The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-23 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS. A portion of the objection of " Nict!!lis Nic`ollis" (what a sig nature !) to requiring th attendance of the police at church or some other place of worship is p;: . ,sitle enough. A man. for instance, who has been on do;t•. iih!lit could scarcely be expected, with any reason, to att€:l,l :corning service; but even if required to go on duty again in the evening, it is sorely not necessary that he shoold he all the day in bed. or preparing for such dut; - ,—and there is afternoon or evening service which he might attend. Besides, it is not always the case that he has to take night duty two days together. We see plenty of the force who can spare time when off duty. in the week days, to take recreation ; and they have the same opportunities of commanding their time on Sunday. We should be sorry to think our correspondent correct in his argu ments; for they go the length of proving that, once a t once man, attendance upon a place of worship becomes impossible. Our correspondent's letter is left at our office. A correspondent complains of a print of a very improper nature exhibited in one of the shop windows in Castle-street. We are quite unaware of the shop to which our correspondent alludes. We will attend to the suggestion of " A Ten Years Subscriber." rlic Eibtrpool &tanriarb. TUESDAY NORNING, APRIL 23, 1844. Surely, surely, the events of the past fortnight— the multitudinous meetings, in Leeds, Halifax, Brad ford, Manchester, Stockport, Oldham, and other manufacturing towns,—these calif], but hopeful and confident assemblages of working men, led on and marshalled by their clergy, of all denominations, united in one noble effort to enfranchise the factory slave,—ought to convince Sir James Graham and Sir Robert Peel that a restriction of the hours of labour, for infants and women, can no longer be refused by a constitutional legislature. Where are now the pleas put forward by cold-hearted political economists, and, we regret to say, adopted too readily as conclusive, by Conservative and humane men, that such a measure is not desired by the manufacturing operatives themselves, and is re pudiated by the majority of the employers of manu facturing labour ? Are they substantiated by the result of the appeals made to either of these classes i Have the operatives put their veto upon the effort making for the amelioration of their condition ? Have the mothers of little factory children protested against the boon offered them of being permitted to make comfortable their homes and their fire sides ? Have the fathers of little factory children protested against a measure which promises an ex change of their present compulsory idleness for permission to toil for the support of those whom God and nature ordained to be dependent upon them for subsistence ? Have any of these refused to submit to possible reduction of wages as the result of the change which they seek ? None of these evidences of repugnance to such change have been made apparent. The employers of labour have protested—where they have protested at all— feebly indeed ; and from the labourers themselves has arisen a voice of deep resolve to do all—to dare all—to sacrifice all—for a relief from their present oppressive toil, and for restoration to their allotted place in the ranks of the great human family. A noble—an honourable—a proud resolve it is ! Say then that these poor children—say that their fathers, their mothers, their brothers and sisters— are content to barter the paltry good of a few shil lings more or less of wages, for permission to see them breathe freely the breath of God's air and grow up in his image, instead of the stunted and distorted things which avarice would have them be: —say that the loss of a few hundred thousands of consumers of the blood-stained products of white slavery may be the result of a measure called for by the voice of humanity and the dictates of religion : can a Conservative government stand in the way of a movement having such objects in view, and whose success is ready to be cheerfully bought at such a price ? Forbid it, Heaven ! Stiff-necked must be that government which can stand in the way of such a movement—which can forfeit voluntarily the blessings of thousands—which can forfeit the bless ings of enfranchised infancy, of enfranchised woman hood, of unsexed and degraded manhood,—to earn for itself only the paltry, the degrading, the hollow friendship of cold-blooded philosophers and heart less worshippers of Gold ! Such a Government— we say not what is its fitting and condemnatory ap pellation—such a Government, so deaf to the voice of Reason, of Truth, of Justice and humanity, we trust is not the Government of Sir Robert Peel. How we have toiled for that government ! What sacrifices of past and just dislikes we have made for the sake of the head of that government ! What memories we have been willing to lay down, in order to be able to afford it and to entreat for it confidence and support ! Let not its members bid us sacrifice more—forget more—for we cannot. Upon this question Sir Robert Peel cannot betray his Conservative supporters. His favourite "ex pediency" ought to be an insuperable bar to such betrayal. The huinanity, the virtue, the sense of justice of the nation is embarked in this cause of the factory people, in opposition to which Sir James Graham has lured him to hazard his popularity and his very existence as a Minister of the Crown of the Christian Sovereign of a Christion people ; and we tell Sir Robert Peel, he cannot, he dare not disap point the hopes and the trust which a vast majority of the British people have rested upon his rule. From him we look for no blind obstinacy, when public opinion has once pointed out the path which it would have him follow. From him, who has already sacrificed principle to the will of the masses, we cannot tolerate obstinate refusal to concede, where a mere theoretical dogma, of doubtful truth, is opposed to the will of those masses. And we ask him, therefore, only to examine his position upon this question—to contemplate the evidence of public opinion—to listen with the ear of a Christian minis ter to the pleading of hundreds of thousands of his over-toiled and suffering fellow-countrymen—and to say then whether he is content to sacrifice the love and the respect of an almost united people, by clinging to the teachings and fables of a false phi losophy, in opposition to the dictates of humanity and, we trust, the spontaneous promptings of his own heart. Let him look abroad throughout society, and tell us what is the prevailing direction of opinion, what the characteristic feeling, of the present day. It requires no deep searching to discover this. It lies upon the surface and beneath the surface. The feeling uppermost in the minds of the present gene ration is a deep resolve, at all hazards, to do some thing for the amelioration of the social condition of the people. Englishmen are throwing from them the dazzling lures of the political economy of the past generation ; and returning to the opinion of their fathers, that a moral, a contented, and a happy la bouring population is a surer guarantee of a country's strength than hoarded wealth in the hands of the few, whilst wretchedness is the lot of the many. They have discovered the price which is paid for " the wealth of nations ;" the sacrifices of virtue, integrity, manhood's strength, and woman's purity, which must be made at the shrine of the id o l set up by political economists : and they are resolved to proceed no further in satisfying its exactions. Al ready they have raised the crippled infant and the unsexed and degraded female from the slavery of the mine; and the spirit has been raised, and the voice gone forth, which will drag the factory child and the factory woman from the clutch of the avarice that feeds and fattens upon their sweat drops,—which will drag the wretched sempstress from the endless toil which consumes her,—and not cease their warnings and their efforts until it can no longer be said of this great country that her imposing fabric of strength is rotten at the founda tion, and that her very existence amongst the nations of the earth is purchased at the cost of the misery and the degradation of the great mass of her people. Such a spirit is abroad. It prevades all ranks, all classes of men. It has spoken in Parliament, intelligibly and loudly, its resolves. It has spoken in these multitudinous meetings throughout the factory districts ; and its voice must not be disre garded, its will may not safely be thwarted. It cares not for parties or for ministers, it values not relationships or friendships; for it feels that the righteousness, the justice, and the necessity of the end which it has in view—the physical and moral regeneration of an entire people—are paramount to all these. We ask of Sir Robert Peel, can it be a slight movement, a mere political or party whim, which brings the peer and the labourer, the beneficed clergyman and the Romish priest, the millowner and the factory drudge upon the same platform to gether ? It cannot be such. It is a movement which must go on ; which, if yielded to, in time, and guided aright, may go on peacefully and safely, spreading gladness and happiness along its path ; but which, if madly and obstinately resisted, may be come a torrent, tracking its course with desolation. Surely Sir Robert Peel is not the statesman by whom such a movement would be resisted ! We have given in another column the proceedings before the Parliamentary Committee of the House of Commons upon the Liverpool Dock Bill; and may now with some degree of confidence congratu late our readers that, notwithstanding the ques tionable manoeuvres by which it has been opposed by certain gentlemen on the other side of the water, the success of the bill is now placed beyond a doubt. The evidence, and the address of counsel for the opposition, were concluded on Friday, and at about a quarter to four o'clock the committee was cleared of strangers, and proceeded to consider the question of the preamble. At four, however, the speaker was announced to be at prayers, and an ad journment was carried until yesterday, when, no doubt, the decision would be given. We are in formed, on good authority, that the principle of the bill to its fullest extent is already acknowledged by the committee; and that the adjournment was only for the purpose of settling some details, not affecting at all the measure itself. We might have here offered a few remarks with respect to the proceedings of the party who have constituted the opposition to this bill ; but the sub ject is so ably treated elsewhere by a gentleman who was present during the proceedings, and who has given us his impressions, under the head of " A Scene in a Parliamentary Committee," that we refer the curious reader to the article in question, the faithfulness of which we believe will be acknow ledged. THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN AND THE LONDON REPORTERS.—Our Manchester contemporary has taken to task the reporters of the illnrning Post and the Times for what he asserts to be the " dishonesty" of their resorts of the various meetings which have recently been held in the manufacturing districts upon the subject of the Ten Hours' Bill ; and with respect to one of those meetings, held on Thursday in Manchester, adduces a few alleged "exaggerations," unimportant if they are exaggerations, and gives by way of contrast to the report in the London papers a garbled and one-sided report of his own, which, if he had wished to prove his own utter unworthiness of trust as a faithful reflector of men and opinions in his own locality, could not have been better framed for bringing about such a conviction. We do not suppose, however, that the Guardian had any such object in view. He aimed mainly, no doubt, to strike, by a sidewind, at the advocates of humanity to the poor —to furnish something which the utilitarians of the House of Commons could lay hold of to advance their views ;—and possibly he might be influenced by a slight feeling of spleen at observing that, by the presence of competent reporters, of known reputation, who could not be supposed to be warped by local ties or party interests, his occupation, as a distorter of facts and opinions in the manufacturing districts, was interfered with. Our contemporary, however, surely for gets, though the public do not, how poor is the general estimation of his accuracy and fairness as a reporter ; and, that whilst it is quite reasonable that such journals as the Times and the Post should prefer sending their own re porters to receiving the proceedings of important public meetings from second-hand sources, the public wall not believe art impeachment of their accuracy from such a witness. It is not so very long since the Guardian, for his grossly unfair, and dishonest reporting, was refused ad mission at all meetings of Conservatives in his district ; and we are not aware that he is much improved at present. His report of this Manchester meeting is, at 'all events, no proof of such improvement. ADULTERATION OF EXCISEABLE ARTlCLES.—lncon sequence of the adulteration of various exciseable com modities having been carried on to a serious extent, the commissioners of excise have issued bills calling the attention of the public to the existing legal enactments on the subject, and notifying their intention to enforce the penalties upon manufacturers and dealers in every case in which they may be detected in infringing the law. For this purpose the several acts of parliament on the subject are quoted, and from these it appears that the articles are tobacco and snuff, beer, tea, coffee, chocolate and pepper, all of which, it seems, are frequently so seriously adulterated, or made up with other ingredients, as to de fraud the revenue, and to cheat if not to poison the con sumers. The following are the heads :—ln manufacturing tobacco no other material or liquid is to be used than water, or water and salt, or alkaline salts only, or lime water in Welsh or Irish snuffs, under a penalty of £lOO. In manufacturing tobacco water only, or in roll tobacco water and oil only are to be used, under the same penalty. No person shall cut, grind, pound, colour, stain, dye, or manufacture any leaves, herbs, or plants, moss, weed, or wood, chicory, commings, or roots of malt, &c., to be mixed with tobacco and snuff so as to resemble them, under a penalty of two hundred pounds and the forfeiture of all tools and utensils used for that purpose. Beer and worts it appears are adulterated with molasses, honey, liquorice, vitriol, quassia, coculus indite, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, opium, calx, &c.• ' as a substitute for malt and hops. Th e p ena lty h ere is £lOO with forfeiture of the casks or vessels. The selling of these articles to any brewer renders the party liable to a fine of £5OO, and the Penalties extend to beer retailers. Adulterating tea with terra japonica, or any oiher drug or substance other than leaves of tea, £lOO. Using in tea sloe leaves, liquoirice leaves, leaves of tea that have been used, &c., or dying or colouring any leaves for that purpose, £lO. Using burnt, scorched, or roasted peas, beans, or other grain or vege table substance to mix with or resemble coffee or cocoa, £lOO. Manufacturing substances in imitation of pepper, and mixing the same with pepper, penalty £lOO. MEETING OF THE SHOPKEEPERS ASSISTANTS.-011 Wednesday last, at the early hour of six o'clock—the par ties being unable to attend during the day or evening —a numerous meeting of the shopkeeper's assistants was held in the Music-hall. Mr. Flower was called to the chair, and after referring to the proceedings in the same place in the last week, and urging. those present to maintain the best feelings towards their employers, and to give them their best services—no injury to them being contemplated by the assistants.—He said that resolutions would be sub mitted to them ; one was a vote of thanks to a long list of powerful friends, by whose means their cause had been made to occupy its present proud position. The next is a vote of thanks to the gentlemen who had been appointed by the inhabitants to act as a committee to promote the closing of all shops at seven o'clock on every evening, and throughout the year. (Cheers.) The last was to agree to a memorial to the employers. The first resolution was proposed in an able address by Mr. T. A. Jackson, and be ing seconded by Mr. Reynolds, was carried unanimously. The second was proposed by Mr. Mirams, seconded by Mr. W. B. Jones and also carried. Mr. Murphey moved a memorial to the employers, in doing which he took oc casion to eulogize, in very eloquent terms, the persevering and unwearied labours of the chairman in the cause of the oppressed assistants. His remarks drew forth loud and long-continued cheering. The resolution was seconded by Mr. J. B. Jackson, and was similarly carried, (These resolutions will be found in an advertizement in another column.) The chairman then read a list of subscriptions collected on the platform at the last meeting, and which amounted to a considerable sum. (Each name was re ceived with considerable cheering.) He added that he had called on the mayor in company with Mr. John Smith of the Mercury, and that his Worship has kind ly consented that the meetings of the commitiee should be held at the Town-hall. This announcement was heard with loud cheers. A collection was then made, and amounted to a considerable sum. Mr. H. M, Addey then exhibited a list of forty booksellers, who had signed an agreement to close at seven in the evening, throughout the year. A vote of thanks was then passed to the chair man, and the meeting separated at a quarter before eight o'clock. SUDDEN DEATII.—An inquest was held before Mr. Curry yesterday on view of the body of Thomas Mc Mahon, aged 21. He had for the last fortnight com plained of a pain in his head, and on Saturday mo rnin g when he was in the act of going to shave himself , be put his h an d s to hi s head and said, " God bless me !" and was about to fall, when he was caught hold of. He immediately became quite insensible. A surgeon was sent for but he never rallied, and died in about five hours afterwards. Verdict " Death from natural causes." VESTRY AFFAIRS. It has long been apparent that the principal animus in the radical faction in our Select Vestry was a feeling of violent hostility to the principles and religion of the Established Church. Wherever an opportunity has of fered itself of levelling insult against the clergy of that church, such opportunity has been eagerly seized upon ; and, in particular, it has delighted certain gentlen..en, who are in the habit of selecting the question of education for their stalking horse, to worry and misrepresent the rev. chaplain of the Workhouse—Mr. Cragg. Against this gentleman the -radical guardians—the superlitively en lightened of the Vestry—have again and again imputed neglect of the spiritual and moral training of the children under his care, which, as a minister of the Gospel, anxious to fulfil his highly responsible office, must have injured him seriously in the estimation of the world, bad that world not valued at their proper worth the motives and spitefulness of his accusers. Such charges, however, Mr. Cragg found no difficulty in rebutting to the satisfaction of the board, bis vituperators being alone impervious to conviction ; and at length a more direct and specific accusation—one, too, of a grave cha racter—was raked up by the very erudite ex-member for Gibraltar Ward—Mr. Bright. This wise and most modest individual, at a recent meeting of the Vestry, charged the chaplain with having improperly omitted to carry out a resolution of the Workhouse Committee, directing him to supply certain books to the Low-hill School. Such a charge, involving as it did an amount of delinquency which would have rendered him unworthy of the responsible office which he filled, Mr. Cragg thought it his duty to rebut by immediately calling upon Mr. Bright, at the Workhouse Committee, to withdraw it, as founded upon a complete misrepresentation of facts, or to afford him an opportunity of being heard in self-vindica. tion. In reply to this demand the worthy vestryman only shu f fled (in which course we are sorry to learn that he was justified by the dictum of the conservative chairman of the committee—Mr. Riding—to the effect that the chap. lain " had no right to come into the room as he had done, nor to call upon any member to account for his conduct") —no right to repudiate a false imputation !—and, as the only resource left him, Mr. Cragg was driven to make a statement in his own defence in the Liverpool Standard. It must here strike any unprejudiced mind as a most preposterous principle to be upheld by any body of men, that a minister of the Church of England—holding, too, a situation which for its efficient di sc h arge ca ll s eminently for the confidence and support of those having the manage ment of the parish affairs, and of his flock as well—should he compelled to submit, without even the attempt to re pudiate it, to whatever unjust or unfounded imputation radical malignity may choose to forge against him. Yet such is the principle attempted to be set up by Mr. Bright at the last Vestry meeting, the proceedings of which ap pear to be reported in the Mercury by himself, the mantle of Mr. Urquhart —we should perhaps say the post of pimp for the Popish press—having fallen upon his shoulders. We contend that a gentleman in Mr. Cragg's position has every right to take care that his actions are not mis represented to the world, and his character as a minister of the Gospel injured by false statements of facts. He was accused of having designedly —or at all events repre sented in the one-sided reports of the Vestry proceedings furbished up by the radical papers as having designedly-- acted in direct contravention of an express instruction conveyed to him ; and however much we may on all occa sions be disposed to pay deference to the opinions of Mr. Rector Campbell, we cannot think that a man is to be termed " over sensitive " because he is not disposed to rest quietly under a charge so grievous and damaging. Even so far as he has been permitted to go in his effort at vindication, some portion of the truth has oozed out— quite sufficienttoshow theincorrectnessof M r. Bright's ori ginal statement. In the report referred to, the admission has been made that the resolution said to have been wilfully evaded "was not so specific as it might have been ;" that "it was drawn up so as to appear to justify Mr. Cragg in what he had done—namely, in ordering a few more Testa ments and Catechisms into the school" (it is not said too few); and the public know sufficiently the danger, where radicals have the power to carp and cavil at the actions of their officials, of exceeding the requirements of unspecific resolutions, to enable them to justify that gentleman in confining himself to their strict letter. We refrain from entering into any lengthy comment upon the remarks of Mr. Rector Campbell upon this matter,—to the effect that "it was not proper either in him or any other person holding office under the Vestry to call upon any member of the board for any such explana tions as Mr. Cragg had done, when, as in this case, Mr. Bright had not exceeded the just and proper bounds of free discussion : it was better to let such things pass as matters of course, than to embroil himself in any such controversy,"—because we much suspect that no such language can have been uttered by that reverend gentle man. Mr. Campbell must be aware of the hostile animus existing, on the part of certain officials within the Work house, towards the chaplain, as the representative there of the clergy of the Establishment ; and the proceedings at the recent Easter Vestry sufficiently show to what length the indulgence of that animus would be protected by the radical portion of the Vestry ; and we are confident, therefore, that he would not have every insolent and lying story which can be trumped up by such men, for the pur pose of damaging the objects of their bitter hate, to go forth is the public, through the medium of the distorted reports of the radical press, and at the same time deny tothe injured parties such redress as the eliciting of the truth would afford them. Before leaving the subject of these Vestry proceedings, we must submit that the time has arrived ..hicb entirety justifies, if, indeed, it does not insist upon, the admission of reporters-for the press to their meetings. It is plain that, notwithstanding the retirement of Mr. Urquhart, we are still to have those proceedings conveyed in a partizan form to the public ; and it appears that there is no alter native left for those who wish the truth only to be reported than the resort to authorised and responsible reporters. We should gladly have escaped the adoption of this course. We have already, as journalists, sufficient employment of the kind, and plenty of talkative bodies ; but we do begin to think that it would be conducive to the public good now to yield to the necessity of our position. Such a course would not, as is imagined, lead to any great in crease of speechifying. The sensible business men of the Vestry would certainly not talk more than at present, and the little which they do say would go forth ro the world and produce its proper impression : whilst the chattering jays of the radical fa,;tion would perhaps talk less if they knew that the world would have the opportunity of canvassing their inflated nothings, genuine as uttered. Another point, too, we would seriously and strongly urge, and welhave a right to do so as having first mooted its propriety and justice. Admit the respectable news papers of the town—all the newspapers —to the Work house. Allow the unfortunate victims of poverty to learn what prospects there are for them in the world outside their prison -house. Let them feel that they are still our fellow-men—still citi ens—still human beings with human feelings and interests. Let the Vestry obey that sacred ordinance that they should do to others as they would that others should do unto them. It may be that such indulgence should not be indiscriminatingly granted ; that it should not be permitted to interfere with the proper industrial regulations of such an establishment as is a workhouse under the new poor law system. The privilege may, however, be made a reward of industry and orderly conduct; and, so far from being calculated to produce disorder or disaffection, the reflection that they are still recognised as belonging to humanity may infuse right feelings and virtuous energy into the minds of many who are now hopeless and despairing. We urge this re spectfully, in the full con v i c ti on o f its propriety and justice; and though we know the source from which op position will be suggested, the Vestry maw depend upon it that there are motives for such suggestions other than those so plausibly put forth. It is an evil and a cruelly administered prison -house into which the light of day is not sometimes permitted to enter STREET ROBBERY.—A young man, named William Ratcliffe, was yesterday, at the Police -court, committed for trial for robbing a lad of a ss. paper of copper. The boy (Brebner) is in the employ of M r . M orr i s , b u t c h er , in Byrom-street. On Saturday night he was sent with a loin of veal to a customer, and received the money. On returning he was held by one fellow while the prisoner took the money from him. It was found on the prisoner's person when he was apprehended. ROBBERY IN A HOUSE.—A young man of the name of Edward Wright, was yesterday charged before Mr. Ruth ton, with having entered a dwelling-house inhabited by a boot-closer and his wife, on Sunday night, and made " preparations" for a theft. The wife had locked up the front door and another, but was not sure that the back door was bolted ; she went out at seven o'clock in the evening, and returning about nine, she heard a nOiSe; and called some neighbours, one of whom saw the prisoner lower himself from a window above, and secured him. He (prisoner) had removed some clothing in the upper room, and threw down six skeleton keys. A small crow bar or " jemmy," which he had brought, was also picked up, and it corresponded with marks on a chest which he had attempted to force. A knife was also found. The prisoner was committed for trial at the sessions. PRESTON AND WYRE RAILWAY, HARBOUR AND DOCK COMPANY.—The half-yearly meeting of the pro prietors was held at the company's office, Fleetwood, on Thursday last, Clement Royds, Esq., in the chair. The report showed an increase in the receipts for 1844 over 1843 of £3,847 ; and a decrease in the expenditure of 1844 compared with the p rev i ous year o f £1,738. A satisfac tory arrangement was ant i c i pate d w i t h t h e contiguous lines leading south, by which irregularities in the trans mission of goods would be avoided ; and the directors have therefore determined on providing, on an economical sys tem, increased harbour accommodation. Much advan tage to the company was also anticipated from the forma tion of the railway between Preston and Blackburn—for which the required capital has been subscribed. The bill for the Furness railway had also pissed the House of Commons ; immediately on its receiving the royal assent the pile pier will be commenced, and then open the traffic of the di s t r i ct of Furness to Fleetwood. The report ob serves with sat i s f action the commencement of additional buildings in the town—noticing particularly the large works of M essrs. Payne and Co. for payanizing timber. From th e encouragement that concern had received, both from g o vernment and the p u bli c , it was h ope d th a t a large quantity of timber would be brought to Fleetwood to be subjected to th e process.—Sir PH. Fl ee t woo d moved the adoption of the report, which wa's unanimously agreed to. The six retiring directors were re-appointed. In the evening a larg e party of the proprietors and their friends sat down to a su mptuous dinner, at the North Euston Hotel, Sir P. H. Fleetwood in the chair. The company enjoyed themselves exceedingly, and separated, hoping the nest half-year's report would be still more favorable. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SCENE IN A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE- ROOM. The Chairman has taken his seat, and the bell has been rung. Make way there for the cour,s ! And straightway march in, the sharp-featured, quick-eyed Austen ; the tall and gaunt but clever Talbot; and the pleasing, urbane, and gentlemanly Henderson, the latter being the Recorder of Liverpool. The chairman of the Dock Committee (Mr. J. B. Moore) ; the Dock Solicitor, always attentive, regular, and systematic, confident, but rather nervous at the responsibility thrown upon him ; Mr. Hartley, the Dock Surveyor, with a good humoured, round, and florid countenance, indicative of contentment ; these all follow close on the heels of their counsel. Behind them come a shoal of dock masters, sailor-like looking fellows enough,— Mr. Alderman Nicol, Mr. D. Gibb, Mr. M'lver, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Weightman, and a dozen other well known Liverpool men, and all take their places behind their counsel. When we got into the room, which is plain enough, and very scantily furnished, we saw fourteen gentlemen seated round the upper side of a parallelo grammatic deal table covered with green baize, and amongst them we discovered Captain Beresford in the chair ; Lord Sandon in his spectacles; Wilson Patten, as sharp and attentive as if he was out coursing; Peter Greenall, with his hat on, nodding first to one, then ano ther; Sir Howard Douglas, as straight as an arrow ; Mr. Tolletnache, looking as if he was puzzled what to do ; Mr. Bernard, with his jolly red face, which had never been painted so good a colour by imbibing buttermilk ; Captain Trowbridge, easy and attentive; and Captain Plumridge, black. sour, and curly-headed, seemingly dissatisfied with himself, his pen, and every thing else. In addition, was John Ireland Blackburne, and a pale. cadaverous, but at tentive man, Mr. Brotherton, whose character stands well with all who know him. We had hardly looked round, and pept at the stately pile of Westminster Cathedral through the windows of the committee-room, when in came a bustling, self-satisfied sort of barrister, who has evidently a good opinion of his own ability, (much better we apprehend than most other people have.) accompanied by a learned brother with a round face, rotund form, and not an unpleasing expression. The 'first we found to be Mr. Hildyard ; the latter, Mr. Webster. Behind these black gowns followed Mr. Mallaby, whose bag was top full of papers, and who seined as well able to make a pun, or let fly a joke, as to draw a brief. Close to Mr. Mallaby was Mr. Bendel', the engineer of the Birkenhead docks, and the merchants of Liverpool were represented by William Jackson, Esq. and Brownrigg, Esq., who were the opponents of the bill. The former seemed rather ill at t ase ; and an occasional suffusion of colour in his face, from its being so unusual in him, alarmed his friends, lest the he:iltti of one so justly celebrated should suffer from ex _ citeraf a'. But, except for a little nervous twitching, and its beg impossible for him to sit still, we did nct d'scover any thing uery alarming about him. Mr. Potter, too, was present on what we may call the opposition side of the house, but he either did not take any part in prompting the counsel, or his friends did not think fit to consult him, for he stood amongst the crowd behind Mr. Brown. rigg the greater part of the day. Mr. Austen commenced by stating to the committee the object of the promoters of the dock bill, and called Mr. John Hartley as his first witness. This young engi neer gave his evidence in a very clear and satisfaCtory manner, and underwent a long cross-examination from Mr. Hildyard, who must have supposed all the witrwsses were deaf, as he spoke with a hundred horse-power voice. After Mr. Hartley, junior, came his father, the dock sur veyor, whose testimony was simple and straightforward. He was cross-examined at some length respecting the breakwater proposed at the entrance of the new steam dock ; and during hi■ examination Captain Evans, the conservator of the river, seemed to have taken upon himself the office of chief prompter. Indeed it became evident throughout the whole of the subsequent proceedings that Captain Evans was the eider and abettor of the opponents to the dock bill, and he showed himself in the most open manner to be inimical to it. Nobody could doubt. from his conduct, that he was a complete partisan, for he was ear-wigging the opponents of the bill throughout each day. One word to this gen tleman. You, Captain Evans, are certainly appointed by the Crown, but your salary of £6OO a year is paid by the Corporation and Dock Trustees jointly. Do not forget from whom you derive your bread ; and if you are disposed to foster the interests of Birkenhead, at the expense of those of Liverpool, be manly enough to resign your salary, and let them make you dock master of Birkenhead, where salary will be no object, The object of the opposition appeared to be this, liz., to establish the superiority of Birkenhead, and to prove their case out of the cross-examination of the dock wit nesses. We could not help thinking, that if Mr. Mallaby had put on Mr. Hillyard's wig and gown, and conducted his own business, it would have been infinitely better done, for Mr. Halyard is one of those noisy gentlemen who cannot let well alone. His fervour might pass for eloquence on the west side of Athlone bridge, but to us it appeared _ _ _ _ . " Full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." And his speech, when he wound up the affair! Ye Gods what an oration. He so completely established the ne cessity of the docks getting their bill, that we hope our good-humoured• friend George Withers will not fail to send him a handsome fee out of the dock treasury, for well he deserved it. There was some sparring between the wigs whether Mr. Eyre Evans and Mr. Aikin should be sent for by a speaker's order, as those gentlemen had declined coming at Mr. Jackson's solicitation. Lord Sandon put an end to the discussion by stating, that as the promoters did not want them, it would he time enough to make the applica tion to the speaker when the opponents tendered evidence ; and if at that stage of the proceedings Mr. Evans and Mr—Alkin's presence was necessary, the summons could be issued at the proper time. A laugh was caused by the mistake of Mr. Austin con . . tinuallydesignating Mr. Jackson as Mr. Johnson. Several persons cried out "Jackson," not "Johnson." " Poo, poo," said Mr. Austin ; "it is only a more familiar way of expressing the same word." Some amusement was also caused when allusion was made by Mr. Hillyard to jobbing in the Dock Committee ; Mr. Talbot adroitly transferring the allusion to the jobbing which has been going on in land at Wallasey Pool. We thought Mr. Austin very severe on Mr. Evans and Mr. Aiken, because, so far as the latter gentleman is concerned, we did not think he deserved it all. Mr. Austin spoke in unmea sured terms of any gentleman who, being a member of a committee, refused to be bound by the decision of the majority, and made the information which he derived in his official capacity the weapons with which to oppose his colleagues. He declared that if Mr. Evans and Mr. Aiken came before him in such a capacity, he should know how to deal with the case. After a small flare-up had taken place between Captain Plumridge and Mr. Austin, in which the latter had, as might be expected, the best of it—the speaker was said to be at prayers; and from the celerity with which the room was cleared, one should suppose the whole of the com mittee, as well as the barristers, were prodigiously devout. On the following day, Mr. D. Gibb, and a few other witnesses, were examined, and the speechifying having come to an end, the room was cleared ; and friends and foes, witnesses and lawyers, barristers and listeners, were all bundled out into the lobby, while the legislators were deliberating in solemn conclave : and when they will make known their will, this deponeth sayeth not, but it is certain that whatever may be the details, the principle of dock extension will be fully recognised in its largest and most extended form. FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA.—The Rev. J.Wilsor, D.D., of Bombay, Honorary President of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, is expected in Li verpool, to deliver an address on this interesting subject, at a public meeting, to be held at seven o'clock this even ing, at the. Portico, Newington. EXCISE INFORMATIONS.---At the police-court, yester day, excise informations were preferred against two tobacconists of this town, for adulteration of the article in which they dealt. The first called upon was Thomas Neilson, of Byrom-street, against whom informations were laid, first, for having in his possession, and mixing with tobacco, saccharine matter and China flowers, &c. Another charged him with using saccharine matter only. Mr. Procter, principal clerk at the office of the solicitor for the Board of Excise, appeared to explain and support the informations. He stated (as did the informations, which were read in brief by Mr. Ellis, clerk of the magis trates,) that the excise officers called at the defendant's place of business on the 22d of January, and found 1081 b. of tobacco, not spun or roll tobacco, ►nixed with saccharine, China flowers, and a smaller portion of sand. He ex plained an act of Victoria, 3rd and 4th, which rendered the party liable to heavy penalties for these adulterations, but this act was not found sufficiently restrictive, and the informations were laid under a subsequent one, that of Victoria 5 and 6, chapter 93, by which saccharine and all other matters, except water, were prohibited in making sip, tobacco, or for roll tobacco water and oil only. (This will be found more fully explained in a paragraph else where in our present paper, on the adulteration of ex ciseable articles.) There were also other counts in the information,s and the whole of.the penalties involved fines amounting to £lOOO. The defendant pleaded guilty to the first count, the others being withdrawn on that under standing, saying he was obliged to do the act alleged in self-defence. The other information was exhibited against him for a similar breach of the law on the 23rd of January. This charged him with having in his possession 841 b. of adulterated tobacco ; another count charged him with having 201 b. of China flowers. He denied that there was so large a quantity of flowers as that stated, and it was admitted that the quantity was nominal, but the offence was made out by having any at all. There were also other counts. To the tobacco he finally pleaded guilty— the other counts being withheld, and he was adjudged to forfeit two sums of £3OO in each case, or £6OO in all.— George Brown, tobacconist, of Scotland-place, was next called. He was defended by Mr. Snowball. He was charged with having, on the 23rd of January, a quantity of tobacco adulterated with saccharine—penalty £3OO ; also with having sold adulterated tobacco to a Mr. Board man —£200 penalty. Mr. Snowball Said both the quan tities belonged to one lot; that it was bought at the Customhouse, and that it was so bad that it could no be used without the saccharine, and that that article in place of deteriorating improved it. It was also his client's first offence, and as he had a wife and five children he would be ruined if the whole fine was pressed. Finally, it was agreed by the solicitor to take the fine of £3OO on the first information, and £2OO in the second. Mr. Rushton said the magistrates would be willing to consider any cir cumstances that might make in mitigation, which they had the power to do. They would consider the matter, see the collector upon it, and decide in a day or two. Meantime the fines must stand, as by the act, and he advised Mr. Snowball to memorialize the board in London without delay. The tobacco seized in both cases was, of course, forfeited, and would itself involve a considerable additional loss to the parties. THE MERCURY AND THE ORANGEMEN OF LIVERPOoI: Our contemporary of Friday, who has been a little out of temper last week, is especially waspish against the Orange body in this town. He appears to have disco vered that some awful calamity, to the state and to the borough of Liverpool, is to be feared from the spread of Orangeism amongst us; and suggests that the attention of the authorities should be directed to an enquiry "whe ther the Orangemen, failing in their design upon the army"—(what design?)—" have not contrived to intro duce members of their body into the police force of this town, and whether a local Orange grand master is not at this moment a member of the Town Council and the Watch Committee." We shall certainly not attempt to satisfy the Mercury upon these points; but we must set him right upon one or two particulars. In the first place, we can assure him that the army, upon whom Orangemen are said to have had a design, contains plenty of men professing Orange principles—sufficient, we trust, to counteract the designs of Ribbonism in that quarter, and the efforts of Repealers to sow disaffection in its ranks. With respect to the po lice force, we know not whether there are few or many Orangemen in that body ; and further, we do not know why the entertaining of Orange principles, which inculcate peace, law, order, and loyalty, should be a disqualifying circumstance. At the present crisis of the country, we should imagine that the appearance of Repealers and Rib bonmen in such a force was infinitely more dangerous than that of Orangemen ; and of the former we are credibly in'ormed there are many amongst the police. We may in- form him, moreover, that Orangemen have no " secret oaths," in the sense attached to the term secret as used by our contemporary. The oaths which they take are such as are laid down by various acts of Parliament as tests of loyalty —are no secret to the government or to the world—are printed and gold, with a great portion of their forms, and maybe bought by any one whois master of a shilling or half-a-crown. If they have any other secrets, they are only such as they use in common with members of masonic, oddfellows, and similar orders. We can readily imagine a reason for the especial hosti lity with which the Mercury views Orangemen, whilst he can tolerate the mur d erous system of Ribbonism and the seditious proceedings, and anti-English projects, of Re peaters. Orangemen are Protestants; and our contem porary's sympathies are with popery. Orangemen ar9 loyal to the throne and the constitution ; and our contem porary would willingly see both trampled beneath the feet of a ruthless democracy. Further, the Orangemen of Liverpool contributed mainly to overthrow the domina tion of local Whig-Radicalism ; and " hint hence the spluttered wrath of this pompous scribbler. With respect. bye the bye, to the recent alleged " dis orderly proceedings" of a few lads, bearing Orange ban ners, &c., which has created so much virtuous horror in our contemporary towards the Orange society, we are informed that the disordely parties were not Orangemen I It served a purpose, however, to dub them so, in order to cast odium upon a body of men, whose principles are naturally distasteful to the disloyal. A faction tight, dis graceful to a civilized country might take 'dace, and, we hear, did take place on the same evening ; but the world heard nothing particular of that in the columns of the Mercury. Oh no! The bludgeon and poker combatants were Romanists—not Orangemen. LOCAL LITERATURE. Punch in Liverpool. Illustrated with Woodcuts by Straightsbanks, Fiz, and other celebrated Artists. 4to, pp. 16. The second number of the observations of this racy local philosopher is, if possible, superior in wisdom and comicality to the first specimen, and beats hollow those of his great metropolitan progenitor. As journalists, we are amazed at the extent and varied nature of the infor mation which Punch continues to pick up, from what sources it is quite beyond our power to guess. We give a few select:ons EFFECTS UPON LITERATURE OF THE PROGRESS OP THE NEW LAW COURTS.—The rapid pro gress ma ki ng in the erection of these buildings is cre , iting great excite. ment amongst the lovers of mural literature. The num ber of bills done in this locality is at present very great; and when the boards are swept away from around the im provements in the neighbourhood of the New Haymarket and Lime-street, and the Old Infirmary-wall is taken down, the reading public, it is to be feared, will be seri ously inconvenienced, and the purveyors of amusement for the million have to go out of town to post their let ters. The members of the police force in this quarter are seriously afraid that in a short time they will have to devote their leisure to less interesting pursuits than the perusal of posters, and are petitioning to be removed to the neighbourhood of the cutting-shops. THE LATE LEGAL CHANGES.—Punch assures the world that it is not true that the office of Chief Baron of the Exchequer was offered to our excellent and learned Stipendiary Magistrate, previously to its acceptance by the late Attorney-General; or that the Commissioner of Police had an eye upon the to-be-vacated stipendiaryship. He is quite at a loss to know bow the report could possi bly get abroad, considering the known want of discern ment displayed by Government in all their legal appoint ments. A LAW FOR THE PREVENTION OF DUELLING. Punch offers the following as a substitute for " the law of the pistol." Let the belligerents, who long to be popped at 11,y, each other, be blindfolded and made to walk down any of the streets in the neighbourhood of Harrington-street, Mathew -street, Temple-court, &c., during business hours. If they escape being popped down a cellar-hole, with a bale of cotton or a barrel upon their loins, or jammed between two cans, they will be lucky dogs. PUNCH'S DICTIONARY FOR THE PRESS. " Exclusive Reports."—Reports furnished to two or three papers in the same town, and on the sane day, and claimed by each as " from our correspondent." They are written on manifold paper, to ensure their being all alike exclusive. " Our own Reporter."—Anybody's reporter ; a gen tleman who sometimes fishes days and weeks for " im portant " news without getting a nibble, and dines very irregularly in consequence. " The Editor."--A singular person of the plural num ber, who is licensed, along with Royalty, to use the pro noun WE when expressing the result of his cogitations. As he is often incog. (in imitation of some eminent lite rary men, including Junius, the Great Unknown, and Punch), it is thought that it was of him that it was writ ten, " Stat nominis umbra." The Sub-Editor."--It has been suggested that this ought to be written " snub-editor," having so frequently to father, and be snubbed for, the errors of his superior officer. He is generally cutting, and abbreviates very much. He may, in fact, be called a condensing machine. THE LATE WHIG-RADICAL OVERTHROW. The Mercury is really an amusing scribe—as amusing when in the tragic vein as when seriously proposing to be comic. Who could have thought that a man could be funny when chronicling the defeat of his own party ? And yet Mercury is so funny upon this dolorous subject, that he has actually cost a fat friend of ours a button of his waistcoat, and, we fear, shaken the sides of many of his own acquaintance. Our contemporary complains that, by something like trickery,—how irresistibly prone tricksters are to impute their own practices to others !—the poll on Friday morn ing was closed so very suddenly, that numbers of the Radical faction were deprived of the opportunity of re cording their votes, and the world of forming an accurate judgment with respect to the strength and influence of that faction in Liverpool. At this circumstance we are ourselves somewhat grieved. We should have wished to see the constituency polled out ; and, notwithstanding our contemporary s a ff ecte d di ssat i sfact i on, and imputa tion of trickery to the Conservative party, we suspect that, if trickery there were at all, it was on the Radical side. The Mercury and all his friends knew that the poll would be closed, whenever the prescribed interval should elapse without a vote being tendered; and yet they permitted that interval to elapse. Why did they do so ? Manifestly because the " two hundred of our friends," of whom the Mercury swaggered, were only voters in the clouds, or would not trouble themselves to move in so purely factious a quarrel. They allowed the poll to be closed, voluntarily and perhaps designedly; and having thus declined further battle, it is in very poor taste to boast now what great things they could have done had they preferred fighting to " eating their leek." The Mercury hints that it would have been very con siderate on the part of the authorities to have adjourned the polling from Thursday evening until Saturday morn ing, because " he was confident that his observations, published on Friday, would produce a marked difference in the state of the poll on the following day." Modest man! Cruelly ill-treated were the same " observations " by the neglect or refusal of the authorities to accede to the suggestion of their author ; and, as the natural result of such cruelty, th e w i s d om of the Mercury was utterly wasted, the poll bei ng c l ose d b e f ore it s a ristocratic read ers had time to " open their letters " or their shutters, still less to be informed of the very unusual fact that there was anything worth reading—anything likely to work miracles—in its prosy columns) Alas, poor Mer cury !—and twi c e a l as f o r the public, whose " sluggish ness" and " apathy" and late rising occasioned so much wit and painstaking to be thrown away ! STEALING FROM A WAREHOUSE.—A tall elderly man, named William Ronston, was yesterday sent for trial to Co., in Bath-street. The prisoner had got into th e ware wthaexsefrsosieolnas,wbaryehNr. o l ese ß , u h s e h l t o o li n, giefgortostelg Messrs. Dover of D b over be a c e s t i o h f ou t s h e e , a t r h t o ie u le gh we n r o e t oymeimsspeldfreodinthaereea.askt,titiheetihmeeed, aonfdwshOilebh had been broken. The 181 b. was f. ound upon him when he was apprehended. ve f l a he t ed i fn g rgo u de w e ed _fatigued, h , 1 i having vsniadnpgpoa public-house bka s lwe o i ct m n.. eh e doTu thei:eeSTEALING A WATCH.--A man named John Belcher was yesterday placed at the bar of the Police -court, on a charge of stealing . a watch. It appeared that a man dis tance from home had gone to sleep in a hay-loft, at the north end of the town. He saw the prisoner as he went. I po f rir awaking w ipOnr a niL t s c oi h inn , eer w i(w h i ai c lsn h hs- w lueas a nmp s eelcssteel idd traced, H e was named Nailor, finding e h a hisniamdcksa watchenp sessions. April 21, 1841 THE FACTORY QUESTION. We have pleasure in directing the attention of on . r . readers to the te rms o f a requ i s i t i on, at f oot, which will this morning be laid for signature in the Exchange news room, and at this office, praying his Worship to c onvene_ a public me e ti ng o f t h e i nhabitants, for the purpos e of petitioning Parliament to restrict the labour of young persons and females employed in factories to ten hours per day. If we may judge from the powerful sym pathy which has been shown, by our fellow townsmen and townswomen, towards the assistants in our shops., in their efio r t t o re d uce the i r present long hours of attendance, such a cause as that of our suffering fac tory children and women will not want their assistance . As it is desirable that the meeting should be held upon an early day, i n or d er t h at i ts proceedings may h a ve their due weight upon the Legislature. Drior to themo tion to be made by Lord Ashley, we beg earnestly of o ur friends, and the friends of humanity, to lose no time in affixing their names to the requisition : "TO THE WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL. "We, the undersigned inhabitants of the borough 01 Liverpool, being desirous of publicly expressing our, oons in favour of a limit a ti on o f . t h e d a il y l a b o ur n; females and young persons employed in factories, and ul forwarding a petition to Parliament praying that a clan", to that effect ma y b e a dd e d to the Factory Bill now pen ing in the House of Commons; and at the same woe feeling anxious that our Chief Magistrate should bonenr their deliberate consideration of this important question by his authority and presence, respectfully request that your Worship will call a public meeting of the inhabitants of the borough, for the purposes stated on an early day. and at such a place as your Worship may deem suitable. " Liverpool, April 23, 1844." We understand that the Rev. R. J. M`Ghee will preach in St. Jude's Church next Sunday. ENROLLED PENSIONERS.-012 Thursday next the en rolled pensioners wilt b e para d e d i n Seel-stieet pol . station, by Captain Clegg. Severalthemai ls t o and alterations from have Chester. takenTn place The et t e i n r s thefro from arrival Londo o o f to Dublin are n ow sen t v i a C hester and Birkenhead, 111- stead of by Liverpool. The British and North American royal mail steam-abi? Hibernia, Captain Judkins, left this port, on Friday lasts for Halifax and Boston with a full complement of passen gers and a large mail. She left the river at noon, and Wog telegraphed otf the Ormsheads at three o'clock. FRANKLIN'S DINING -ROOMS.--Mr. Franklin's adver tisement is inserted in this day's paper. The ex cellent fare he provides seems to give the highest satisfactioat and the whole arrangements are more calculated t o par take of the character of a family party than an ordinary restaurant. IMPORTANT SALE OF FAT CATTLE AT LYTHAM HALL FARM. —The annual sale took place on Tuesday last, and was very numerously attended by purchasers from Pres ton, Manchester, Liverpool, Wigan, Bolton, Blackburer Garstang, &c. In course of three hours, the whole of the 64 lota as a d vert i zed were knocked clown, amounting we are informed to nearly £llOO. THEFT IN A PUBLIC -HOUSE.—John Griffiths, a boy, was yesterday charged at the Police -court with stealing a bottle containing whisky. Jane Kelly, a young woman, said she was servant at the tap-room, at Mr, Dickson's, Waterloo -road. On Sunday night, at eleven o'clock, she heard footsteps on the stair, and on looking saw six boll immediately after running up the street. She had missed three bottles o f li queurs, and succeeded in having the pr. soner secured. On him was found the bottle containing whisky. On being taken be said, "let me go and I'll pay for all."--For trial at the sessions. STEALING A WATCH. —Yesterday, a stout and harsh spoken young woman, named Mary M`Kenzte, was charged before Mr. Rushton, with stealing a watch from the person with whom she lived as servant. The article was found, when she was taken to bridewell, in one et her stockings. She stated that her master owed her some wages, which she had repeatedly asked in vain, that she had taken the watch to pawn for that purpose—telling friend of her master that she had done so, and requesting him to say that the ticket would be given up when sent for. She was sent for trial. IMPROVED HATS.—We call the attention of our readers; to the advertisement of Mr. J. Wood, who has now crl pleted the extensive and costly alterations in his premises in Lord -street. The deservedly high estimation in which these hats have long been held, and the facilities he has in presenting them to the public at the lowest remuner ating profit, having them direct from his own manufac tory, No. 3, Parsonage, Manchester, are sufficient to guarantee future support. These hats are warranted not to whiten on the square, and they are likewise perfectly impervious t o water, and consequently their shape to the last. y retain SUPPER AT MR. LATHAM'S, THE ST. GEORG/el HOTEL.—On Thursday l as t thi s enterprising catere r the good things of the world gave his last Tripe _. r _ graslfor the season, upon w hi c h occasion about fifty " li the men sate down t o an exce ll ent and substantia l r! The chair was occupied by a votary of Apollo, After by a well-known votary of Momus. en the cloth was drawn and the usual loyal toasts given, 'chair health of the worthy host was proposed from the The in a very neat speech and feelingly responded to.. remainder of the evening was occupied by a display„, ( l,! harmony, which was continued until a late hour. v.! may add that Mr. Latham has fitted up his house wlta . every regard to the comfort of his guests and his atten titan to their wants is proverbial. ELEcnoNs. In consequence of the death of Lord Abinger and the recent legal promotions, new writs have been issued for Huntingdon, Woodstock, and Horsham. MY.-Thomas Baring, the unsuccessful oppo nent of Mr. Patterson in the recent City of London con test, is the Government candidate for Huntingdon.—With regard to Woodstock, the Government are stated to be placed in some difficulty by the refusal of the Duke of Marlborough to nominate Mr. Thesiger for the borongb, ' a fter the for which the learned gentleman was before returned on "the Duke's interest." His Grace's son is to be the new member.—ln an address to the electors of Exeter, Sir W. Follett alludes to Ills indispes:tion as preventing his paying his respects to them personally. The League have put forth a candidate in the person of a General Briggs, of the East India Company's service. The nomination took place on Saturday, and the ele'tion yesterday. There is no doubt of the return of Sir. Williom Follett, whom, to have as their member would be an honour to any constitu ency. For Horsham Mr. Hurst, a conservative, is certain of success tho' the league threaten opposition. SAPPHOGLEE CLUB.—That the people of Liverpool are not a decidedly musical people has often been urged, a nd with some degree of truth. It may be contended that we have, in first-rate circles, taste to appreciate music of s high character. We can find audiences intelligent enough to be delighted with the performances, few and far be tween, of a Kemble, a Pasta, or a Lablache ; and we are ready at all times to welcome the less pretending efforts of our native English and Scotch ballad singers. Never theless it must be admitted that the enthusiasm for music of the best description which may be found in some towns, less advanced in other respects than Liverpool, is not to be found here ; and this is no where more strongly evidenced than in the paucity of our local private societies or clubs for the cultivation of musical taste. We are happy to notice the symptoms of a disposition amongst our fellow-townsmen to wipe away from the name of Li verpool the reproach which has long, and we fear justly, attached to her people, of having " no music in their souls." We had the pleasure, on Friday evening, of being present at the meeting of a newly-established Glee Society, caller,. " the Sappho Glee Club," held at the house of Mr. Blundell, the St. James's Hotel, in George street ; and were much delighted with the excellence of its regulations, and the great proficiency diQplayed by the members, considering the short period of their associa tion. A number of glees, catc'!es, and harmonized pieces were sung by the members with great precision and taste; and we noticed amongst the singers several fine voices. Such a society, so calculated as all glee clubs are to im prove musical taste, ought to be, and we trust will be, ex tensively supported. It will afford a nucleus to which rising talent may rally, to prepare itself for higher flights, and from which it may gather and distribute am on gst society that appreciation for the best compositions of the masters, which is the great desideratum amongst the middle classes of our townsmen. Died, on the 4th instant, aged 16 months, Thomas Gardner, third son, and on the 16th instant. aged 2 years and 8 months, James, second son of Mr. Wm. Brought wine -merchant, Everton-road. LIVERPOOL HAY AND POTATOE MARKET, APRIL 22. Potatoes, ic 991 b... s. d. s. d. ' Hay, old 2•tb 0 7®o io Pink-eye 5...... 2 3—2 11 new -0 . 0 . , Cups short-tops 1 7i— 2 0 St raw, Wh eat. 0 4 0 5 Cattle Turnips, To ton ....24 0 —27 0 Barley Carrots LIVERPOOL PROVISION MARKET, APRIL 22. All demand for Butter appears for the present suspended: except for the very finest qualities, which are still saleable at full rates. Consumers limit themselves to the smallest extent of stock, and begin now to look anxiously for supplies of the new make ; the first arrivals of which will doubtless meet a free sale, and at good prices. Irish Beef we quote at 68s to O S per tierce, and Pork at 45s to 52s 6d per brl. as in quality. There appears to be a grea t di vers i ty of opinion among the trade, a to the future ruling of the Bacon market. We incline to favolt the Bull party, in as much as stocks are low, and we approac h apace the vegitabl e season. Good heavy Bacon is worth 300 "I 40s for short middles. LIVERPOOL: TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1844. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY MORNING, BY JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53,Grove-street, and LEONARD ADDISON, of 14, Great Orford-street, At N 0.3, ST. GEORGE'S CRES CENT, LIYURFOOI , • Orders and Adertisements arc received by Messrs. Newton a /, Co , Warwick-sq u a re ; B ar k er and White, Fleet-stre e e' , Deacon, Walbrook ; Reynell, Chancery-l ane; Ch ar l e s Be an : Birchin-lane ; Joseph Thomas, 1, Finch-l ane , C orn hill; 01 , 00 , den Hammond, 27, Lombard-street ; Mit c h e ll, 8 , Red 1 ;: #0 ... court, Fleet-street; Lewis, 3, Castle-court, Cornhill ; ,r' way's; at the London Com merc i a l Coffee-house, I` ,ll° ter OP lane ; at the Jerusalem Coffee-house, Cornhill ; C er ican Coffee-house, Paternoster-row; North and South Ar s m a ria- Coffee house, Threadneedle.street • Parsons, g, Ave.., - ';b110; lane, London • Johnston and do.. Eden Quay; n r eetr Wheeler, Exchange-street, and C. H. Lewis, Market-sellers' Manchester ; Haddock, and J. and W. Booth, Book an d a pd Warrington; Clarke, Pilot-office, Preston; and Wrigh t ' Dain, Herald-office, Birmingham, redi t ' Terms of Subscription for this p a p er :—On c d in one year, £1 35.; half-y ear , I Is. P, 3 , 1 advance—one year £1 ls. ; half-year, 108. u"' 15, El a n , Di si the SR( Pk? In sta be rc , Tt had ; Nte ehari . Oth SE 3 L Gel A i c h ' l Par blade Ca] Colle Licen - Ap sent o'Co( Li: TV; 14r thia L ` Io ti l t ; I ,stri With t Sel ect a irl h 911 a th