The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-03-21 00:00:00

EXTINGUISHING OF FIRES A meeting of the rate-payers of Liverpool was held on Friday last in the Sessions-house, Chapel-street, to take into consideration the clauses of a bill introduced into the House of Commons by the Commissioners of Paving and Sewering, g an adequate supply of water for the extinguish ing of fires. The attendance was not very numerous. JOHN lioLmEs, Esq., Chairman of the Commissioners, was called to the chair. for providir The CHAIRMAN, in opening the rocdins observed, that they were all aware of th e exten p sive ee losses which had arisen in the town in consequence of the fires that had already taken place from the want of water to extinguish them, and they were also aware of the constant complaints which were made from the streets not being properly watered in hot weather. To remedy those evils it had been determined to apply to parliament for a bill to give certain powers to the Highway Commissioners, which he would call ou Mr. Deane to read .to the meeting. Mr. DEANE read several of the clauses, and stated the effect of others. The main provisions may be briefly stated to be to empower the commissioners to carry into effect the plan proposed by Mr. Ashlin, with which all interested in the subject are, we conceive, familiar. The commissioners are to be enabled to supply any of the inhabitants with water for private baths or other purposes. They are further to be empowered to borrow at interest, on the credit of the rates, any sum not exceeding thirty thousand pounds; authority is also sought to levy a rate, with a proviso that it shall not exceed, in any one year, the sum of one penny in the pound. And as the corporation have agreed to contribute a certain annual sum towards the expense of maintaining the engines, reservoirs, &c., a clause is inserted to authorise the treasurer of that body to pay to the commissioners the annual sum of X5OO, Mr. Alderman Nicol., said they had heard the two princi pal clauses of the bill before the meeting read, viz., as to the mode of supplying the town with water for the streets and !xtinguishin g fires, and the way in which it was to be paid tor. It was not necessary for him to detain them many Minutes in order to s h ow them that something in the shape of that bill was absolutely necessary in Liverpool. During the last e i g h t months they had seen almost weekly extensive fires in th e t own, principally caused from the want of water to extinguish them in their origin. He had taken an active t art n o t only in the mode of altering and building warehouses, ut also in the considerations which had lately taken place in the c ounc il respecting abetter mode of supplying the town with water. In doing so, many parties had been consulted, and among the rest the Water Companies, with a view of as certaining whether any arrangement could be entered into with them for supplying a sufficient quantity of water for the extinguishing of fires. It was, however, found absolutely ne cessary, to acco m pli s h t hi s , th a t pip es or ma i ns s hould be aid down alto;,, , ether distinct from those which supplied the houses in the town. Many of the casualities to which he had alluded took place in the night, and it generally happened, from the quantity of water supplied to houses in the town, a good portion of which was from the mains, that they were empty beforebe mornin g . I n consequence o f t hi s it was found necessary consider how separate pipes could be laid down so as to ?sure a suffi c i ent supply at al l t i mes f or th e pu tti ng ou t o f fires, and watering the streets of the town. At present a c onsiderabl e sum was paid to the water compan i es f or water or the latter purpose, but enough could not be furnished, and they were n ow o bli ge d t o h ave recours e to other sources. .„his suin, together with what would be contributed by the -;?,'Poration would go far towards paying the expenses, but s.till it was absolut e ly necessar y t o p r o v ide for the cost, al though it might not be required. Mr. Nicol concluded with moving the first resolution, for which, as well as the others, see the advertisement. The resolution was seconded by Mr. JAMES ACKERS. , Mr. Foal) asked what was the estimated cost, and the ex tent to which they intended to carry the main pipes ? Mr. BIRKETT replied that it was thought £14,000 would lay down nine miles of piping, but by doubling that length of piping it was found the expense would reach nearly £30,000. Should, however, the inhabitants sanction the plan. it was the p ro posed to r a i se t h e sum o f £50 , 000, i nstea d o f £30,000, a t same time providing that the rate should not exceed one fen ny in the pound. The commissioners, in this matter, a roPosed to go on by degrees, as they had done with the fi r' of ie town. , FORD said th ere cou ld on ly be one opinion as to the desira bleness of a bett er su pply of water in the town, but there might b e more t h an one op i n i on as t o th e mo d e i n which that supply was to be obtained. There were several water companies in the town, and when they obtained their acts t cts t hey were allowed to make an additional charge in their e 8) in consequence of their undertaking to supply water to general fires. Mr m • Fi Altnono said that only applied to one of them. r• FORD said, if that was the case, and there was a f ause inserted in their bill compelling them to supply water t i a_ th at Purpose, why did not the commissioners call upon the m to say why they did not afford an abundant supply for PkirPose of extinguishing fires, at all events in accordance ivveict? the spirit, if not the letter of the law? They had neg- Led to do so, and now appeared before the rate-payers with scheme which would cost the town an enormous 4 3 % lie li e (Mr. Ford) did not approve of that scheme, and for ght , it would he much better if the bill was postponed; A nd if it was p asse d i n it s p resen t state, they would they t hemselve s surroun d e d w i t h diffi cu lti es f r o m w hich Passing that not b e a bl e eas ily t o ex t r icate themselves. By that bill they entirely exonerated the water com paniese from what be considered they were bound to do, s i d • n had no notion of doing that unless there was a con y erable reduction in the enormous rates now charged by raise water companies. The plan now proposed was to wa le water from the river to be preserved in tanks. That rod r r was salt water, which would act very rapidly in cor- And n the iron pipes through which it passed, and the lifting forcingwell i of it would be a most expensive process, as mac as keeping the number of persons necessary to work the fe et g rog gy, to examine the pipes, and to keep them in per offioeuruet,r, and also to see that every key would perform its with was sorry they had not come before the meeting oier a prope r and exact estimate of the cost, instead of a eal _e abstract measure. They ought to have had ready a vay'ettlation of the cost likely to be thrown upon the rate to e rs • What did they mean to do ? Did they mean merely t o ti nnfine the laying down of pipes to a few main streets, or theue n eighbourhood of the warehouses? (No, no.) If tvol l i giq not, in s t ea d o f requiritbor nine miles of piping, they th ey find three ti mes n i ne would be inadequate. Would Piai ° P rig e a the principal sea t s o f the town to lay down —Yes, we would The' c_ M r t ,.. 4 414.11AN, nuicanee a, the St . ' o an.—Nothing was so great . a . con theanttnlaYing-and re-laying of pipes in the principal streets of a - ,, w n• Would it not, therefore, be the wisestco e u o r u se su t l o t iwithYastKike the bill before them for the present, and . s u „ , the water companies, to ascertain . whether they could the y ,, P 'Y them with a sufficiency to extinguish fires? Could with not allow them for that purpose, if they could not do it s,Vl,their present funds, a small rate t o a n_warehouse property, 'it . l l at present paid them no rate a 11 ? th a ,, ,131113(ETT said that mode would be much less expensive m tilf. present plan. f r • I'oRD (in continuation) complained of the want of in plans under which the meeting laboured resnecting m t e l t i t e_ Pla ns to b e . • su re 0 carried into effect by the bill, and said the d th "Plated with the Corporation of Liverpool, who ha .e Public funds at their disposal, and who could without in di iv ic id . , a , cost, have given the public that lierm . ation they were 'Poit)wihttg,for. He found a Fire bill had origina th te e d li w o it o h se tl o re f C O : '-ouncil, but after its introduction into reasonsna it had been found necessary, perhaps for more Board ;than one, to divide it into two, and hand to the 41 ~, in cr ._ ~ r enwick-street. There was a clause in that bill Mr ' $g the rate from Id. to Id. mr. L i , , At% KLTT.—Nro, no. 10,.., roux, said he had obtained a copy of the bill from the 11. n- hall, a clause of which he read for the benefit of Mr. -I rxett, Mr B 1'0,,,, • IRKErr said that bill had been introduced by b o r . the tito 1,01,10-clerk, but had not yet received the sanction were als o • Co k, The clauses, however, th e 0, the bill before the meeting, had b in een i ' struck out of Mr, FD out? Fuß n• -- --Why was not the money clause also struck M IR,I a bill : —IRI CETT said it had been found necessary to o intr_od v u e i: . e . . ~,, _ Pool p( 27 the House of Commons giving the Mayor of off Vium. bur b w er, in case such a tire should occur . a s pr j to order the blowing down of adjoining property, to To w " its spreading That bill had been drawn up hy the nor had tncelerk, but it had . never been before the Council, M r i . r .,' as yet expressed any opinion on it. ir k b ~_Ln Gan still Complainedco that the rating clause . was left tr ° `a bills and gee that it would be better to ;:_,%tr vvith the water companies, as their reservoirs were con st ablv hi . -,gher than any warehouse in Liverpool, and -11 4- br ai , e(l ,_ the Propriety of their supplying the houses . from a l, ea instead of inain pipes, so that the latter migh I . theaTh ke p t full in case of fire. He also suggested that a u t i l rtheeornk7tio.e.libe"ssuepsplPiei should be placed, with plugs to e , o . k ' f inding as i n . itt anehester, supplied water from cisterns at the f l factories in the neighbourhood of _ g should ad j a o n t d tro co s f e n o v c r e lu r t a d m ed e, b recommending that the meet i until y it was ascertained whether Siwly arra d ngernent could be effected with the water companies, b en t° obtain the opinions of scientific individuals as to the m r node of obtainno, a sufficiency of water. pothrPAanoun saiirMr. Ford had not given them the on pearfttY of affording them Or , r information which he ap hott;" So Much in need of, and again he attacked the ware the Proprietors, as though' they were perfect beggars upon kfrotrununity. kr' FO RD , -1 never mentioned them. sun. • rIARBoan replied that Mr. Ford had made various . th:getions about taxing them, but he (Mr. H.) thought if eoriYtrWibere disposed to' be selfish they could say already they stzto uted towards many things of no use to them, and in whieeed th warehouse e watering and flagging of the streets, mh the ' proprietors could do without. nati r • l'oan asked permission to say a few words in expla guru(r", pad was proceeding when he was stopped by ' t ' l laerman EARLE, who said he was answering the ar charr, ,of Mr. Harboard instead of explaining, and he was Warehouse' ' e ' Mr. Earle with having attacked the owners of Mr, on account of the large per cantage they paid. M • c ., 1 ' 01 10 denied havin. done so. e x r • S. HoLue said he Zertainly had, for he had taken the t,,,lession down. af t nr • J• Surrx, one of the proprietors of the Mercury, eluded addressed the meeting at some length, and coo in'sened his observati ons b y proposing that a clause should be n le ., r , t ed in the bill authorising the award of prizes for the ,VAfter suggestions on the subject. r er a few words from Mr. Birkett and Mr, Ford, kovi.bRANE read the sth clause of the bill, in which it is freiri I d ea that the water may be taken from the docks, "or o n , atlY other source from which water can be conveniently din e d ~ , Some ' • me. kNA. discussion ensued on this point, after which Mr. that a s PER spoke at some length against the bill. He argued th e „, the warehouse proprietors received great per centage, deirabrght to pay also great premiums, and that as a consi forei e Portio n of the goods in the warehouses belonged to ..;:_resgetlnsoeursfse, and were there on commission, therefore the own ere ought to pay the greater portion of the ex 3fir. (,),. the present measure.—Th e clause was carried. propose .ANILJEL HOLME said that he had a resolution to liviBatseuoenre,thbfuatohad attended there rather in the character of a a speaker. The question before the meeting ernsPerit° great local importance, involving the commercial , 00k e d a .Y. nf the port ; and he thought that those who a i ded vr t it in a narrow and isolated manner, and took a one questiolne o f the subject, could hardly be said to treat the separate t.as Its importance deserved. It was impossible . to th e le interests of all classes of society : the interest of kee merchant was the interest of the tradesman, the shop (labourer he mechanic ; arid the interest too, of the humblest Hear,)who earned his livelihood on the quays' of our docks.. - s . We cannot legislate for classes. (Hear.) M e are class, it were one vast family ; and what is injurious to one coerce bY the singular and unalterable ramifications of corn eated , t 1 is felt to be injurious to all. He, therefore, depre see - , is Petty and unworthy feeling which lie was sorry . to xi _ incl ainfested 'on this occasion, because he had hoped to find tliiieinilo" 00 a question such as that under discussion. L e. %gray loot' at the effects produced by the late calamitous con- leek 1°"s• (Hear.) The losses sustained had not to ut d a ..:"ed bY hundreds and thousands of pounds; b rx i i,j;: n g the last few years that loss had to be computed by (Hear.) they"" s * L.. sufferer ? u the dwellings No. Ras 'it the merchant alone who was \Vere not our warehouses surrounded the most distressing element which, wher e i ke iP(iluuridn. s cl tehees Poor ' Had they not witnessed t,auseehrvant but egr tiro i e feeracontrol, awgaess so of us t et t i , when bu i rsti u nr , fo p rth p in all its fierceness, o was i s een they trannical master ? (Loud cheers.) He had often their poorer classes removing their furniturc—P heat all—amidst scene s of distress which were most rending; and he entreated gentlemen, while they looked well after their own affairs, not to be blind to the dietates of benevolence. (Loud cheers.) The insecurity of property in Liverpool was attended with disastrous results to our commerce ; and, considering how the prosperity of the shopkeeper was identified with the prosperity of the mer chant, he thought all classes were interested in bettering the present condition of things. (Hear, hear.) Although he was not a merchant, it was clear to him that 235. per cent. was more than the merchant could afford in these days of competition to pay for insurance • and he begged them to recollect that railroads had in no slight de gree destroyed the advantages of localities, and that it the commerce of Liverpool continued to be burthened with such an exorbitant rate of insurance, it might probably take the wings of the railroad, and fly away. (Hear.) What was it that had made land and buildings so valuable in Liverpool ? Intrinsically and abstractedly, land in Castle-street was worth little more than land in the middle of Chat Moss : and the bricks and the timber of which the shops in Castle street were constructed, were worth no more in one place than in another. (Hear.) Why, then, that land was worth £2O a square yard, and why did the shops produce such high rents? It was the commerce of the port that stamped value on the property in the town. It was the enterprise of the merchant—the foreign produce he imported, and which tilled our warehouses—that gave value to the house, the shop, and the office—that gave employment to the multi tudes, who react upon the shopkeeper, and furnished both them and all classes with the means of acquiring an honour able livelihood. (Loud cheers.) And was it, then, the paltry consideration of whether we should have a halfpenny or a penny in the pound, that would induce gentlemen to reject a bill having for its object the preservation both of property and life? (Hear, hear.) He entreated all who heard him to take a broader view of this impor tant question, and not, by a petty and unworthy oppo sition, to assist in committing local suicide. (Hear.) He protested that if the present state of things were permitted long to exist, and fire after tire took place, it must end in the destruction of the character of this port; and, although the charges from this bill would fall as heavily on him as on any person in the town, he should neither be doing his duty to the constituency who had sent him into the council to protect the interests of the town, nor should he satisfy his own conscience, if he did not lift up his voice and protest against such a state of things as now existed being any longer en dured. (Applause.) They had a most efficient fire-police— well disciplined, well arranged, and prompt in action. Mr. Whitty, their leader, was deserving of all praise ; but what could he or they do when at every fire they were left without water? (Cheers.) Suppose the army of the Duke of Welling ton in the Peninsula had been brought face to face with that of Marshal Soult, and they had found when they got into action that although they were well commanded, and had their muskets in order, they had no ammunition in their cartouch boxes! (Loud laughter.) Where would they have been ? And yet such was the situation of the fire-police at the late fire at Messrs. Fawcetts. When he (Kr. Holmes) arrived on the spot, he would have guaranteed all the damage for a few hundred pounds, if he had had a copious supply of water. (Hear, hear.) And yet the fire-police were obliged to stand by for hours and see building after building con sumed without any means of extinguishing it. (Hear.) And here he was reminded that it was not always warehouses that first took fire. Thy great fire in Formby-street did not originate in a warehouse, but in a bone-boiling house. (Hear.) The late fire originated in an iron foundry ; and he appealed to Mr. Rushton, who was present with the mayor, whether the fire did not spread from the foundry across the street, and set fire to the warehouses, when there was not a drop of water to be got to impede its progress. And had we not had steam mills, and buildings of all descriptions, consumed where the same want of water was as severely felt ? (Hear.) A scheme had been mentioned by Mr. Smith, of stopping the progress of fires by hanging up iron screens against the doors and windows of opposite buildings. Who in the world world venture in the face of such an intolerable heat as that which aenerally existed, to hang up such screens, even if they were on the spot, and if there was machinery to get them up ? It was like attempting to resist the attack of a ferocious tiger by unfurling a parasol for self-defence. (Laughter.) Mr. Ford had drawn a comparison between the returns yielded from warehouses and cottages to the disparagement of the former ' • but he begged to_tell that gentleman, that he (Mr. Hohne) had had some little experience in both sorts of property, and as far as that experience went, deducting the loss of rents by empty warehousei, he thought warehouses did not yield on the average quite as large a rate of interest as cottagesdid. (Hear.) Mr. Ford had spoken, too, of the projected mains not being carried through every street, as being unfair, and of the difficulty of carrying them through streets with 6-yard butts, where there were already two gas and two water pipes. To the former argument he replied, that there were many streets where the companies had now no mains at all; and to the latter, that the pipes were not laid alongside each other in many streets, but, in srune cases. over each other ; and even if they were not, there was still room in any street for the contemplated main. (Hear hear.) He had stated before this his conviction that the supply of water to this town ought never to have been left in the hands of private companies—(loud cries of " Hear, hear"),—but that it ought to have been provided by the constituted au thorities, and then the mains would have been kept con stantly filled; but as the companies, wisely for their own advantage, turned off the water when persons were supplied for domestic purposes, Mr. Ford's proposition for having pipes carried to the top of every warehouse would be useless, because it would be generally connected with an empty main ; and would be about as serviceable as an empty pipe of another description would be to a smoking friend whom he saw below him, if that friend had no tobacco to put in it. (Loud laughter.) Mr. Ford had contrasted the warehouses of Liverpool with the factories of Manchester; but he (Mr. Holme) knew something of the factories of Manchester as well as Mr. Ford did. He therefore begged to inform that gentleman, that most of the Manchester factories possessed wells of water wherewith to work their steam-engines ; and to many of those engines were attached powerful forcing pumps, kept ready for seasons of emergency ; and therefore the contrast between them and Liverpool warehouses, without such advantages, and used merely for storing goods, fell to the ground. (Applause.) He now turned to Mr. John Smith, who, with his usual ability and good humour, had appeared in the character of an antagonist to this bill ; and he asked that gentleman, when he expressed hostilities to the Water Com panies, whether carrying out the present proposition was not the first step to the destruction of.their monopoly? (Hear.) Mr. Smith had spoken of spontaneous combustion in ware houses. He (Mr. H.) thought that that combustion had been the spontaneous one which arose from smoking tobacco in cotton rooms, and which had caused so many fires.— (Hear.) He also asked why the committee had not sought for new designs and new modes of hettering tho prooont state of things. He could assure Mr. Smith that the com mittee had had before them plans without number, some of them good ; and he had had schemes propounded to him pri vately which convinced him that some of the inventors were hardly in their right mind.—(Laughter.) Not that he could be supposed to be insensible to the value of mechanical sci ence, for he desired to pay to mechanical science the just tribute it deserved ; and he would answer for the committee, of which he was a member, that they would give every con sideration to any suggestion which men of science would bring before them. What they now asked for, to enable them to accede to the standing orders of the House of Commons, , was merely that the Parishioners would sanction time general ; principles of the measure, and thus no time would be lost. Surely the commissioners of sewers might be trusted to forward this essential measure; and if they betrayed their trust, the remedy was in the hands of those who had to re elect them. And in reference to the other part of the rnea saure, which fell into the hands of the council, the same remedy was at hand. If their representatives failed in doing their duty, let them be rejected. (Hear.) Let this measure be faithfully and honestly carried out, and he was convinced that it would be an advantage to the whole community. There could be no legislation for a particular class in such a case as this. The richest and the poorest were alike in terested : and he had no doubt the day would arrive when all would cheerfully acknowledge it, and every man present would cordially approve of the perseverance of those who now sought powers to carry this bill. (Loud cheering.) . Mr. RUSHTON fully corroborated all Mr. Holme; had said respecting the consequences of the want of water at fires. Mr. J. S. WALKER strongly urged the necessity for suf ficient supplies of water being obtained to protect the town, in proof of which he mentioned that that very day the fire in Lydia Ann-street had again broken out, and a fire had occurred in Duke-street for which no water could for a length of time be procured. Mr. J. Salmi said, before it was passed, be wished to observe that he could not agree to the bill unless an assurance was given that his suggestion as to obtaining the very best plans should be adopted. Mr. HoudEs said they had seen plan after plan proposed to them, but many of the projectors were more fit for bedlam than rational society. . . After a few words from Mr. N. D. BOLD, in vindication of the insurance companies, the resolution was passed. Mr. EARLE proposed the next resolution, which was se conded by Mr. J. Fletcher, which after a few words from Mr. Birkett and Mr. Ford, the latter stating that lie reser ved himself to oppose the bill in the House of Commons, Mr. D. HODGSON proposed the third resolution, which was seconded by Mr. A. Henderson, and put from the chair, after a promise had been obtained by Mr. Smith from the chairman that his suggestions shtuld receive consideration. Thanks having been voted to the chairman, the meeting separated. FIRE LAST NIGHT.—Last night an alarm was raised that a fire had broken out in Orrell-street, Vauxhall-road. The engines were quickly on the spot, but no material damage had occurred, the fire having been quickly extinguished. The Secretary of State for the Home Department has issued a positive order that M`Naughten be kept in strict seclusion. Two men (Rebecca's daughters) were tried at the Pem brokeshire assizes, last week, for breaking the dwelling house and toll-house of William. Rees. The prisoners were found not guilty. REBECCA AND HER DAUGHTERS IN KIDWELLY.—Last night week, some of the disciples of Becca assembled at Kidwelly Gate, leading tb Garreg Mountain, and completely demolished the toll-house, the gate and posts of which had been, a month or six weeks previous, destroyed by a body of that reckless gang. COMMISSARIAT.—A return ordered by the House of Commons shows the total estimated cost of the Commissa riat department for 1843-4 to be £191,045 15s. 4d. ; that for 1842-3 was £200,939 10s. Decrease for 1843-4, £9,893 15s. 2d. Total cost of officers and clerks in foreign garrisons and possessions for the year ending March 31, 1844, is esti mated at £46,893 15s. Estimate for extra clerks, store keepers, &c., at the several stations abroad, for the same period, £64,814 19s. Bd. Pav and contingencies of the Commissariat branch of the Treasury, £4,045 35., 2d. Amount required for land and inland water transport, &c., £73,439. Half-pay, superannuations, pensions to widows, &c., £47,949 19s. TRADE WITH CHINA : THE FIVE PORTS.—Mr. Gutzlaff, in a letter dated Chusan, October 28, and addressed to Mr. Mathieson, of Glasgow, gives the following information re specting our trade with China :—" There can be no doubt that the commerce to this part of the world will soon be con siderable, if our merchants will not overstock the markets by overtrading on too sanguine expectations. Of the new ports you will already have heard. Shanghae, the only emporium for central China, and enabled by inland communication by water to transport goods with ease, offers the largest pros pect for imports of cotton and woollen manufactures. It will furnish, in return raw silk of the best description, some green teas, and also a , few silk and cotton manufactures that are still in demand in England, or are carried in English and American bottoms to South America. However, the re sources of this emporium remain still to be developed, and, judging from the favourable situation, and the present exten sive maritime native trade it now enjoys, it will be our largest port for importations. Ningpo has considerable capital at command—will furnish us with green teas, and some raw silk—take off our hands a good deal of cotton goods and woollens, and also receive in moderate quantities Straits pro duce, for which Shanghae is, however, the principal mart. Futehoo, the metropolis of Fokeeu, furnishes our black teas, and will, therefore, have the largest proportion of our trade, and take in return principally raw cotton, and a few manu factures, for home consumption. To this place I have my self been appointed, and shall proceed to that town within a few days, if I have to remain during the winter here in the magistracy. Amoy will be a regular depot for everything. It will furnish us with the cheaper kinds of black teas that grow on the coast; hemp, camphor, and sugar candy, from Formosa, and a great quantity of sundries, such as umbrellas, alum, and coarse China ware, for the Indian market, and will take almost everything in exchange, for the merchants of that city are the carriers of China, but principally raw cotton." LIVERPOOL MARCH SESSIONS. The March Sessions of the peace for the borough of Liver pool commenced yesterday in the Court-house, Chapel-street, before James Clarke, Esq., Recorder. The calendar con tains the names of eighty-two parties for trial on charges of felony and misdemeanour: of these only 1 is able to read and write well; 2$ can read and write imperfectly ; 14 can read imperfectly; whilst the great proportion of 39 are unable to do either. The Grand Jury was composed of the following gentle men : JACOB FLETCHER, jun., Esq., Hanover-street, merchant, Foreman. Wm. Alexander Brown, Grecian-terrace, merchant. Timothy Bourne, ExchaiT,e-street West, cotton merchant Robert Carter Pedder, Strand-street, broker. John Campbell, Netherfield-road North, broker James C. Duncan, Chapel-street, merchant. James Duncan, India•buildings, merchant. Edw a d Gibbon, St. Anne-street, gentleman Willibm H. Gilliott, Lord-street, merchant, Thomas Grundy, Upper Kensington, merchant Henry Hill, Old Churchyard, merchant. _ Thomas Hobson, Rumford-place, merchant. John Haseldine, Upper Parliament -street, shipbuilder William Hope, Goree, merchant. Charles Ironside,Water-street, merchant. Timothy Jevons, New Quay, iron merchant. Samuel Kearsley, Percy-street, broker. William Lowe, - Canning-place,' corn merchant Peter Leicester, Brunswick-street, corn merchant David Lamb, Rodney-street, merchant John Lomax, Duke's-place, shipbuilder. George Langtry, Water -street, merchant. The RECORDER, in his charge to the Grand Jury, said, it mnst be highly gratifying to them to find that the peace of the town, under the guidance of its excellent chief magistrate and the borough magistrates, had been so well preserved when it appeared to be threatened ; and it must also be equally gratifying to know that their views and wishes, on this important subject, had been so well seconded by the sound discretion and good sense of other parties who might unhappily have lent themselves to the excitement of bad passions. The. calendar was by no means a light one, con sidering the very short interval between the present and the last sessions. only a few weeks; but still their duties would not be found laborious. There were, however, certain cases which would require a great deal of consideration ; not that they would present any difficulty in point of law, but because the commission of the crimes had been attended with a great deal of violence. He was satisfied that the Grand Jury would give this class of cases their best consideration. The- Clerk of the Court would lay before them some presentments found by the Grand Jury at the last sessions, which were full of good sense, and which he should wish them to look at before they were discharged. These presentments pointed out the very indiscreet ...)..aucrt of Loony ohotiKocticr posing their property, whereby temptation was offered to thieves; and at the last sessions, the view which he (the Re corder) took of such cases met with the unanimous approba tion of both juries. A stop should be put to the system. If the parties themselves were careless to prevent crime, they ought not to be the persons to come forward to press for punishment ; but if they did come for justice, in consequence of their own carelessness, some notice, lie thought, should be taken of that fact; and, therefore, whenever he found crimes committed from the carelessness of prosecutors in exposing their goods, he should not allow the costs of the prosecution. The judges had adopted a similar view, and he should certainly act upon it. There were two or three cases of that kind to come before them, and at the end of the duties lie hoped they would be kind enough to point out those cases in which there had been any degree of misconduct upon the part of the owners of the stolen property, The learned Recorder concluded by acknowledging the efficiency of the police establishment; and the Grand Jury then retired to their room. Several cases of minor importance were tried during the day ; and the Court rose about 5 o'clock. The sessions are expected to terminate on Thursday. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT.-LIVERPOOL, MONDAY, MARCH 20. (Before David Pollock, Esg., Commissioner.) William Langley, remanded from the last two circuits, again applied for his discharge, and he was opposed by Mr. John Newby Moore, on the part of the detaining and op posing creditors. It appeared that twelve months ago the prisoner was ordered to be discharged conditionally, on the payment into court of £l9O, alleged to be in the possession of his brother-in-law, for the benefit of the general creditors. The COMMISSIONER asked the insolvent whether he was prepared to pay in the money according to the order of the court ? _ _ The insolvent replied that he had been unable to obtain the money. £l5 had on a former occasion been paid in ; but he had himself no means of finding the £l9O on which he had been remanded. His brother-in-law had the money, and refused to part with it. The COMNIISSIONER. — Your brother-in-law ought not to have it : it ought to go to the creditors at large. How lately have you applied to him for it ? The Insolvent.—Within the last four months. Mr. MOORE was about to enter on the examination of the insolvent, when . . . . . . The COMMISSIONER said, he had looked into the notes of the learned commissioner who had sat on the case on the former occasions, and the result was, he was satisfied that the court had done all which the court could to get back the money ; and the insolvent had thought it right to remain in gaol now for fifteen months, instead of coming into court with the money. By a note of the learc_ I commissioner, he seemed to think that the insolvent was working out the sum by remaining in prison; how much longer he might yet think proper to remain he (the commissioner) knew not; but, under the circumstances, it appeared to him that the court had done all which it could to assist the creditors. The insolvent had thought proper to remain in gaol long enough to be punished for his misapplication of the money ; therefore, in conformity with the minute of the learned com missioner who sat on the case in July last, the insolvent must he discharged, as he had suffered imprisonment enough.— Discharged. _ _ _ _ Charles Brown, cart-owner, was opposed by Mr. JAMES, on the part of two creditors, Mr. Hugh Jones and Mr. Wil liam Tyson. It appeared that the insolvent had been ar rested by one James Beesley, a bailiff, but formerly a cart owner, for an alleged debtl of £5, contracted two years and a half ago, for a horse. On inquiry, it turned out that this was a friendly arrest, and there seemed to be doubts whether the debt was genuine. The insolvent, in his examination, stated that he had sold to Mrs. Jane Roberts, of Vauxhall road, two horses, two floats (a low cart), a set of gearing, and some stable utensils, for £.lB odd. The sale took place the first week in September, yet there appeared in the insolvent's schedule a charge of £36 for provender for his horses be tween the Ist of September and the 2d of December, although he had sold them. In answer to a question from the Com missioner, the insolvent said there must be some mistake in it. The Commissioner said that when an insolvent came before him with debts of only £5O, it would require a strong case to convince him that he ought not to be discharged ; but there were exceptions to this rule.—The Insolvent : " Well, I cannot read, and if they have put it down wrong, I cannot say." Beesley was then called and examined ; at the end of which Mr. JAMES applied to the court for the petition to be dismissed on the ground of collusion. The Commissioner, in granting the application, addressed the insolvent thus 1 have no doubt you will get out of prison without my as. sistance ; but if ever you should come here again, do not re peat this special balance sheet, because I do not think there is a word of truth in it. The present petition is dismissed." Petition dismissed. John Wheatley, unopposed, applied for the benefit of the act. His debts appeared to be only £33.—The Commis sioner : Could you not contrive to pay £33 without coming here ?—lnsolvent : No; I could not, because I was out of work.—Commissioner : I am sorry for it.—Discharged. 111`Viccar applied for his discharge, supported by Mr. VENABLES, and opposed by Mr. TuAFFoitn. It appeared that the insolvent was the landlord of the Royal Oak Inn, where he became involved. The ground of the opposition to him was, that he had received £2O from a Mr. Munro two days before his arrest, for the good will, &c., of the tap, well knowing at the same time that he was in insolvent circum stances ; and also that he had obtained a quantity of corks from Mr. Barwise, a manufacturer, under the false pretence of selling them again by commission. In his examination, the insolvent stated that the sale of the corks to him was ab solute and not on commission. On the other hand both Mr. and Mrs. Barwise proved that the corks were furnished to him to sell on commission, at the rate of 10 per cent., the money to be paid in two or three days afterwards; but, in stead of selling them for money, he sold them for a qu an tity of spirits, so that Mr. Barwise never received a farthing. The evidence being closed, Mr. TRAFFORD said he had to apply to the learned com missioner to remand the insolvent on two grounds. The first was that he had received the £2O from Mr. Munro, for the tap, at a time when lie was in a state of insolvency; in deed he received the money on the Saturday night, and on the following Monday morning bailiffs were in the house, lie must, therefore, have known that it was utterly impossible for him to carry on business ; consequently, in receiving that £2O, he had acted fraudulently. The other ground of the application was, that the insolvent had obtained the corks from Mr. Barwise under the false pretence of selling them upon commission. He had chosen to say that the sale was absolute ; but both Mr. and Mrs. Barwise had contradicted him. Under these circumstances he called upon the com missioner to remand the insolvent for such period as he might think the justice of the case required. Mr. VENABLES replied, that with regard to Munro's claim, it was no debt, therefore it was not within the act of parliament; and, on that ground, the application for a re mand could not be sustained. As to Mr. Barwise and the corks, if there bad been any fraud, Mr. Barwise had himself cured it by a condonation in rendering to the insolvent a bill of the goods. The COMMISSIONER. directed the insolvent's schedule to be amended, by inserting the £2O obtained from Mr. Munro as a debt. This being done, the commissioner, after de tailing the circumstances and commenting upon them, directed the insolvent to be remanded for four calendar months from the date of the vesting order. The court adjourned at five o'clock till ten o'clock this morning. The list contained the names of three insolvent debtors whose cases were adjourned from the last circuit, and thirty two original cases—total, thirty-five. The following are the results up to the rising of the court last night : ADJOURNED CASES Discharged.—Matthew King, William Langley Discharged conditionally.—George Entwisle. ORIGINAL CASES. Discharged. Ellzi -s- PO;;;, - 7ohr Carpenter, Henry Adolphus Schlesinger, John Harrison, Thomas Pritchard, James Hamill, James M'Coy, Charles Orton, James Smith, George Kenrick, Charles Lunt, Ellen Farraday, William Holliday Cornforth, Frederick Vessey, Peter O'Neill, John Williams (schedule to be amended), John M'Gregor (on giving up possession of a house to Mr. Rogers, the landlord), John Wheatley, Walter Philip Gunnyon, Frederick Smith, Pete► Kennedy (after having been in custody five months from the date of the vesting order), Neil M`Vicar (after having been in custody four months from the date of the vesting order. Petition Dismissed.—Charles Broom. Adjourned.—Patrick Daley. Dead.—John Jones, William Gordon Bulkeley THE FUNDS, SATURDAY EVENING.--ThE Consol-market has exhibited heavy symptoms to-day, owing to some sales made on speculative account, which have influenced prices to the extent of one-eighth per cent. in addition to the de cline of yesterday. The last quotation for money was 961 to 1, and for the account 961; New Three-and-a-Half per Cents. left off 102/ to ; Exchequer-bills, 68s. to 70s. pm. ; and India Bonds, 795. pm. ; Bank Stock was also a shade lower, closing 184 to 185. Foreign securities sympathized with the dull state of business in the English funds, and beyond that there was the rumour of the likelihood of the Barcelona affair not being altogether settled to the satisfac tion of the French Government. The speculators in Spanish have taken alarm at this, and have realized in several instances the larger portion of their accounts, thereby clearing themselves with profit. Spanish Actives were last quoted 231 to 1 ; ditto Three per Cents.. 32 t o 1- ; Portuguese 401 to 1; Colombian, 261 to 1; Danish, 87 to 86; Belgian, 104/ to 1053; Brazilian, 80 to 81 ; Dutch Two -and-a-Half per Cents., 56/ to 4; and Mexican, 30/ to 1. It will be ob served that all the speculative securities are rather worse than they closed last evening. THE POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY ON THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS OF LIVERPOOL (Continuation of Dlr. Samuel Holme's Lecture.) The next great improvement was the widening of Lord street. And here a serious mistake was made. The act of parliament gave power to widen, but our local governors failed to embellish. The north side remains, with a few exceptions, as it was originally built, and there are 50 different elevations, with hardly one building deserving the character of handsome. nd on the south side, which was entirely re-built, how meagre is the architecture ! Here was a noble line of 1,000 feet, which might have been rendered ornamental ; but instead of a noble range of edifices, with projections of a bold and nervous description—instead of columns, carrying entablatures which would have given pleasure to the eye to repose upon, instead 'of the light and graceful attic, in all the harmony and elegance of just proportion —we have a flimsy and meagre range of edifices, with scanty pilasters, with .miserable entablatures, with not a single parapet to cover the hideous roofs, and many of the buildings have been so slightly constructed, that they are even now dependent on their neighbours for mutual sup port. - Let us now look at Dale -street, and what do we discover ? Width has undoubtedly been obtained, and so far, it has proved a public convenience. But lam anxious:to establish the fact, that you may administer to public convenience, and yet, you may do nothing to establish public taste, or elevate our character for the desire of public beauty. With a few exceptions, some of those f au lty i n man y essential points, the so-termed improvement in Dale-street has not caused the erection of a single edifice that can claim any merit as an architectural production, and without specifying particular objects which might be considered invidious : I must remark, that in many of the thoroughfares which have been widened, elevations have been permitted that would not be creditable to the back settlements of America. Surely it is the duty of our local governors to take care that something more than width is obtained, when more than £lOO,OOO has been ex pended for the improvement of a single thoroughfare. As to Tythebarn-street, I trust not myself to make a single remark on this abortion. Those who directed the improvement of this great thoroughfare, must have been studying the analysis of beauty, and have come to the determination, that the greater the diversity the greater the grace, and that the more frequent the departure from straight lines, and sweeping curves, the more striking would be the effect, and the more overpowering the elegance. I turn with greater pleasure to Fenwick-street. Here we have something of better character—here we have several specimens worthy of the name of architecture : and whe❑ the whole of this street is completed, although it will not present a very imposing appearance, yet there will be little to offend, and much to praise. South Castle-street is much on a par with Lord-street ; it is a piece of patchwork ; and, if variety be charming, then mustes te n a ev r e a r e y sc um tc . le t lMt i 7! ., lv4h , desirous tut I am not of criticising individual erections. The great point which we must be anxious to see remedied is the general improvement of the town • and, although you need not be t o ld th a t it i s th e aggregate dindividual erections that forms the general im provement—just as the multitudes of atoms forms the moun tain, or the aggregate of drops produces the ocean--yet I for bear particularizing, lest I should injure the professional reputation of many whom I much respect, and who have, in too malty instances, been chained down by that inordinate love for cheapness to which I have already adverted. I ask you then to cast your eyes on Bennison's or Gage'a map of Liverpool, and look at the acute and obtuse angles which are formed by the eccentric divergernents of our streets. There are scarcely two leading throughfares running parallel with each other; street grows out of street in the most extraordi nary manner, without any apparent design ;—and it has been observed with as much facetiousness as truth, that Liverpool was originally laid out by the cows, who formed a track in their way to:their pasturage, which track became a footpath, which grew into a lane, and which was magnified into a street. This original defect in laying out our thoroughfares is the reason why so many of our public edifices are in such awk ward positions. The Town-ball, I have already observed, is not in the centre of Castle-street. St. George's Church stands awry both with Castle-street and Lord-street. The beautiful Chapel of St. James's Cemetery is askew with both of its leading approaches. St. Luke's is similarly situated ; and I might multiply examples if they were not familiar to us all. But in making these remarks, to which I have been re luctantly forced, that I might do justice to my subject, it is right that I should be impartial, and congratulate you on the progress of the last few years. When we recollect that SO years ago that part of the town within a line drawn from Queen-street down Oldhall-street, along Castle -street, South Castle-street and the north side of Canning-place, then the Old Dock, was the most densely populated part of Li verpool ;—that our merchants sought the suburban districts of Hanover-street and Wolstenholme-square, the east side of which commanded a lovely view of smiling fields, now co vered by Bold-street, and a charming hill, blooming with beauty, vegetation, and foliage, now better known as Rodney-street and Clarence-street—or when they sought the more rural districts of Duke -street or St. Paul's-square, to escape from the noise and bustle of the town ;—and when we look at the position of these once favoured spots—the man sions of the merchants converted into offices, their gardens covered with manufactories or with residences, the ancient houses of our shopkeepers and traders almost all destroyed, and piles of offices, suites of warehouses and all the conveniences of modern commerce erected on their sites, when the eight acres of dock space has grown into 100, and the population has increased from a mere handful to about 250,000. When we recollect the many stately piles that have sprung up, for purposes of religious worship, the asylums called into exist ence by the emotions of benevolence, the edifices reared by the successful pursuits of honourable exertion, and for our extended commerce, these and a hundred other recollections are pleasing, and with these recollections we must desite to see blended, those delineations of beauty, which are or ought to be in harmony with such unprecedented growth. I attri bute much of the increase of our local taste during the last few years to the sure, but silent, operation of our Athenaeum, and of the Royal Institution, in which we are now assembled, to the annual exhibition of the works of our living artists — to the various scientific institutions which have been estab lished—to the spread of knowledge—the improvements in mechanical science, and much of it, I believe, has grown out of the elegant and accomplished mind of Mr. Roscoe, and was extended by his beautiful address at the opening of the Royal Institution ; and as example is a great teacher, our architectural taste began to be improved when the beautiful Grecian portico which adorns this building was erected, for it was speedily followed by many others of kindred charac ter, and an impetus was given to our public taste, which has been extending slowly, but surely; and whether since the peace our intercourse with the continent has improved our national morals, I do not now stop to inquire ; but certain I am, that it has corrected and improved our national taste in architecture, painting, arid sculpture. The shops of this town, though often disfigured by whim sicalities, which are mistaken for beauties, are yet prodigi ously improved of late years. Let any one compare the shop fronts of Castle-street, or of Lord-street, with the more modern fronts of Bold-street, and a few other places, and the improvement will be percep tible. The decrease in the price of plate glass has been an important circumstance to our designs for shops, and 1 hope that in this department of our domestic or shop architecture an increased purity of taste and boldness of design will be come every day more perceptible. lam aware that by a de cision of our Highway Board, which I am not about to im pugn, and which prevents a projection of pilaster and cornice beyond a specified distance from the vertical line of a front, many architects are prevented from launching a bold design ; yet, within the specified line, if there be not space for archi tectural boldness, there is at least space for the exercise of good taste. Our dwelling-houses would open a wide field for observa tion ; but as they scarcely come under the head of public im provements, I must refrain from any observations on build ings of a private character. Our churches, however, may require a few words. Our ancestors had a laudable pride in making their places of worship worthy of the name. They considered that temples erected to the great Father of all should be of a character su perior to other edifices, and while they were content to dwell in houses of an inferior character and description to the man sions of more modern days, they never erected a building to the honour of God, without making it, as far as they were able, worthy of the high service to which it was dedicated. The vaulted chancel, the lofty nave, the pointed windows, softened and beautified with stained glass, the stately tower, or the lofty spire, on which were lavished the skill of the ar. chitect, these are all characteristic of our ancient churches; but in how few instances does this noble and disinterested spirit animate us in the present day. Nothwithstanding the extension of our commerce and ma nufactures, and the great increase of our national wealth, our churches have suffered a material deterioration, which must be evident to all. Instead of raising edifices such as our forefathers did, the grand object of the present day seems to be, how an ornamental barn can be erected, ornamental in the worst possible manner, where persons can be pewed to gether for £3 a sitting. The ecclesiastical character of our phurches has not been sufficiently attended to ; and examples are not wanting in this town and neighbourhood of buildings being erected for churches of which our forefathers would have been ashamed. The truth is, that cheapness has been the grand desideratum, and so long as this is the case, we can only deplore the circumstance. In too many instances where the ecclesiastical character has been in some measure attended to, many of the buildings are so barbarous in their external appearance, and are constructed in such a flimsy manner, that many of the churches built in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, which are now grey with age, will be in existence and will be stable erections long after some of our modern churches have fallen into decay. And here I cannot avoid remarking that a singular approximation is fast taking place throughout the kingdom between the modern buildings erected by the dissenters and those erected by churchmen for the purposes of divine worship. Our dissenting countrymen are increasing the splendour of their chapels, and instead of the plain brick buildings which they formerly erected, are calling in the graces of architecture and sculpture, and bor rowing, in many instances, the ecclesiastical character so long employed by churchmen only. Not to travel out of our town, the new chapels at the Crescent, in Pembroke-place, and in Great George-street, are illustrations of the former, and several minor edifices, together with those erecting in Hope-street and Canning-street, are proofs of the latter. I do not say that churchmen are called on to erect edifices such as the splendid cathedrals which adorn our land ; but I do aver, that our churches should present a better and more striking appearance than many of them do, and that the scanty and thrifty spirit, which is unfortunately too prevalent in the present day, ought to give way to a more expansive benevolence, and that our sacred edifices should not be made the architectural sacrifice offered on the altar of niggardli ness. The abandonment of stone in too many instances has caused a deterioration both in our public and private edifices. Whatever belongs to a building is capable of receiving the impression of design, and may be made to co.operate in the cultivated or refined expression of that b u ildi ng as a w h o l e. aßumtewtehreienl, which, both sake in of economy, we are driven to abandon appearance , con nected with solidity and durability, and in reality, is ,a and d by is which the inevitable nev the ita g b e l n e e r r e general and are obliged to con struct all our mouldings a de ndp gt r no oj i e t c s ti s o u n e s ce m ss e o r r e s ly . of plaster, bearing the name of Roman c e ment, without any of its qua lities, which becomes , in a s ho rt time, a piece of painted or s w u l f i i t t , e wanda s h e t dh that patchwork, character for durability i s d es t roye d w hi c h an incongruity t ought aste 0 ever v oneer to e accompany ge is transmitted Much of the evil which I have often lamented, will, I doubt not, be removed by the bet ter education of the middle classes—by the increased attention whi c h i s pa i d to pictorial to compoio sit wh n ic — h our design, but as seminari es t o i ncu l cate a purer taste, by directing the attention of the m iddl e ran k s i n e l e mentary pebl public schoolsdrawing i s and to the higher cul tivationTikely to engen d er , no t only as schools of a great degree to classical studies, and to acquaintance with the models of antiquity ; and wherever this has been the case, as in Edinburgh, for example, the effect is seen in public im provements, because society is a crowd in motion, and it is in the nature of things that those who, by intellectual achievements force themselves forwards beyond the common pace must attract attention, and those who feel the jostle must either mend their own pace or be left behind. Few persons can have an idea of the wonderful and mag nificent improvements made .. during the l ast t en years a t Newcastle-upon-Tyne , and all has been effected through the instrumentality of one original and expansive mind. From having been an ill-built and most inconvenient town, with narrow, dingy streets, it seems as if, by the wand of an en chanter, one of the ancient cities of Greece had been again called into existence, and suddenly transplanted into Nor thumberland. Wide and spacious thoroughfares, handsome squares and crescents, public edifices of great convenience and beauty, streets of beautiful dwellings in all the harmony of regular design, and arranged with architectural skill, con strutted with white free stone, and presenting to the visitor a noble and striking appearance ; these are all the creation Of one man; and the inhabitants of Newcastle will be un grateful if they do not perpetuate the name of Grainger by some testimonial worthy of his character and his talents. We of Liverpool may learn much by a visit to that town ; and 1 hope that our future improvements may not be put to the blush by the achievements of a town of minor impor tance. Liverpool possesses one commanding site, which, if judi ciously laid out, will be of great importance. A good be ginning is made, and I hope it will be continued. I allude to the vacant land in Lime -street, on which the new assize courts are being erected. It is the very centre of the town, and ought to be the place 'around which should be clustered our handsomest edifices, and within the area of which our public monuments ought to be placed. The corporation has most judiciously selected this site for our new assize courts, and it will be approached from Ranelagh Place by a street of twenty yards broad. Uniformity of elevation will be characteristic of the new edifices to be erected on the west side, which is to be thrown back, but with a slight alteration on the east side. to ease the obtuse angle at the bottom of Skelhorn-street. I regret to add, that although the act of parliament gives power to alter the eleva tions on that side, we are told by the Finance Committee the funds are wanting; and the improvement will, so far, be incomplete, one side presenting a handsome appearance, the other rendered more hideous by the contrast. Without any intention of introducing a subject which may have the slightest tendency to bear a political complexion, I must remark, that the corporation are much crippled by the re striction imposed by the Municipal Reform Bill, which only gives power to the council to employ the surplus revenue of the estate for the public benefit of the inhabitants; and the charge for our police and other matters connected with the government of the town is so heavy, that I fear the surplus revenue will be exceedingly small. Added to these, it being compulsory on them to build a new gaol, the greatest economy will be necessary to prevent the imposition of a borough rate. But this need not hinder a well-digested plan for the improve ment of the locality in question, to be carried out by degrees, as the funds of the corporation may admit of. I think the time has arrived when the whole of the business connected with the administration of justice ought to be removed from the imtnedh.te neighbourhood of our Exchange. That neighbourhood is required for commercial purposes • and I trust that the Bridewell, the Se ss io ns -h ouse , an d the Po lice-office will speedily be sold, all occupying the most valuable land in the town • and that these may be con centrated in a more suitable spot, and on land of much less value. It is high time that the disgraceful practice of haling all the vagabonds of the town across the area of our Exchange, and through such crowded streets as Castle-street, Lord-street, and Dale -street, should cease for ever • and that the most valuable s it ua ti on i n Li verpoo l should be occupied as a bridewell, more particularly when the sits"—ss ;neopvenient from the great spread of the town in a contrary direction. The plan I should propose is this. Let the Islington Market be destroyed ; because, from its proximity to St. Jsbn's Market it is useless; and, when the market in Gill-streek is ready, it will not be necessary. On this spot I would eree,the daily courts, the magistrates rooms, and offices, together with the station for our police, and the various other accornmoation necessary for the ad ministratior of justice and of loca government. This edifice ought to be in perfect keeping with,ur assize courts, and its architectural character made to assn.ilate. It would then form the north end of a splendid quadrs , ele, and with the assize courts on one side, and the grand fSc-de of the railway on the other. we should have a most magnific,.t nlace in the centre of the town, which every stranger enter,, m from the railroad might look upon with admiration. The v, v f rom Lime-street would be imposing, having the beautiful co on _ nade of the assize courts seen in perspective, its southe, portico entirely visible from Ranelagh-place, and, from the position of the two buildings, they would come gradually into view, until the whole would burst upon the sight in all their symmetry and beauty. Who has not admired the view in High-street, Oxford, where every step reveals new beauties ; or the cluster of splendid edifices visible from Carlisle Bridge in Dublin ? Why should we be behind any other town, when we have an excellent site, and means for carrying out the ne cessary designs ? I would place the bridewell on the elevated site occupied by the windmills and paltry houses in Mill lane, enclosing the building within walls, having a suitable entrance, and affording yards for airing; for, let it be recol lected that prisoners confined in bridewell are taken there before trial, and many instances have occurred of innocent persons, and even of respectable females, having been confined in bridewell on mere snspicion, against whom there has been no charge of criminality proved. From a bridewell so placed there may be a tunnel communicating both with the daily courts and the assize courts ; and the foundation being of rock, the situation will be dry and airy, having great facilities for drainage ; and one great advantage will be, that prisoners will never be seen in their passage to the assize court or the daily court. In addition to which their safe custody will be provided for. The present bridewell reminds me of Dicken's description of the Prison of the Tombs, in America, and it is totally unfitted for its present purpose. Much was said, a short time ago, about providing public parks for the working classes and their families ; but I am convinced that a park at a distance from their habitations would prove inoperative. The working man, after a hard day's toil, will not walk a mile or two from his habitation ; but give him a place of recreation near his home, and he will avail himself of it. If then, the miserable buildings between St. John's Churchyard and Shaw's-brow were removed, in cluding those between the Churchyard and the Old Haymar ket, and the intervening space was laid out as a walk ; and if, in addition, a bridge was thrown across the bottom of Byrom-street, so as to do away with Shaw's-brow altogether, We should have a noble entrance, almost level, directly through the heart of the town ; we should have the splendid edifices to ut,i c h I have alluded visible on all sides, from distances favourtna. for viewing them, and a place of recrea tion would be provides where 20,000 persons could enjoy themselves, surrounded by the graces of architecture, and close to their own homes. Tn.— would be a project worthy of the munificence of Liverpool, aria a standing monument of our local taste. It will be admitted by all that sewerage is vital import ance to a large town. There must be the great I.,,,ai ng ar t, rles through the principal thoroughfares, and the various smaller veins, extending in every direction, capable of carry ing off all impurities into the cloaca maxima of the river. And if so, how important it is that attention be paid to ventilation. It'is part of great improvements to provide spacious streets and promenades, and it is well known that diseases are more difficult to eradicate from crowded neigh bourhoods and narrow streets than from situations, where there is free scope for the air. Well have the parks and squares of the metropolis been designated the lungs of Lon don. Liverpool, possessing an open front to the river, might be one of the best ventilated towns in the world if we had spacious streets running eastward from the river, and being continued onward with the extension of the town. The wid ening of Lord-street and James's-street was, in this respect, a great improvement, and when Hanover-street is widened, great benefit will result from it. I have ever been of opinion that the continuation of Cook-street to the bottom of Man chester-street was highly desirable in two respects :—First, to admit a free current of air through one of the closest and most filthy portions of the town; and, secondly, to throw open, in a central position, a most convenient and advanta geous position for trade. A 20 yard street, carried in this direction, would dislodge the occupants of Preston-street and other streets, which are constantly filled with fever ; and the frontage being in a direct line from the top of Brunswick street, would be most valuable for shops and places of busi ness, which would tend to concentrate trade in the very heart of the town, and would give a direct passage to the Railway Station. The intervening property between this new street and Dale-street on the one side, and Whitechapel on the other, would be materially increased ; much would be gained by the thousands who every day walk round this neighbour hood instead of walking through it, and a great air vent would be created in one of the worst ventilated parts of the town. If another street was opened from Strand-street, and Ather ton-street was widened, so as to form another great leading artery, connected with College-lane and Seel-street, the be nefit would he felt, not only in creating a locality for trade, which is now occupied by dwellings of a miserable descrip tion, but in promoting the salubrity of the low, swampy neighbourhood through which it would pass. It is high time that such places as Litherland-alley and Crooked-lane were abolished, and I believe it was at one time seriously contem plated to continue Fenwick-street through to the Old Dock, on what is now termed Benn's-gardens ; and if that im provement bad been carried out, and our Custom-house had occupied the intervening space between that intended street and Strand-street on the one side, and between Redcross street and the Old Dock on the other, the edifice would have stood on an elevated and commanding site, and the improve ment would have been complete. When I remember that the foundations alone of the New Custom-house cost £70,000, and that we lost a dock worth at least £lOO,OOO, it clear that there would have been greater economy in placing the edifice in the position to which I have alluded ; that it would have been more advantageous to the public; and a much greater ornament to the town. It would be useless for me to point out other portions of our public streets which are capable of great improvement, because at present I can only treat of the matter in general terms, and because there are no corporate funds to carry them out if adopted ; but all who have to deal with the public improvement of the town, may comprise them in few words—Width of streets—beauty of elevation—harmony of parts—ventilation and drainage. We should have given the remainder of Mr. Holine's ad dress, but it is of great length ; and we understand that, at the desire of many gentlemen, it is likely to be published in the form of a pamphlet. In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than to have words without a heart. THE STRIDE OF A RACE-HORSE.—The average stride, at full speed, is twenty-one feet. But there are many excep tions to the rule. Flying Childers was the swiftest horse, it is generally admitted, that ever ran a course. That opinion is somewhat questionable. Nevertheless, the ground co vered by Flying Childers at the utmost stretch of his stride was five and twenty feet. The stride of Filho da Puta, when he won the St. Leger in 1815, was twenty-four feet three inches and a half. The stride of Blacklock—the next stride after he had passed the post when he was defeated by Ebor, unseen by Jackson, was twenty-four feet eight inches. The stride of Harkaway—the finest horse of modern days—at the top of his speed, with his neck level with his back, his head on one side, and whisking his tail—with Bst. 81b. on the sad dle, was twenty-five feet exactly. A JOURNEY FROM INVERNESS IN 1740.—1 came off on Wednesday, the 50th of July, from my own house, dined at your sister's, and did not halt at Invei 'less, but came all night to Corribrough, with Evan Bailie and Duncan Fraser, and my chariot did very well. I brought my wheelwright with me the length of Avimore, in case of accidents, and there parted with him, because he declared that 'my chariot would go safe enough to London ; but I was not eight miles from the place when, on the plain road, the axietree of the hind-wheel broke in two, so that my girls were forced to go on bare horses behind footmen, and I was obliged to ride myself, though I was very tender, and the day very cold. I came with that equipage to Ruthven late at night, and my chariot was pulled there by force of men, when I got an English wheelwright and a smith, who wrought two days mending my chariot ; and, after paying very dear for their work, and for my quarters two nights, I was not gone out four miles from Ruthven when it broke again, so that I was in a miserable condition till I came to Balnakeardach, where my honest landlord, Charles M'Glassian, told me that the Duke of Athole had two as good workmen at Blair* as were in the kingdom, and that I would get my cnariot as well mended there as at London. Accordingly I went there, and stayed a night, and got my chariot very well mended by a good wright and good smith. I thought then I was pretty secure till I came to this place. I was storm-stayed at Castle Drummond, by the most tempestuous weather of wind and rain that I ever remember to see. The Duchess of Perth and Lady Mary Drummond were excessively kind and civil to my daughters and to me, and sent their chamber lain to conduct me to Dumblaine, who happened to be very useful to us that day, for 1 was not three miles gone from Castle Drummond when the axletree of my fore wheels broke in two in the midst of the hill, betwixt Drummond and the Bridge of Erdlich, and we were forced to sit in the hill with a boisterous day till Chamberlain Drummond was so kind as to go down to the strath and bring wrights, and carts, and smiths, to our assistance, who dragged us to the l plain, where we were forced to stay five or six hovrs there was a new axletree made, so that it was dark night before we came to Dunblane, which is but eight miles from Castle Drummond, and we were all much fatigued. The next day we came to Lithgow, and the day after that we ar rived here, so that we were twelve days on our journey by our misfortunes, which wa s seven days more than ordinary. Letter of Lord Loyal, published by the Spalding club.— Caledonian Mercury. SHOCK OF AN EARTHQUAKE IN LIVERPOOL AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (From our Friday's Second Edition.) In our last number we mentioned that the shock of an earthquake had been felt on Friday last, about eight in the morning, in the neighbourhood of Blackburn, Rochdale, and the hills which separate Lancashire and Yorkshire. No damage appears to have been dune by this shock, and the only thing remarkable about it was that it was the third experienced, apparently having the same range, within a few years past. The first took place on the 20th of August, 1835, and the second on the 11th June, 1839. We have now to mention that on Friday morning, about one o'clock, or a few minutes before, a similar shock to that described above was felt in this town, or rather two shocks following in very rapid succession—so rapid, indeed, that to many they appeared to be simultaneous. We can, however, testify that there were two distinct shocks, between which there was an interval of from ten to fifteen seconds. Many people, who had retired to rest, slept so soundly as not to have perceived the convulsion of the earth; but the greater number of those whom we have had an opportunity of seeing, felt it so strongly as to create in them consi derable alarm and apprehension. We have heard the descriptions given by individuals who reside in dif ferent parts, but the most connected and intelligent we have been able to obtain have been furnished to us by the Town-clerk, Mr. Radcliffe, who resides in West Derby, and by Mr. Whitty, the head constable, whose house adjoins the central police station between George's and Canning docks. The Town-Clerk stated to us that he had been writing in his room till half-past twelve o'clock, when he retired. He had been at rest a few minutes, when he was startled by the bed shaking, and the furniture being agitated with conside rable violence. This lasted for a period of six seconds, or somewhat longer; and it was followed by an apparent rum bling from beneath, and an indistinct noise in the dressing room adjoining. some alarm was of course excited by these unusual circumstances; and Mr. Richard Radcliffe having experienced exactly the same sensations, the conclusion was at once arrived at that it was the shock of an earthquake. The noise which followed the shock, for none was observed to precede it, appeared to the Town-Clerk and his son to proceed from north to south ; but there was neither time nor opportunity for marking the direction with accuracy, and is; is probable there may be a mistake in this respect, as it does not correspond with the accounts from other parts. No damage, that we have heard of, has been done at West Derby. The narrative of Mr. Whitty is more in detail, and from his situation at the tiwo v ionatity be found on a comparison of all the accounts, to be th e most gene rally accurate. He was in the parlour of his house, on duty, in fact, taking a cup of coffee, when, exactly at five minutes to one o'clock by the police time, ha cucicieuly beard a nd felt a violent agitation of the windows of the whole house and of the floor in the room in which he was sitting. Being accustomed to hear loud explosions from the works in Albert dock now being excavated, which is at no great distance, he was not much surprised at the noise ; bnt at the same time be observed to Mrs. Whitty that he thought the excavators had purposely caused the explosion to take place underneath his windows. In less than a minute afterwards another shock followed, infinitely more violent than the first; the house shook from top to bottom ; and a violent rumbling noise was beard under the house just as if a dozen rail way trains had been running through a tunnel underneath The shock and the noise were so loud and violent as to awaken all the family who had retired, and as if by consent, they assembled on the stairs in a state of great alarm. Having quietened them, Mr. Whitty went into the street, and the policeman on duty at George's Dock bridge told him that he was leaning against one of the pillars there, when -iddenly he thought he heard a carriage run rapidly across ti?L'iridge, and the ground rumbling and shaking all around him. This officer perceived two shocks. The policeman on duty at t.„ north end of Canning D oc k was next questioned by Mr. Wnfr ty, and he stated that h e fi rs t o b served some casks, which ‘..re lying on the quay, move as if they were alive ; they tur9ded and shook, he added, as if some men were concealed in in—a very professi ona l id ea f ora police officer. After this, t. 4 house was examined, an d it was found that the windows nn the second fl oor [F renc h] h a d been forced open by the s` , ck, and some f urn it ure h a d re ceived a trifling displacement, but no dam age was d one , an d the alarm soon subsided. Mr. "vhitty added that the shock appeared to him to proceed fro'. east to west, and th a t nothing could be more distinctly shock lasted from three to five se con d s , and The first second from seven to ten seconds : and at first it a p peare d as the tower of a church, at some distance, had fallen down at ono „ rash. Not the least remarkable circumstance was the agitatio. o f the horses in the stables throughout the town, particular', in the South division. No damage has been done, we believe, to the buildings in any part of the town. In Deane-street. Kensington, and the district adjoining the Botanic Gardens, two shocks were distinctly felt. In Kirkdale, and especially at the House of Correction, the shock was very distinctly felt. Mr. Amos, the governor, was up at the time • and he states that at ten minutes before one, the porter's lodge, and several parts of the gaol, shook and trembled greatly. The difference in point of time of the shock being felt here and at other places, is probably owing to the variation of the clocks. The house of Mr. Appleton, which adjoins the Court-house, felt the trembling of the earth in a still greater degree. The shock was distinctly felt at the Slandard-office. The sensation was similar to that experienced by the houses on the line of the Railway Tunnel, when that work was in pro gress, during the blastings of the rock. Ou r me n were " locking up the forms" - at the time, nd the noise was ascribed to them. A gentleman in Mount-pleasant describes the effect there as if his house trembled, and the beds in every chamber were shaken. He affirms that the candle stick, which he feels confident he placed at the end of the table, appeared in the morning to be considerably moved. The shock was felt with considerable severity on the Cheshire shore, opposite to the north part of the town, and extended, (more particularly (as far as we can yet hear) over the surface in the Wirral Peninsula, on its east side, con tanicd bctween Wallasey Pool and New Brighton. This includes Seacombe, Egremont, Liscard, the Magazines, Wallasey, &c. In Liscard and Egiemont it was distinctly felt by many persons, nearly or precisely at the same time, — namely, ten minutes to a quarter before one o'clock. Mr. Mathie, a gentleman in the employ of Messrs. Gibbs, Bright and Co., and who had before witnessed several earth quakes abroad, was awakened by the shock at a quarter to one o'clock by his watch. He heard the internal rumbling noise that generally accompanies such phenomena, and sen sibly felt his bed-room shake. The crockery ware on the wash-hand stand made a considerable rattling. The house was not, however, shaken so as to crack the walls. There could, he says, be no doubt but it was an earthquake. He got up and dressed. Several persons in the neighbourhood also rose from their beds in alarm—the greater part not knowing what to make of it. The windows and doors of many of the houses shook and rattled. A young lady in one house was so alarmed that she ran from her own bed into that of her sister-in-law. Mr. Giball, in the Customs, says he was asleep at the time, but his wife, who was awake, sensibly felt it, and awoke him. She went to the window, and their first impression was that some accident from explosion had taken place at the Maga zine. More than a dozen respectable gentlemen in the neighbourhood felt the shock in a nearly similar manner. In Mulbery-street the shock appeared to have been felt severely. It is in the highest part of the town. It was also felt distinctly in Abercrombie-square in the same neighbour hood. At the police-station in Bi ick-street (south part of the town), the resident keeper, David Wilson, who was above in bed became so alarmed that be ran down stairs,- where it had also been felt by Samuel Tuck, of the police, who thought the building was shaken by the cart that sometimes comes to the station. In the Custom-house, decidedly the heaviest building in the town, the keeper of the house, Mr. Bronwin, who domiciles at the top, felt it severely and became alarmed, but could not account for the shock. The watchman stationed in the building below also felt it simultaneously, and states that it made the windows and the doors shake and rattle in a violent manner. We have the names of many highly respectable gentlemen residing in various parts of the town, as well as in Liscard, Egremont, &c. ; but we do not deem it necessary to furnish them. From their concurrent testimony, no doubt can exist but that a commotion of the earth took place in this locality about the time stated. Happily it was not so severe as to injure buildings or endanger lives; yet, taken in connexion with the recent slight shocks felt in this county last week to the north east of Manchester, as well as with the fearful and destructive earthquakes in some of the West India islands. It has certainly created great interest in some, and apprehensions, never we hope to be realized, in others. Earthquakes of fatal effect, in this island, are not, we believe, to be found on record. The following is the account handed to us by Captain Caldheck, of the City of Dublin Steam Company, residing in Oliver-street, Woodside:— " Happening to be sitting below stairs reading upon the morning of the 17th instant, I had an ample opportunity of experiencing the shock of the earthquake in its fullest inten sity. At precisely seven minutes to one, civil time, the room seemed to stir with a laterel motion similar to that of a ship careering gently to a slight flaw of wind ; this was succeeded by three heavy vertical shocks, accompanied by a smothered rumbling sound, resembling the distant boom of heavy can non. The duration of the phenomenon was about three se conds. The morning, being singularly still and calm, caused so unlooked for an interruption to wear an appearance at once solemn and alarming. " I am circumstantial in giving the correct time in conse quence of my knowledge from former experiences of these visitations in Peru and Chili, that the shocks I felt were those of an earthquake, and consequently the most exact data which could be affordedl would be interesting. It is not very improbable but we may be visited with more of these subter raneous movements, the same elements and agencies being as busily at work beneath the surfaces of our islands as in other countries ; but from various causes, the combustion being slower, we are only now beginning to participate in evils which have devastated such portions of the globe. I beg to say, that of the many Temblora I experienced in South America this fully equalled the most violent of them. I have often witnessed the inhabitants of Valparaiso and Lima run ning about the streets in the greatest terror, being alarmed by shocks almost imperceptible. The only thing I felt ap proaching to our Cheshire earthquake was in the Pacific Ocean; the peak of Chimborazo, the highest of the Cordil leras, being then only barely visible, the sea was quite smooth, and the vessel going very smoothly through the water, when at 6 p.m., she received three violent shocks, the vibrations, noise, &c. being precisely similar to those of Friday morning last." OTHER PARTS OF THIS COUNTY. At Manchester the shock was severe, and was felt at pre cisely the same time as that experienced in this town. In some cases great alarm was excited ; one gentleman at Eccles was led to the conclusion that thieves were in the house, and got up ; the same was the case with a gentleman in Strangeways, and some others of whom we have heard. One gentleman, who had lustres in his room, heard them vibrate for several seconds, besides feeling the motion of his bed. All the parties with whom we have conversed, describe it as a momentary shock, attended with a kind of tremulous motion, which lasted about eight or ten seconds ; hut one or two gentlemen maintain that they felt two distinct shocks. Certainly this appeared to be the case in Pendleton, where the shock was more severely felt than in any other part of the suburbs. One gentleman, living in the neighbourhood of Pendleton, was so much alarmed, that he left his house and betook himself to the lane, where he walked about for two hours, momentarily expecting a recurrence of the shock. Another gentleman, residing in the same neighbourhood states, that his bed appeared suddenly to be jerked upwards, the woodwork of the room cracked, and the earthenware or ' glass were evidently shaken ; at the same time there was a dull report resembling the faint echo of a discharge of ar tillery at a distance. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the shock was severe, and judging of the descriptions we have received, we should infer that it was the most severe on ,the north and west of the town, whilst in Choriton, Ardwich, and Flulme, it was less sensibly felt. Preston was also visited by this rare occurrence. At that town a low shock. or rather v ib ra ti on , w hi c h la s ted about three secon ds. rumbling, subterraneous soun d p receded the The motion was from south south-west to north, and was sufficiently violent to awaken a great number of sleepers. It was most severe on the south and east ends of the town, and in many ho uses ar ti c l es were th r own from cornices and man tle-pieces by it. At Walton-le-Dale it was so severe, that the feathered inhabitants of the rookery at Darwen Bank, rose en masse, and wheeled round their nests in a body, ut tering their hoarse cries. The shock was experienced at Poulton and Kirkham, and that at Fleetwood the shock was so great as to break several windows. At the latter place i... Hi t 4 rol ~/ the sea rose Unnsually high, and the Prince of Wales steamer encountered a suddenly boisterous sla, for which the captain could not tccount. She WAS on her voyage from Belfast to Fleetwood. The Lancaster Gazette of Saturday gives the following par ti c ulars of what was observed r espect i ng it in that t•n" So violent was the convulsion th at t h e police on duty * St. Leonard's Gate could hear the p ecu li ar noise occasiO'nec7 amongst the houses by the vibration. It is ren— , ,k,io. ft_ towards the head of Church-street, som e: yards distant, the policeman on beat did - not hear any nor was he sensible of any unusual motio n , tation seems to have been felt in the town in different parts. There were some N whilst others got out of their beds, a houses in alarm. One inhabitant w ( noise, but felt nothing. At one house, we truckle bed was driven from one part of an which it stood to another. One gentleman, residi 11)(1 even out of ti ton, informs us that the noise, which al,/ his house from north to south, was awful, i sound of a mighty rushing wind, and altogethc the roar of thunder, the house rocking to and fro t He has no doubt there were two shocks. At a:;ot tleman's residence, also in Skerton, the shock was t the bells were set a ringing. Just before going to press were visited by a gentleman arrived by one of th e nort h mails. He was stopping at an inn in Whitehaven, and he tells us that he was nearly lifted from his bed. The visita tion was the subject of conversation all along the road, a t Kendal, through the lake district, &c. We understand that at Garstang the shock was so violent as to throw down from its place a corner cupboard. CHESHIRE AND WALES It appears that the shock was very generally noticed in Wales. A gentleman, at Holywell, states. that his bed was violently shaken, as if a strong man had suddenly exerted his strength upon it. The shock was also felt in various parts of Cheshire. It is also noticed in the Macclesfield paper of Saturday. ISLE OF MAN There, also, the shock was perceptibly experienced. It was preceded by a rumbling noise, and followed by a sensible vi bration from east to west. At the time of the shock tie wind became instantly calm, but a considerable motion was observable in the sea after it had subsided, and the waves dashed violently against the adjacent shore. After the lapse of a few minutes the wind again rose to a stiff breeze. The rarity of such a phenomenon in our northern latitude has pro duced, as might be expected, considerable sensation in the town, but we are happy to say no worse results than alarm to the timid and general surprise to those who were disturbed in their midnight stuwbeis by us occurrence. The earth an.h. -rt.—o to have been felt throughout Lb. sauuu, particularly at Castiotown, shale the.inmates of the college were fearfully alarmed by the ing of the building. From all we have learned the earthquake does not appear to have extended further north than Carlisle. It was felt generally with greater severity in the north than here. At Whitehaven, Ambleside, Keswick, &c., the shock was par ticularly sharp. CORRESPONDENCE, TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD Sia,—l take the following extract from the Dumfries and Galloway Courier of Feb. 20th, 1843 : " RICH BISHOPS.—It is on record (says a recent writer) that three bishops , in fifteen y ears, left £700,000 to the ir families. A Bishop of Clogher went to Ireland witho u t a shill ing, and after ight years died worth £400,000. The Bishop of Cloyne, who died in 1820, left £120,000 to his children; and a W elsh bisho p , who died recently, although his bishopric was called a poor one, left £lOO,OOO to his children. By the probates at Doctors Commons, it ap peared, in 1 828, tha t the p ersonal property of 24 bishops who had died withi n the preceding twenty years amounted to the enormous sum of £1.649,000—an average of nearl y £70,000 for each bisho p . This was the sworn value of the personal property only, and some of the bishops are known to have had very la r g e p ossessions in real property. Now, we will venture to ass ert that in no other profession will it be found that so larg e an average of wealth has been left by the heads. Take th e 24 last generals, the 24 last admirals, the 24 last judges — n a y , the 24 last merchants—and the per. sonal property will no t e q ual tbat of the bishops, nor ap_ proach it.—[A bishop? must be blameless , not greedy of filthy lucre. — Tim. i. iii.] I conceive this to be a random and false article. The Bishop of Clogher therein alluded to was Dr. John Porter, who died, I believe, in 1819. I knew his cousin, and often ,"ard him speak of the bisho p 's circumstances. That he le " no such sum behind him as £400,000 is quite certain— nor, 4 ' J conceive , a te nth of it. We may, therefore, con clude th. the other estimates a re e q ually erroneous. The animus of h e e /f0u,.,,,0n tide is ap parent—it is the fashion wit h the Scotch to fall far et nefas. I have ni, ,episcopac y and episcopalians, per If heardiibnSscots a child wouldlandsuchta see tales re lated, and absurdity swallow.ofe too,done waooul.d t.-I c that our preshyterian a , bishops, brethren had so much to do at presem. :.h the state of th e i r own church that sins might, fora time at leas,, _s ss unmo lested. Whatever else may be thought of such artick...., one extracted, it certainly evinces very ba d taste in the LP fries Courier. The pub lic ought to be disabused upon the point, particularly at the present mome t n, when the quiet, uniform, c onsistent working of episcopacy is contrasted with the factious and tumultuous doings of t he Scottish establish ment. It may be worth while to inquire, why so insidious an attack is made upon the English hierarchy just at the p resen t ti m e. It has been said , that in the great cities, many persons, disgusted with the quarrels of the courts, have taken refuge in the peaceful harbour of the episcopal church. Ido it.—Yours, &c. D. not pledge myself for the truth of this, nor for the extent of Warrington, March 17th, 1843. --..mi5m..........."10 ANTIQUITIES.—They write from Munich on the 25th ult. that the King of Bavaria is now building a house in the park of his summer palace at Aschaffenburg, near Wurtzlaurg, which will be the exact copy of the famous house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeia, which was cleared in 1839, under the direction of the distinguished German archaiologist M. Zahn. Tho splendid mosaic work, the fresco painting, the altar, fur niture, utensils—in short, all the curiosities contained in that ancient building, will be copied with the utmost accuracy in the new structure now in progress of erection at Aschaffen burg, so as to afford a correct idea of the domestic manners of the old Romans in our country, where no thing of the kind exists.—Journal des D lbats. AN ADVOCATE'S ZEAL. —At a late meeting of the judicial committee of the privy council, Lord Brougham told the following anecdote , i llustrative of a barrister's zeal for his client :—" I remember a cause at Guildhall, before Lord Tenderden, in which, upon the cross-examination of a wit took a ten-pound note out of his own . zeal for his client—and handed it over ness, I brought out the fact, that be had an interest in the case, upon whicwhhmo yagnroebedletoanrdecleeaivreneidt finriednidscLhoarrdgeCoafmhis ptoe bell e kh ( ee t t h w_ e i n st no a ee t shs rile w a s b h a i r s ) witness ?" I interest ;hatn which my learned friend said, " Now, do yon confirm wa you stated to me upon your examination ?" to which the witness, of course, replied in the affirmative. d b h e i gi m v se e i n f, to his testimony. n B L r o e '. e d g Tenter ate , w d h e a n t thenhave t y u e r e e e t d o r s o a u y n a d z and airis t s ag e , felt that my objection was removed to another ground, and endeavoured to convince the jury, that the man having l y wic t a o tten all propriety, made a pledged himself by his evidence while be had an interest could not possibly go back now that his interest was at ari end, without and perjury; but that, haying • interest, his bw evidences e r e a i d n o i d t r mistake, and found against me. (Laughter.) They were pleased with the nimbleness and tact of my learned fri r e e n s d o y t o, h u u cgo s hnt i t m rna p or and with his great generosity, too, that they could not forbear giving him a verdict." (Great laughter.) . SUBSTITUTE FOR GLAZED FRAMES IN HOT-BEDS. —In the .Rheinlandlshe Garteizzeitung is described a substitute for the glazed frames of hot-beds and green.hou ses deserves the attention of florists. Instead of glass th e 'f which are covered with a fine white cloth of cotton. In order ram° render this more transparent, and enable it to re • . to 'on the resist moisture it is covered with a preparati , ingredients of whi four ounces of pulverised dry white These two lunch are white slack lime, and four ounces of boiled lie ces of These three ingredients having been mixed with eed oil ' four ounces ft he white of eggs, and as much of each other are added, and the mixture is then made liquid b the yolk, The oil combines easily with the other ingredient heating' varnish remains pliable and quite transparent • _B. and the of a forcing bed arranged in this manner is • The e inconsiderable, e and it yields at the same time many other advantages. a hot-bed needs not the anxious attention required Such ordinary ones covered with glazed frames . by the of the mid -day sun During the strongest rays particular covering orsh a de; the stews require any phere therein serves a nearly equal temperature almost the whole pre requires only to be c hanged from tim e to time, 01 " day, and circumstances. If such a bed is provided according to with horse dung• and a proper thickness of so a soil of sifted, heath mould is spread thereon, layersnae fertile, finely flowers, early vegetables, and other plant s of all sorts of from seed' in it.—Annals of Chemistry. a may be reared CBELSEA H OS PITAL . — An addition has which adorn the hallof trophies this been made to the noble • ' It consists of flags which were captured military asylum. war with China , and which, from during our recent strange character, form a striking co their freshness and very tattered memorials of former con ntrast to those dirty and have found a place. These flags , quests among which they are of very rich silk and satin, and,which are six in number, They yellow, and of very gay and showy all triangular • green, bein They are in shape, and g the most prevalent. fur nished with long streamers, on some of them are tion in Chinese characters. The which is contained an iueip of uncouth and grotesque oh•e standards present a variety which is the dragon, which is jo cts, the most conspicuous of of the Chinese empire, the rof the supernatural animals phoenix, and the tortoise. Th other three being the •tag, the same that is said to be affixed e figure on the standards is the books, instruments, and all to the Imperial precepts, edicts, China what the British l' the insignia of royalty, being to monster embroidered ion is to our national arms. The on thesestandards,with his horned wi head, large eyes, wide • yawning ja • wb, and contorted form, is an object sufficiently terrif icdire , "b t u o all who believe attest unable to resist the might of the Britis ' h as t lo h n e ,traonppeas sucithey are viewed by the brave old warriors whose noble hall is adorned by these recent importations from the " flowery nation." CRIMINAL OFFENDERS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. — The most important information on legal an audio statistics will be derivable from the minute and systic series of returns of criminal prosecutions now annually presented to Parliament from both ends of the land. We have now before us the respective returns for England and Scotland for 1841. The r esult continues to exhibit —what has often been ,showa by able w riters the great superiority of the convictions Scotch system or procedure, through stipendiary prosecutof ors cominga at the truth, by a majority of the jury, as a means. guilty. ln England,. and convicting the accused when be is .. committed for trial, or bailed. during the number of persons year, is 27,760. This includes the cases where bills were. fle o 2048 ; and likewise- casegored by grand juries, aftloun" -- O,lA t . l eav ing 25,326 ca ss not prosecuted, amounting to oe; , , acquittalsby finding of ses brought to trial. In these, the h rcet. of the not guilty were 5018, being 19 and 4-2t tli ! Pebe contemplated ' whole number tried. In whatever way is it shows a fearful state of defectiveness in the hen has the t law. le we pre these 5018 men to be all innocent, sume and caprice o f the Englis h law exposed that number tainty to the risks of a trial, and the certainty of ruined fortunes and a blighted reputation. If we suppose them all guilty, then has the law, by its feebleness, left society exposed to the machinations of 5018 acknowledged criminals. in Scotland, the total number of " offenders" (as they are very inaccu rately called, since the term includes not o nly those who are acqu itted, but t hose who are discharge_ befors trial) was 3562. From this number we have to deduct b 53, who were discharged before trial ; when we have 2909 actually brought to trial. Of these, the number acquitted was 216, or 7 and I 2-sths per cent. Yet even this small number were not sent forth with a vague and general finding of not guilty, as in England. In 191 e.anc a, the verdict is " not proven"— declaration of suspicion, • which tells the world, that th 11' e ac_ cused must produce something more than what appeared at his trial before society can receive him as an innocent This is a species of verdict both just and humane to man whose innocence is undoubted; for it leaves room those distinct line between them and the suspected. Sto draw a have our juries been in returning the higher o cautious there are only twenty-five causes (not one verdict, that number brought to trial ), where the verdict per cent. in the —juryman s Legal Haud- Book. ct 4 " not guilty:*