, towards the close of last year, a report (copied I - believe originally from a Liverpool news paper into the London public prints) purporting to give an account of a speech delivered by you at Whitchurch, and the correctness of which, although the speech was much com mented upon in the journals I have been in the habit of seeing , both then and since, I had not heard impugned at the time I made the statement alluded to. I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant, The Rev. Hugh M'Neile, LOVELACE Ballycastle, July 23, 1840. My Lord,—ln the present state of party feeling in this country, it was no matter of surprise to me that anonymous writers in newspapers should endeavour to affix a stigma to the name of any individual obnoxious to them ; and so long as misrepresentations of what I said (however gross and ap parently wilful) were confined to such writers, I set too great a value upon the true liberty of the press, notwithstanding its occasional abuse, I was too well aware of the present state of the law of libel, and I entertained too high a respect for my own character, to have recourse to any of the various me thods of defence to which I have been urged by zealous and indignant friends. But the case is wholly altered when a nobleman of your lordship's rank and influence adopts, without inquiry, an atrocious calumny, and by repeating gives it the weight of his testimony to the country and the world. Of this grave offence against the courtesies of cultivated society, against the requirements of charity, against the laws of honour, against the commandment of God, your lordship has now been guilty. Your lordship pleads as your authority a newspaper report, into the accuracy of which you do not pretend to have made any inquiry, but " the correctness of which," you say, " al though the speech was much commented upon in the journals you have been in the habit of seeing, both at the time and since, you had not heard impugned when you made the state ment alluded to." If your lordship expected to find the refutation volunteered in the same journals which circulated the calumny, I cannot sufficiently admire the childlike simplicity of your lordship's unsuspecting nature in these degenerate days. And if your lordship be in the habit of seeing journals on both sides of the great question, ecclesiastical and civil, which agitate the country, I am equally lost in admiration at the dexterity with which your lordship's information is selected. In addition to many newspaper denials, (of equal authority with newspaper assertions), a formal and solemn refutation of the wicked falsehood was printed and published in many papers both in London and in the country, signed by Lord Kenyon, the chairman of the meeting at Whitchurch ; by Mr. Long, the rector of the parish ; and by several other gentlemen who were present on the occasion. Moreover, even Mr. O'Con nell was compelled to make the following acknowledgement in the House of Commons :—" He did not mean to say that the rev. gentleman, when he spoke of Jezebel, meant to de signate the Queen. The rev. gentleman had disavowed that interpretation. But what was his own explanation of the allusion. Why, he said he meant the Roman Catholic Church." This was spoken on the 29th of May, and published in all the journals a month previous to your lordship's assertion at the Guildford meeting ; but your lordship has the very singu lar felicity of not having read Mr. O'Connell's speech! No, truly, I never applied thelerm Jezebel to her Majesty, our most gracious Queen, for whom I entertain sentiments of conscientious and affectionate loyalty.jo . hich will not yield to those of any of her subjects in either'The high principles on which they are founded, or the devoted service of which they are productive ; but, my lord, referring to the idolatry and the support of an idolatrous priesthood, to the hypocrisy, treachery, subornation of perjury, and reckless persecution, .even unto murder, for the attainment of her ambitious and covetous desires, of " that woman Jezebel," I did apply the term, and make use of the history, in illustration of the proved character and practices of Popery. I have written to my bookseller to desire him to send your lordship a copy of my speech, several thousands of which have been sold, and I respectfully solicit your lordship's se rious attention to the parallel exhibited therein. In the mean time I have to thank your lordship for giving me this oppor tunity of challenging inquiry, and of recording, as I shall do by the publication of our correspondence, the slender and untenable grounds upon which my calumniators have pro ceeded. I defy any of them, giving his name, to make any better defence of his either wickedly invented or rashly adopted misrepresentation, than your lordship has done ; and I hope your lordship's acknowledgement, although unaccom panied for the present by an appropriate expression of regret, will be productive of very beneficial results. I have no expectation, indeed, that it will prevent anony mous writers in newspapers from reverting to, and repeating the calumny as often as they find it more convenient to slan der than to answer me, but I have good hopes that after this no gentleman will either repeat or believe it. I have the honour to be, my lord, Your lordship's most obedient servant, HUGH APNEII.E. The Earl of Lovelace. &c Ockham Park, Ripley, July 28. Sir,—Had your speech at Whitchurch been accompanied by the explanation of the term Jezebel now given, it would not have given rise to the general belief, in which I shared, that it was aimed at her Majesty ; nor should I have alluded to it at Guilford had I understood that, by a somewhat tardy and far-fetched interpretation, you had disavowed that impu tation. I forbear from remarking upon the weight which your ob servations of " the courtesies of cultivated society, the re quirements of charity, the laws of honour, and the command ment of God," attaches to the verdict of guilty you have, in the character of plaintiff and judge, undertaken to pronounce against me You are welcome, by the publication of this correspond ence, to endeavour to remove the stigma of whi c h you com plain, by an outrage upon the religious feelings of 7,000,000 of our Catholic fellow-subjects. I am, Sir, your very obeli To the Rev. Hugh M'Neil€ , ervant PROFITS OF BATHING ON SUNDAYS.- persons bathed in the floating bath on Stincii,, ceipts from whom would be somewhere about thirty guineas. The reputed owner of the bath is a liberal of the first water and withal a member of the town council. We suggest that that august body should offer him £lOO. a year for the use of his bath, on the same condition that he supported a grant of that amount to the botanic gardens, namely, that it be thrown open to the public on Sundays. ss than 12 last, the r EARLY WHEAT.--A field of three BCI the Wellington White, six rowed wheat, (, Fullered), belonging to Mr. William Knowle. _ _le, was commenced cutting on Thursday, and promised to yield a productive crop. s of wheat called nnrchased of Mr of Boot IRON STEAMER.—Her Majesty's steam vessel Dover sailed hence, on Saturday last; for Dover, from which place to Calais or Ostend she is intended, we understand, per manently to ply. The Dover was planned and built by Mr. John Laird, of North Birkenhead, and the engines were fitted on board by Messrs. Fawcett and Co. ; and, being the first iron vessel in her Majesty's service, comparisons will, no doubt, be made between her and the other boats on the same station. From the performance of the Dover on her trial trips here, there is every reason to expect, that, in addition to the advantage of drawing much ,ess water, she will possess more speed than any of her competitors. THE MENAI BRIDGE.—This magnificent structure has been thoroughly repaired, and is now equal if not superior to what it was when first opened to the public. FRENCH FRUIT.—Plums were sold in Bradford market on Thursday last that were gathered from the trees in France only three days before.—Bradford Observer. JUNCTION OF THE ATLANTIC WITH TILE PACIFIC OCEAN.—A Dutch Royal Commission, (we are informed by L'Echo du Monde Savant,) has ascertained that the river San Juan, and the lake of Nicaragua, may be easily rendered navigable for large vessels, and a ship-canal carried from the lake to the nearest point of the Pacific Ocean (a distance of 54 leagues), so as to connect it with the Caribbean Sea. The canal, for a certain distance, should he conducted by a tunnel, through a hill elevated 487 English feet above the lake. The elevation of the lake above the level of the Pacific is only 128 feet, so that numerous locks would not be neces sary. A communication between the two oceans might also be effected by connecting the lake of Managua with the Paci fic ; but a canal of 13 leagues, with many locks, would be re q_uired, and consequently the expense would be greater This portion of America is very thinly peopled, and there fore it cannot be expected that this work will b less it be.undertaken by European (probably by Eng pitalists. Many projects have been brought to asi issue within the last few years, notwithstanding di, coast o f t the of greater magnitude. The toll p a id u p on suc h a li ne t m ra u d n e ica b t e i t o w n e ( e e n ve E n u i r f o NpNe-e and calculated th e 14 according este rn t o North Am that commerce woulderica) u be of .o l u a l r d ge b a e m v o er u y nt m , but th nodoubt stO u N Europe. lc H present said in the public papers resp ect i ng the imitation ot uci medals. reliefs, &c. by means of a galvanic deposition of cop , op G enin L g vAA so No easy an s n ri a :S e . e l m per. This art, called Galvanoplastic, first discovered by Pro fessor Jacobi of St. Petersburgh, and brought to greater per fection by Mr. Spencer of Liverpool, and by Professor Von Kobel of Munich, may justly. be classed among the most useful of modern inventions, and from its great importance its 'employment in technical operations must soon become general. Indeed, some persons in England, perceiving the great influence which this invention is destined to have on manufacturing industry, are already applying it to the pro duction of buttons, arabesques, and various kinds of orna ments in copper. Herr G. A. Muller, mcchanican of Leip sic, too, has recently called attention to the application of Galvanoplastic to typography,, He has, however, been in some measure anticipated by the experiments made in 1839 at Roses printing -office in Munich, where, by following the method of Jacobi and Spencer, the lines of copper plate were produced in relief. Woodcuts were also converted into me talic plates, which, to say nothing of the advantage of the advantage of the solidity of the metal, far exceeded the effect of the most perfect casting. The experiments for making stereotype plates in copper have also been successful. In short, the invention has now reduced that stage which must secure for it the attention of all practical men.---!German Paper. )e executed u Gateshead iii; Much is at 9 - ~..5