The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-05-01 00:00:00

MAY-n:1 - 1838. that it may have its full weight in apologising for the defalcations of the public revenue when he brings his financial statement before Parliament: The measure has been tried in the most ,a dvantageous - circumstances 'in which it could:have been in- troduced. since the passing -of ,the Reform Bill. The death of the King, the accession of the. Queen, the new election, the rebellion in Canada, the discussions in and out of Parliament. the anti-slavery and anti-endowment agitation, and numberless 'tither topics, general and local, having in the meantime been subjects of inviting newspaper interest. But with all these -. inducements, the increase in the consumpt has borne but a f , small proportion to the decrease in the tax ; and the friends o the measure cannot flatter themseidres that it•has been at a successful, either as regards the revenue or the public." EETING OF WAREHOUSE OWNERS.—We this day present to our readers a 'Copious report of the important ''- proceedings at. the meeting' of - warehOuse owners held yesterday. We regret that our space will not permit us to enter at preseninpon any minute analysis of the argu ment brought forward in opposition to the 'project of the Dock Committee. The several speeches delivered at the meeting will amply repay the trouble of perusal. They abound in statistical details bearing upon the question, and 'embody the mature views and practical deductions of some of the most intelligent and experienced gentlemen in Liverpool - . In fact, we do not see how the statements :' brought--forward yesterday can possibly be met by the unadvotates of 'the Dock Ginirnittee scheme. Tile . sapient .0011dermen and ,hiquacions conneillors, who - have already ,oinnteered•a fttstification . of 'that scheme, Will find that to tvery - ,position which they have assumed i s untenable, tl:and that :their:empty •rteclamation upon the subject is ._emnpletelv . over-bornehy the force of reasoning and by au unanswerable appeal to facts. it has been proved, as will be perceived upon reference to our report, that the' aggregate loss. to the publiefrom:the erection of the pro posed warehouses - On the Dock Quays will be far greater than any'-saving that can be possibly • effected by the avoidance of cartage, -&c. This. we consider to be at once - conclusive ; and..more especially- snwhen consi zlier upon Wthcrtrrthe •Thtis Would chiefly fall. The classes •who.wouldbe . ,injured by-the contemplated scheme would be, ten timec more numerous than-those among whom the -saving would be divided ; and many of those classes must be considered as entirely dependent for their daily sup ,: port upon the emolument arising from warehouse pro .,perty..How many widows•and orphans, now in receipt ..-pta bare competency from this kind of *property, would ~beTeduced to a state of comparative penury by the un reasonable competition of - the-Dock Trustees? Let 'us :11ope_that justice and mercy will triumph over selfish in terest and unfounded prejudices. NATIONAL LOAN FUND AND LIFE ASSURANCE • - SOCIETY. The public is ninrf:,deeply interested, than it.is at :all aware of, in the iealous efforts. ; of the distinguished founders of the National Loan Ftind and Life Assurance Society. In the suc- -Cess . Of this . vast fi;nject, 'We can clearly' perceive the seeds of a rich harvest Of popnlarcornfort--Lthe germs of asocial and moral tieg - 6itratiorr, the influence of WhiCh will in time pervade the ..hurnblest•hovel iutthe laud. We believe it is now some months since we directed- public, attention to the prospectus; published by the able chairman and original Foundet.of the Institution, Mr. T. Lamle . 111UiT'av, when we'stated that the whole scheme was by no means perfected, although it offered, to persons of AiMited"income, inducements to the forming of provldential liabits'neveF before held out to them. We have now the outline 9f the complete:plan before us, -and -never -was there a projec t submitted to us so well calculated to benefit the humbler classei ,of society. The principal inducements which it offers to prudent and economical ha.bit!,among the working classes are the fol lowing :—A person insiiring his life for any sum, no matter bow small, say from twenty years of age, may at the age of fifty, fifty_ fi i k & five, or sixty; exchange it for a fixed annuity, to be paid to him • during hiagife.;:lar: he may except in lieu thereof a fixed sum of money propOrtioned to the amount of his past payments, and not to the actual. market price of his policy; or he may at any time, by depositing his policy with the society, borrow upon it two-thirds of nieey he may have paid into the society - withatit'dtf - natiCtO'his interest in such policy; or, in the event of hit deaK 2 a the - money he may have paid into the societ4ls to his friends or executors, for theibenetii.nt-his family dr legal•heirs. To suit the convenience a:=0110 Fleet theneeessities of the humblest classes, the payments t i ffe.o 9!1 kes , ntay be made weekly, monthly, quarterly, or 4 .k.1 q annua l ( ;„at „elt the poorest may not be without a hope of finteianetiteir Condition, payments upon policies net exceeding sixpence weekly a re ('OutOalkted! . Now there are very few labouring men who—were they to frequent the beer-shops and public-bouses less than they now do, to the ruin of their health, their morals, and then- families—Might not pay into such an Institution from a shilling to half a-crown weekly. This saving Would amount to an .independencein. old , age. A. labourer aged twenty-three, by the payment of a shilling a week out of his earnings, Would nn reaching, the age of fifty,•find himself in poss.essionof an annuity of £8 16s 3d . for the remainder of his li, e, which it would be optional with him to exchange for £1.13 6s ifi money; This sum would pay the rent of his cottage, and ettable him to pass the rest of his days with a comparative degree of comfort. A weekly payment of sixpence would .produce.half the.henefit ;, a payment of,two shillings would double it—and so 0h in proportion. Let it be remembered that the advantages he, l 4 out by this Institution belong as a matter of absolute right td4he assured, and its immense superiority to Savings Banks And .Benefit Societies, as an engine for the moral improiement of the people, will be at once perceptible. This society lays no to the merits of a charitable Institution, carried on under the-managernent of a Committee of self-sacrificing philanthro pists: It does not affect to be guided by any principles but those 'of trade, add. its relations with the public will be - purely of a commercial character. It will not, like the Saving Bank, refuse N or man's earniues; because they may, have accumulated to soinethir k g motiethitn ionic' pay ,a rich ma _ it's glover's bill for • year; neither will it, likethe Trustees of a Benefi!Ciub, in stitate wny'iliitPry, should tie. assured .require a loan to the amount of two-thirds of his payments. The following Notes to the " Table:of Deferred -A nnuitles,- which have been pub lished by' Mr, Murray, the Chairiaan, will place 'the several advantageS offered to the labourer, [fie merchant, and the capi talist, by the Loan Fund Society, in axcle ar a l ig ht a s i t i s pos sible to put theta: 7. " A person, aged 23, by the payinelit of ls. per week, or ; -t 2 12s. per annum, will secure; on attainitijohe age of 50, the option of an annuity-0f.48 .16s. 3d., cashidown £ll2 Gs , or a Policy on his life fur £l7Bls. • -" By one-halfthe - paYident, that is .61 per Week,' orEl 6s. per . 4 nnutn, he will secure the.option of half the benefits: .By five • limes the payment, he will be entitled to the optiodof five times the benefits; and the iame.ma'y be- extended to any other pro- Portion. (All premiums to terminate with the period.) Two thirds of the payment's may at any time be withdrawn on de- Posit 'of the policy; and should the Party not survive, two tilitchi.agAtiK.,pasinents will be returned to his representatives." The sufaftlifeeherfthis•note has been given above, but its re- Petition will serve to...rernoge?o.lltdeu,bts : as to. the correctness with which we have given the Soclit?'VfM*l:4;ill944titlie • • A 'persOn, aged 24, may secare, on.attafning the age 4iftbtAllStlte P s ilonof an annuity of £lO, cas h d own £l2B Il s., or a policy - 0W lite for £2C2 Is. '6d., by the annual payment 'of £3 35., or a sipoo payMent ge of £49 Bs.; or bv payment of Ell Os. Id. for disparity of a.. he - will be e ntitled to th e same benefits by-th e Name annual payment as, for. the age of 20, viz., £2 9s. per ann um. An annuity of £5O, or :five times the other-benefits, may be s ecured by fiye, times the payment; and, in like manner, any other annuity and corresponding benefits may be purchased by Making th e Pay me nt a cco rdin gl y . A persdri,. aged 25, by the : payment of £2 12s. per_ annum; will sethire, on allaining the age . of 55, the option ofan Annuity ( • 11 X.12 9 s. , 74;s•Caah'ilOwnalats.; or a Policy On his' life for '' 2t.k) ls._ A. oerson'age42s," may secure on attaining the a g e o t 55, an, atiluky 4:4 TlO, with. ttiVothirbPlionS,' by-the annual Payirietit q - 4:2,1,5..pd, or a single payrnent,t4434 - 110,1.k....3d:..1 ; or..on,pay-• mentol B' . lBs. 4d. for di: parity, he will be entitled to the same; b enefits by an-annual payment of £1 'Hs.; the sathe Tor 'Ne2O, , • • • • •-' 7 . 4 Periori,. aged:l2s, by the payment .of £2 . 125. p e r a n n um , w ill 'secu r e Onattaming ilce'dge of 60, the option of an at - molly 1 1 3, ; .caah , dnwu . £202 IS.; or xpoliepon his lice for 25 9.19 . 5. • • ific- Aper6n,. azed 26, - inay secure, on - atta. ng the age of Go, 44 4nu4t- of £lO, with the other options,l-by the annual pay- Ine nt „ f 6 s. 9,1., or a single payment of_. 22. 17s. 3d.; or. on Pa )artent•of" 14s. 3d: fordiiparity, be will lie entitled to the s O n Wbenetits by ad animal payment of 18s. 11d., the same as • ‘ l ' .. /WK - kri, aged '23, by the 'payment £2 12s, per annum, will • illtei - ei op, att a i n ing. the age °Ufa,. the bption o f an annuity of 10 8 8. '4393 15 2 d. • cash down, £333 7s. ; o r a p o li c y, ou his life for s, eperion, aged 30; may. secu re , on a tt a i n i ng th e age o f 65 , 4 nnuity of £lO, with the othe r opti ons , by th e annua l pay ent of I9s. 6d.", or a simple payment of £l67s. 14.; or on pay -1„elltfor disparity, he will he entitled to the same „` - nefits by an annual payment of 10i. Ild. a; the same as fOr 'ee 20: ' • . 1.1-ise are advantages such as are not to be met with by pei- 7 8 7 11 'in an hombl e , o r even a mo d e r a t e l y respecta bl e wa lk o f 11 e ! in any Assurance-office, Savings'-bank, or Ben e fit- soc i e ty :f l t established. Extend it so-as t o in c lud e th e gre at ma j or i t y the labouring population, and we shall hear ho more abOut "1 anarchical designs 'of the working classes. The moment the intei I"rl 'ing 11 ma is made to fl that he has an est in the a ' n tenatire n of 'established ee institutionv—that revolutionary , t ` t :' r ehy,' Or national bankrUptcy, th rea t ens th e lois of the little I, 2 l nity to which his Parents, his friends, and his family, have turn ard for So many years—from that moment may tit 1t t tfe rely.up.on the holies 7, 4 111 of his endeavour's to keep ,7,1 ' and p rese r ve ' its tranquillity: . The best antidot e qt revolution is the difFu.ion of a feeling of individual in:. "'Pondo - • • • • nee, haying - chnstatitty in -- view the certainty of 'the " "'Atis ya' denyLi,t,..a.t • 1•.•1 .1 ; • 1, - 'iii g SO v . tir , lFt C.l t,on. in« pen - tons' i"n'te's'`AqTßM Afirirqr MEETING OF THE WAREHOUSE AND LAND ASSOCIATION. Yesterday, at one o'clock, a meeting of the owners of land and warehouses, and others interested, was held at the Cla ten don-rooms, South John -street, " to adopt measures to oppose the resolution of the-Dock Committee, relative to'the bull iii: Of warehouses on the verge of the docks." Therneeting was very numerously attended by the warehouse holders and laud owners of the town. Soon after one o'clock Mr. Jamei Brancker was moved into the chair. . ' The Crialaiszasrthen said—Gentlemen, as the object of the meeting is pretty well understood by all the gentlemen here, there is no occasion to enter. into any long arguments on the subject. I believe there are some motions prepared, and sortie gentlemen have observations to make. The Chairman then celled upon Mr. Boothb y ; but Mr. Boothby not having arrived, Mr.' BUSHBY said, it had - been intended that Mr. Boothby should move, the first resoltition "That the committee be fully authorised to oppose auy bill which the Dock Trustees may bring before Parliament, having for its object the building of warehouses on the verge of the docks." Mr. Bushby continued —lt was not my intention to have obtruded myself upon the meeting, but feeling the absolute necessity of contradicting some statements which have been made by the .promoters of the,mea sure in contemplation by the Dock Committee, and the inten tion of a friend of mine. well acquainted with the trade of the town and the nature of the subject before the meeting, to come forward publicly to express his opinions, whi c h e nti re ly co i nc id e with my own, .1 have been induced to make an endeavour to answer some of the faliacious arguments which have been used to induce the public to sanction a measure likely, if carried into effect, to be ruinous to numerous individuals, as well as the corporate estate of the town. And first, as to the remark of the Deputy Chairman of the Dock Committee, that the committee was desirous of erecting warehouses, "as. I there was a great want of warehouses." Now, when it is. notorious that- the warehouses in the town -have 'been nearly half empty ter-Six months past—when for four years they have scarcely lieett.futl—wh en rents tin proof of this assertion) have fallen considerably— w he n ne w ware h ouses h ave - been'built . anticipation of a deinand for them, so that no complaint has' ever been _made during that time of a deficiency orroom 'for the deposit of prmluce; when all these cousideraticias render it quite palpable that the assertion 'of the Deputy Chairman is incorrect, we much wonder that the dock committee should ground their proceedings upon such a weak foundation. The Assertion was, perhaps, made. in ignorance —but this cannot be an excuse, because the dock committee avoided, receiving any deputation from the warehouse committee, although the ware house committe e reque it e d an interview, w hen; they would haVe given. the dock committee such information as might have al-; tered their views; the dock 'committee, however, decided the great .question without affording the warehouse committee an opportunity of being heard, but they positively sent an invita tion to the warehouse committee after the decision, ,inviting them to a conftirence—a conference was then useless, and by not admitting a deputation before the decision of the qUestion, theirig,noranceas to the state oil he warehouses was a voluntary ignorance, and.their neglect to hear the reasons which would have been adduced in opposition to the measure, a very reprehensible proceeding.—Next, the Deputy Chairman asserts, that there is not a warehouse in Liverpool sufficiently light for examin ing indigo—that it could not be properly exhibited in the pre sent warehouses, and that consequently that trade was falling off in Liverpool !! This is a tissue of very bold assertions. `Will any one who looks at the noble range of warehouses oppo site to the Prince's Dock, and commanding a strong western light, seriously say, that there is not light enough for the exa mination of indigo? Can any one with truth assert that those warehouses' which have been fitted 'up for tea with glais windows in every.room, would not be suitable- in every respect for the storing of indigo. One would really think that the stock of in digo in this port was so large, that it was difficult to find suit able warehouses in wthich it could be .deposited. And what is actually the amount of the present stock? Why, not 300cliests, and the import for five years has never in any one year been more thin 2100 chests and 2700. serous, and the stock perhaps never 1000 chests at any one time, not enough to fill one large Warehouse. Can new warehouses be necessary for such a quan tity ? We contend that there are warehouses large enough, and snitahlein every respect for skewing indigo, and therefore that any new warehouses for that purpose are unnecessary. The indigo trade has been long 'established in London; the greatim.- porters live there, and London has every ad vantage of situation, old connection, large dealers, and experienCe in the trade; whereas, our trade is cOmparatively new, and it must-require much timeto obtain an iacrease of the trade, but our contiguity to the itanufactuting - d isfriets authcitises . us to expect an increase of the trade as manufacture extends; but London ,presenting, to the importer of indigo, two markets, the home alai-Con-, tinental, will, 'most certainly, always have the preference of this part of our. trade. He also asserts, that the London and Yorkshire dealers were deterred from coming here to buy indigo, on account of the insecurity of the present ware houses, their liability to pilferage, and their want of light. Now it must be known to every one who has ever attended an Indigo sale, that so far from this being the case, the sale is generally well attended, and every chest sold at a fair market price, if the holders choose to accept the value of the day. All these alleged disadvantages of the warehouses, therefore, do not deter the buyers of indigo from coming to this market. Another asser tion is, that the Yorkshire buyer would not pay £lO. per cent. deposit, because he had no security for the safety of his deposit. In reply, I must recal to the recollection of gentlemen, that last year a great number of East India merchants entered into a resolution that they would not deliver any goods be fore payment was made, and to require a deposit of 10 per cent. at the time of the sale. This being an innovation on the old custom, was resisted by the buyers, who contended that at that perilous time they had as much right to refuse trust ing their money to the merchant, as the merchant had to refuse trusting them with the goods. Altercation arose between buyer and seller, and the new plan was at length abandoned.. The refusal, therefore, of the buyers to pay the 10 per cent. deposit, .did not arise from any fear about the warehouses, but from the 'refusal of the importers to give an order for the delivery of the g4mds until the whole money be paid—the distrust between buyer and seller at that period prevented the scheme being car effeet, and not th e in secur i ty o f t h e - ware h ouses—th i s beeVideut, whets we reflect that immense advances of mo ney are constantly made on the faith of a warehouse-keeper's accepted order,—and that this transfer of property is deemed a sufficient security by men of business. The imputation, there fore, upon the security of the warehouses, as far its respects this deposit, is an unproved assertion. Charges of pilferage have also been. hrou,ght.forward as being an objection to the present warehouses—that pilferage to a small extent may sometimes take place must be admitted, but whet proof have we that pil ferage does not take. place also in tfie London Docks? None. We know that until the nature of man is altered, thefts will sometimes occur. Considering the vast amount of property warehoused in Liverpool, the pilferage is so trifling as scarcely to excite a complaint, and when we confider that the warehouse keeper is responsible for any pilferage Where' due care is not taken, and that a , custom-house offider keeps the keys of .the warehouse, and must attend to see the goods delivered, we have all the security which can reasonably be expected. It is assert ed, also, that the trade 'from the Brazils to Liverpool is dimi nished in consequence of our .present warehouses, and that it would be much increased if we had warehouses such as they have in :London. Well, let us see what an immense import has been attracted to London by their envied warehouses. Why, "last year they imported 4500 chests and 5800 barrels ; and in Liverpool, trifling as our import was, it amounted to 2300 chests, which is a moiety of the number of chests imported into London. As much has been said on the advantage which the Brazil houses would have if these warehouses were built by the Dock Trustees, we may remark that, if they were to charge the rent which they ought to do, and which must be Charged on Brazil Sugar, as well as on other goads, if the warehouses were let to individuals, the Brazil importer would losemore by the rent than he would save by the cartage. Is it not cle-ar,•that as long as Foreign sugars are subject to a prohibitory duty, and the English refiner is trammelled by restrictions which prevent his competing with the Foreign refiner, hat Foieign Sugar will naturally go to the Continent, the place of. its consumption, without coining round by Liverpool (except rarely) to incur all Ihn expenses of landing -and transhipment:. Besides, London has local advantages of which we cannot' deprive her. She is so.contiguous to Hainburgh and Holland, that we cannot ac quire the advantages_ which she . possesses in s point of despatch, freight, and insurance of goods shipp e d from London to Ham burgh—hence the command of the continental trade must con tinue principally with London, and our distance from Ham burgh-must continue to prevent our successfully competing with London, even if we had warehousti built agreeably to the Dock Trustees' plan. The same argument would apply to Indigo, Fo reign Coffee, and other produce which is imported into England for the purpose of transhipment to the •Continent. • Having, now, I-trust, removed the objection to the present warehouses, I will proceed to the other points connected with the question. The Dock Trustees say they intend to . erect fifteen warehouses only, and that this is too small a number to cause any alarm, ,for if they did not build them, some private individual would build an equal ,number.yards, whichTh s is These fifteen eua t w o a t r h e i h r o t y u s m e s o d a e r r e a t t e o s c i zoend ta in 35,000 square3d warehouses of six stories high. Now, these fifteen dock ware houses will always be full; it is notorious that the present ware houses have been half empty, for six months, and what would have been their state, had produce coveting 85,000 square yards been withdraWn from than, and - housed in the dock warehouses, which wotikl have been the case if they had been now in exis tence? .WesejnliViduals to erect.these fifteen warehouses the case would he ijery,different, they would have to buy oo square the land, which would' prebablY sell, ft'r £lOO,OOO, as 17,5 would 'come to nearly the oustthe .£lOO,OOO : thus these amount; yard s , t: fi a V n e d g e . a b k ti j a m . s i cr zs a r e m lAr t warehouses would cost, when built,::£2oo,ooo which moist let _for- £lo,ooo' per. annum, to 'pay hie'per vent, interest, 'ocriaore than £650 per annum for each warehonse, which wotild be it • gOo4,•security 'to general '',warehtiiiSe ..owtters that these fifteen warehouses Would 'not be: toiderleb and there would be a fair competition between all warehous e - property. . .Should the. Dock Trustees become the buildersand owners of these fifteen warehouses,, what security have w e that they 'Will tiot'let them for half price, and thus injure all other warehouSe property in the' toivir?—because it will affect the rate of rentS. We do not think it fair that such a bOdyshould have such power to depreciate the value of an immense property held by other warehouse Owners. - - It is evident that the rate of - rent mastibe dependent eetirely upon the discretion of the Dock Trustees; •and is that a sufficient security to the owners of the other warehouse property of thdi town.? -,Can it be maintained that 'the building of these warehouses would not be a.preach of public faith, at lhough no sealed document can be produced which 'binds them not to build ?. But that such a public faith has grown up cannot be denied, and the consequence of the shock which has been given to public opinion, by the late resolution olthe Dock Committee, may be seen by the depreciation in the price of land contiguous to the docks, and suitable for building warehouses Upon. Let the valuation of such land be note made, and compare it with the valuation of a few months back, and I feel Confident that lodenkeyer Trustees ha ve. the difference •would be immense. Thik circumstance s h ows what was the ge nera l con fidence in the non-interference ' of the Dock Trustees, and that a kind of deception hits been p ract i sed had the would upOn the purchasersof corporationliavnetnls,h w given the prices which they have give n ever announced the intention of themselves becoming builders of warehousei. At they state that they mar want more dock room, let them adopt the plan which has been suggested to the trustees by one of their own body, who clearly shows, by a pro per arrangement the present dock space is sufficient to accom modate all the shipping frequenting the port. He shows that the average number of square-rigged; ships at any time, in the port does not exceed about 570, and that. there is at present dock space for 850. If at any time complaint is made of a want of docks, it:Will he found to apply only to two of the favourit e docks, and.if the trustees would examine. the power which I be lieve tbey possess, of dispersing the Vessels over the different docks, that at all times the present accommodation would be found.sufficient; but let them enlarge the Princes . Dock, and convert the basin int o h a lf-tide docks, and additional accommo dation, perhaps to the extent of 250 or 300 vessels, which the present unoccupied space in the dock will.give•room for nearly. 500 vessels more than on an average are in the port. Fire has, been dwelt upon ; bUtit has been answered, that in case of fife' the vessels might haul off to the other side. Suppose the dock' to he full, :how are they then to bent off? and they could not , haul off except at high water; and in the event- of fire the most dreadful consequences would ensue. The despatch given to the .1 discharge of vessels in London has been urgcd,as one of , the I ns for our ationting:the same system. Oil° w(5410 e of the sluivest.pOrts 'of the king ne that'LiO-rp6ol sot dom in the discharge ot vessels, and yet is if not notorious that the Americapackets, i haye generally been celebrated for their ; but I-believe some• g•cnileinag at theanectirig, , Will enumerate instances of grept rtes ti-etch disOhargitof vessel?, showing.that with proper or rangenieuts by [tor merchants; on quay and on hoard their ships; every .despatch requireXmay be obtailled. We admit - that. des patch in the discharge of ships us desirable, that it is a question not necessarily •.cennected with the building of new warehouses. The delay arises from other causes—from the,en trues not being passed in proper tune at the Custoin.house— from the want of more landeaiters, where there is a large in flux of vessels—from the limited number of working hours allowed by the Custom-house, and from the clumsy tackle used intlis.cliarging the goods. • These are the causes of delay, and nut any want of warehouses, for it will not be pretended, that 'when goods are once landed on the quay; that there are not carts enough, to take them away.as fast as landed. Great •inconve nience arises frein the length of time which outwar&bound vessels are allowed to occupy quay berths during their progress of loading; to remove this objection, let ashed be built on the west side of Prince's Dock, for the reception of goods intended to be shipped on board vessels loading in that dock; when about half the cargo is stored in the shed, the vessel may haul opposite to that part where the goods are deposited, and after taking them on board, haul off to make room fur another vessel; by this mode, vessels loading will not require one-fourth of the quay room which they now occupy. The dock trustees should negociate with the Custom-house for au alteration in the attendance of the latidwaiters, both as to hours and number of officers, and it .should be considered whether some remuneration should not be made per package to the landwaiter, to stimulate his exertion in discharging the vessel quickly—it should be made his interest to discharge the vessel rapidly—at present, the industrious and indolent officer aye,equally rewarded. Then, as to some improvement in the construction of private warehouses, let the corporation have plans of warehouses drawn by their Own surveyor, contbiniug every advantage of size, light, and every other accomrhodation which they may think rcquisite, and let them , offeroiiiiitillO'ts of :their -land by auction, : in. suitable situations . - neTeellie - dock s , adapted. for the warehouses. Let th 4 41e be, th a t 11)e - buyer:shall &Aid aecordi ng t o 7 tVatf'sreViir's 'plan —thus will the dock trustees enatile : theperfth ifeirtfie that desCription of warehouse which 164' reeomme4ao strongly. In proposing that private individuals shall build acecirdinte to the corpor a ti on plan; it must 'be -agre,:d that "neieher thE deck 'trustees nor the corporation shall themselves build wate.houseS, otherwise so few, if any individuals would- venture tai litirclase 'and build on the corporation plan. If the warehouses are to be built -on' the very brink of the docks, so as to allow nn quay room, how are vessels to be dis charged when the warehouses are full ? Having now replied to•the different arguments of the advo cates of this projected plan, and having, I trust, proved that the building of these warehouses is unnecessary. I think just cause has been shown why the measure should be oppOsed iu .parliament. Mr. Was. EA RI.R, Jun.—l would ask Mr. Bushby, if in his endeavours to ascertain points, if he has ever found this mei sure in contemplation by the old corporation ? There were some very laborious exertions took place, I recollect some mer chants of Liverpool Made great exertions. Mr. BUSHBY—Mr.•tiorridge presided on that occasion, and I have made inquiries fur him to get the papers relative to it, bat have not succeeded. Mr. MONTGOMSISY—I was one of the committee, and resolu tions were entered into on that occasion to oppose the measure. Mr. HARBORD—I would beg to state also that a Mr. flume, connected with the Board of Trade, a great advocate for bonded warehouses, and who has advocated the principle in London; a short time afterwards : when it was determined that these ware houses should not be built, a gentle Man. took him round the docks, and he said after seeing such an immense mass of ware house property, he should never open his mouth upon the sub ject ag ain. . Mr.MosiTomEar. —ln 'consequence of what Mr. Hume said, thelvarehouses were altered to the bonding system, and it Was agieed that all warehouses -built 'within 600 yards of the docks sliouldhavelheadvantageof the beading, system...lnconsequence of that agreement, a number of individuals embarked an ins. Mensri stun in the erection • of .warehouses on the faith of that promise. Mr. BiakETT—l believe.the papers were left with Mr. Hol linshead, the chairman. Mr. MoNToomitur begg,ed to second Mr. Bushby's motion. The CHAIRMAN put the resolution, which was unanimously adopted. Mr, lIILArd begged to move that for the intrpose of defray ing., , o the necessary, expenses, a subscription e now entered into, and placed iu the bank of Arthur . Heywood & Co. subject to the resolution of the committee. Mr. Was. ARLE—I should beg before that is passed to know in what way the subscription is to be raised, because 1 under derstand that sonic gentlemen last time refused to subscribe a guinea for the expenses of the room. It is unfair to pay for those who don't choose to pay. lam quite willing to pay my share. Mr. lat.ast —A very trilling rate would do it. Mr. EA Itt,s-But trifling as it is, 1 think if they will not come forward with their guinea, they will not pay. Mr. H ARBOR D-1 beg to say, as treasurer, that I received sufficient to pay all expenses; and I have been also spoken to by many of the warehouse proprietors, and many of them have consented to subscribe 5 per cent. upon the rental, but I should think if we subcribe'3 per cent. it will be sufficient. Mr. MONTGOMEH Y. —What would three per cent raise? Mr. HoLrec.—lt would produce £7200. Mr. MoNTGomEar.—l hope that. would not be required. Mr. HA R BORD.--4f it should not be required to go to Parlia ment, it will be returned to the parties subscribing. Mr. BOOT kill K.—II will always happen that some will not sub scribe; but a.sum of £6OOO or £7OOO will certainly be required if we go to Parliament, and those who put down their names for three per cent, of course, could not be Called upon for any further deinaud. Mr. EA RLB.—I merely object to the word "subscription;" I would rather that there was a rate levied. • Mr. HA ttlio RD.—I oeg to states that the committee thought of a per centage ;' but we thought ir - rather a delicate subject, and at thesame time some gentlemen 'were 'ready stibscribe more than three per cent. Mr. 13ooTtiay.—I think three per cent Will be sufficient from the majority of warehouse owners, and if the others won't sub scribe we can't help it, Mr. EA RLE.—I only want to know what w e are t o come down. I have no objection to subscribe my quota; if there are individuals shabby enough to leave us to protect their property it cannot be helped.' Mr. Haationo.—l.beg to state, that an individual says he will give £5O, and if it should be required, though he can ill afford it, he will give £5OO. Mr. EA iti.u.—Better not to make those liberal observations, many will not do it. A gentleman would not subscribe a guinea the other day. Mr. BOOTH B Y.---To shorten the discussion, I Move that a rate of three per cent on the annual rents be, subscribed, in the place of a subscription. This was seconded by Mr. I fIi.AM, and .J 9 1 1) The CHAIRMAN struck out the first part of the resolution, relating to the subscription, and substituted the amendment for ' and it-was put and carried unanimously. _ 1 . 'Mr. MONTGOSIERY rose to move as an - amendment, that two and half per cent, be the rate. •This motion was not seconded. Mr. DOVER said, I rise sir, to give some,account of the ware houses in Liverpool. It was necessary that the public should be put in some measure in possession of the facts of the case. The warebonses in the town, it was well known, belong to pri vate individuals in a majority of cases. (Mr. Dover,. who was proceeding to read from a document, was here interrupted by) The CHAIRMAN, who said, Mr. Dover had some very tin , - portant matter to read, which it was 'desirable should form a part of the proceedings of the meeting. Mr. BOOTHBY.—I am fearful, if we get into a long essay on warehouses, there may be a difference of opinion amongst us. Now, agreeing as I do, that the bill should be opposed ? I, May not agree altogether in what Mr. Dove! is stating. In 1819; I, as a• Brazilian merchant, feeling the inconvenience Olyititiell' times two-lengths cartage to bond warehouses, was a Tiarly'lii" the application tothe'dock committee for the erection of such •walehouses in the iMmediate vicinity of the - . docks, and that application failed. 'Neither the corporation nor the dock estate, nor the merchants generally, did support it. It' was sup ported by a few, and I was one who applied. Now, the very circumstance of having applied at that tune for the building of ' those warehouses, certaitily commits me and others to what would have been a convenience to the trade of the port at that time. But it also furnishes a very strong argument against the corporation now going to Parliament to do that'novi which they refused to do some years ago. (Hear.) Because, by so doing,. they haie induced me and others to build bonded warehouses; perhaps on the corporation laud,-,(hear,) —compelling us to build our own warehouses or to take others on lease. Now, they say we see this ought to have been done twenty years ago: after inviting me and others to build, they would now destroy our property. (Hear.) I merely wish to show, that, having taken that former step, I cannot altogether agree with Mr. Dover, that it will not, be a convenience to the trade; but they are not for the sake of convenience to the trade of a few indivi duals, to sacrifice the property of the warehouse owners. The dock trustees are the conservators of the property of the town, and they have no right to consult the individual interests of persons like myself. No person can deny that it will be a great saving to the merchants to have warehouses close to the docks .if it had been done originally ; - but not having been done, the collimation has no right to destroy the property which arose in c i3 o oA n oi s t eq rh.t i i y e o h,, c al ( os sRa said laoAtr. ) 11l r. tr h. a Ch s a a i v r i m ng a , n, w a e ft m ei u •li st av k in n g . h , ea t ' b rd at w i h r a w t houses be built by the town council, 'they must be adopted on' some system. If they are to be carried on o n the s y stem a d o pt=- ed by the port of London, they would, notwithStanding has been said of the port of London, be subjected to lOU per' cent. higher charges in many instances, at all events, not less than 25 per cent. it conducted' lanhat united body,: Now, com petition has brought things so lov4l have paper'' 1n my hand,,tnd fled that' the charges 611,4 p ppVtd,'Liverpook taking them, generally, are Fewer than .a1770tt,14 thel4ingdoip4At i , More reciallv the port ii Bond hgar that the doCkS.thertei, extent'that. here, and areinVati-.' ably- half empty',..4fitth:at that, thereeire;'gives•the gteaer 1 . 46, lay.. I have Inacle'hUrciA!whether it is general 'tohavg,, t incliZ, facilities to have a cargo ilikharged in a few days, and'tfteysaY. "it is . only when our hanA have nothing. to - do, When at our hands are applied td the distbaigc of the vessels; iftliis'Was not the Case, we could' discharge no quicker than„ you could. Mr. DovER.—I have been requested to go-into some particu larsattaatr e t - h t e hA e t h a t r h: e ; b io r i ( i , s u t g b h e t the committee: I be very , uninteresting ; l ag to state air fully against the warehouse•keepers have never yet been ansivered, and I do say that they should be. Mr: BObTHBY Was.of opinion they should not go into minor points, but keep to the important one of injustice to the ware house owners, who hail built on the faith of things existing as they are. This was an irresistible argument; but if they went into details as to the cost of a chest of sugar they should-never all agree. Mr. MoNToostERY moved that Mr. Dover should proceed. After a rather lengthy discussion, in which Mr. DOVER said he had written out his statement merely to ensure accuracy on points of important inforniation which he had been re quested to get by the committee, and not from any difficulty in communicating his opinions in speaking. It was also contend ed by other gentlemen that it was important that these facts should be laid befOre the public through the medium of the preis. Mr. Dover was requested to proceed. , Mr. DOVER said—l rise, sir, to give some account of the general management of warehouses in Liverpool. It is neces sary that some statement of the kind should be made in order that the public may be put in possesSion Of a true statement of the case, and • that they may be able to form a just opinion of the differences that at present, exist between the gentlemen forming this meeting mid the Dock Trustees. The warehouses in the, town, as it is Well known, belong to Private' individu a l s , i n th e ma j or i ty o f cases, out o f b us i ness ; but inme'belO ng to merchants, who fill, them with their own prodnce;. in the former case, the warehouses are let to brokers and w arehoose-keepers. the latter being a new class of persons flint the'great increase of tradelnlikefirthits . given riSoeto—of which I au-, one —and which has sprung up mainly within the last ten Y , ';l l 7s formerly, the trade; so to speak, was carried nu bYth' , hi'ok , 'rs; hot, latterly, " keening waretionse;-:". has he ,erime ti.nde of itself, many indivirinais devoting their is hole time "and ?Mention to it, ond some haying a large capita; in t 'in it. "The ; proportion in NYhich warehouiffi air hel(t L is 6 " 46 'lith 'by the merchnts; (use-fotirirel;v tin. hraers, THE LIVERPOOL STANbAkii. We should be out of the path of duty if we did not. We owe it to our families—we owe it to ourselves,—nay, we have the authority of holy writ, that we should be more than blameable if we did tot, He that provideth not for his'own, and those of his own household, is worse than an infidel." Nor can we allow of the assumption, that the dock trustees are qualified to be our arbitrators, for, from their almost exclu sive connexion with ships, they are apt to overlook all o th er in terests than that of the ship owners. It is possible that self-in terest, love of patronage, or desire of change may have some weight in their deliberations. They have little or no interest iirthe warehouses; they, therefore; may risk their experiment: if it answers—well; if not, they are no losers. `We object to the dock trustees building warehouses, on the 'ground, that they are a public body, and that it is not fair for - them, with the publi c money at t hi r command;to come into 'competition with private individuals Their powers are already Sufficiently great, monopolising, the sole privilege of making docks in the town, shutting out from that privilege the whole extent' of the shores of the Mersey, from the sand banks of Crosby to the rising town of Runcorn—from the hold shores of New Brighton to the fair domains of Sir Thomas Stanley at Eastham—all must bow before them. Now, Sir, are you pre pared to allow them to increase this almost unheard of monopo ly? Is parliament prepared to increase it? Are the Cheshire members likely to increase? J should say not. We cannot meet them upon the same terms. If to increase the value of their estate, to allow, for the sake of argument, that this scheme would increase it, they are allowed to build ware houses, why Should we not be allowed to make docks? They - may erect rfarehousp's—we cannbt claim the privilege of taxing them ; but if we were to make docks, we should be obliged to may their rates. I say, on 'that ground, we are not on a fair -footing. But, Sir, we object to their scheme of erecting ware houses on another ground. Warehouses at present are over ,alone; and as.l wish to assert nothing but what I can prove, I have taken the trouble of extracting from the brokers' circulars the account of the stocks for a period of several years-past, on the 31st Dec. each year. I have taken cotton and sugar as an example, forming, as they do, the bulk of our stocks, and they may be taken as an average of the comparative stock of other produce. COTTON-BALES. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. 313.000 295.000 203,000 '258,000 212,000 198,000 1833. • 1834. 7835. 1836. 1837. .... [BO,OOO 145,000 184,000 204,000 170,000 .... 827. 1828. -1829. SUG A 18R-HI-I ' 30. l DS. &31. 18.32. 1833 8,000 11.000 11 ; 000 10.500 10,700 10,500 13,000 1834. 18.35. 1836. 18.37. 9,000 11,000 17,000 7,000 • • These details are rather dry, but I think you will agree with me . that it is necessary to go into them. We wish, Sir, to conceal nothing; we are desirious to put the public in possession of facts that they may be able to form a just opinion of our case. From these tables, if will be seen, that in the article of cotton there has been a falling off in the stocks; that in the year 1827, the stock was more than double than in the year 1837; and in sugar, the stock was . somethitig less • and it is a notorious fact, that since 1827 the warehouses have increased one third; but, it will be asked, are there:not. goods now stored in the town that we had not in `1827?' to which we anwer—yes—tea--but how many warehouses does tea require? Why, Sir, not ten ware houses-; 'there' are - tiOt, at the present moment, more than six warehousei full with that article, and what are six out of about 1200 warehouses, for there are, at least, that number of ware houses in the port.' ' A statement - was put forth by one of our dock trustees, show ing by the return of the increase of tonnage of vessels, that the trade of the port had increased,.and hence their conclusion,. that more warehouses were required. • It cannot be denied, that the trade of the place has increased, but that has nothing to do. with. the warehouses: Warehouses are affected, not by the quantity of goods imported, but by the quantity storcd„ that if the imports were increased one hundred fold, but if the goods are not stored, or if they were stored, and did not long, remain in the warehouse,_ there would be no necessity for additional warehouses. Independently; of the result shown by my - statement of the stocks, I may mention, th at i t i s a fact welt knimn to 'every one connected with warehouses, that atthe clhse of the last year, they were not one fourth full—that they 'hik - ve' not been full for several years past, and that, if not one , More . is erected, there will bo no scarcity for several years to come. In one part of the year 1827, the stock of cotton was 450,000 bales, and, taking, into account the increase of warehouses, we have now accommodation for 600,000 bales; that is, we have room for at teast,.loo,ooo hales more the - 011ie stock at the close of the last year. And if furtiier - pro,if of the abundance of warehouses is wanted, it will be found in the . present low price of storeage; in cotton", for Tnitance, the rent was 1 1. per bale, per week in ' showinglB2s it a4fanio.liwn g fi d ~f from` 25 a eci fe%4 so ir o e e ,r kc ce:gt.o Andit was .h a a s t :consequence of this state of thingS,te all connected with ware do net low wll as s e e heuses? ruin absolute ruin, ; if some change does not soon take place. To the.*arehouie :owner a falling off in his income, already of a heavy'per tentage, and a further falling off if things sPeedilY:niOnd.J . Whilst to the warehouse occupier, his :business, which.fer several years has nut been worth following, bring hiin, if be continues in it, to•bankruptcy. Yet, in the face of these things, the dock trustees are about to erect from '2O to 25neW warehouses. ' Great stress is laid upon the saving of cartage,—now, sup posing that these '2O or 25 warehouses were to displace an equal number of the - old warehouses; the saving of cartage would be about £6OO. per annum, but.the loss of interest on the prop'erty thrown out of employment, would be £1.500; and thus there would belt positiVe loss against the Public, of nearly £4OOO. per annum, • It will scarcely be credited that the amount of cartage in wards, that is, from the ship to the warehouse, on all produce, does not amount to £30,000. per annum : and if, by the plan of erecting warehouses around the docks, the whole of the present warehouses were thrown out of employment, and the cartages saved, there would be a loss against the public. For instance, the warehouses are valued at £200,000. annually, frOm which deduct the cartage £30,000. you have a deficiency of £170,000. per annum; for surely the warehouse owner is as much entitled to be considered a part of the public as the merchant. But it will be said, that the whole of the warehouses will not he thrown out of use, but suppose half, then yon have a loss of £85,000. or suppose a ['earth, you have a loss of £42,500. Now take the advocates of the measure, upon the ground of their often re peated axiom, that " private interest should give way to public good" you have a result, in this ease against themselves, that the measure would be against the public good. It is said, further, that there are no warehouses on the dock quays. —now, if these assertions were made by persons not ac quainted with the towni• or made to persons who were not resi dent. we should not be surprised, but, when they are ,made by those who are welt acquainted with the localities of the place, and to those who reside in it, we are surprised. Why, sir, there are. at least, 114 warehouses on the dock quays,' on the east side of-the Prince's there are 25 w are h ouses , - George's Dock 32, Canning Dock 15, Salthouse Dock 20, King's Dock 17, Queen's Dock 5; with space to erect three times the number, at least, when they are wanted. -Indeed, on the far greater part of the land the owners.are tied down by the corporation to erect ware hotisesvrarid waft-11'66es 'only. It is further said, however; that there are warelitritSes required, for particular descriptions of . a onds, and great jmpertance is laid upon the necessity of erect , rug Warelieuies fur',ltidigo for which, it is asserted:there 'is a !great want. ,1 1 1, 14 'stock of indigo both here and in London, on ihe . 3lst of Dec: last wifs26.ooo chests, now, suppose we were to get the whole of the Indigo trade, there would notbe a sufficient quantity to fill half a dozen warehouses; Indigo, however, being so valuable, cartage. is no object, the re f ore, i t i s about the last thing, for whiCh th ere i s a necessity of having warehouses on the dock side. We assert, however, that • there are already warehouses in which indigo is stored, and against which I never heard a tan gible complaint; but if there really was wanting a warehouse for indig6 specially; I have, myself,' more than one warehouse, near to the north docks, and to the Exchange, for that is re ally an object, as that article is viewed in bulk by the pur chasers; I say, 1' have more than one warehouse that I am ready to devote to that purpose, whenever it is required,—a warehouse, which for light and security, will vie with any ware house in London. The warehouse, of which I speak, was erected purposely for tea, but which, to my cost, tea has not been in for many months; the .warehouse room., for that as for every other article having been sadly over done. But, sir, if this Is not enough, I beg leave to mention to you a circum stance that occurred a short' time ago. A gentleman, haying land in a convenient :situation, was about to erect a warehouse, and thinking that one might be wanted for indigo, he called upon thi importers of ,that article, telling them, that he would erect,a warehouse for the reception of indigo solely, upon an improved plan, if they would patron ise it: askip t hem at the same time to sign an agreement to that effect, 3'14 what was the result ? they all declined doing so.' In cerlboration of which, I, with your permission, will read'a letter which I have received front him upon that sub ject- • • . • • [Here Mr. Dover read a letter from Mr. Lancelot graham.' I am afraid that I shall tire you, but really.it is very import ant that. we sheuld go into these details. It has been said by one of the Dock Trustees, that if you had warehouses generally on the dock quays, von would save the expense of cartage, &c. on goods that were reshipped; at first this sounds very plausi ble. hut when you come to examine into the matter you find it rp,t Practicable ; simpese, for instance, the goods we re lyi ng in the Prince' s Dock warchouse,s, and the vessel: was , in the Aintfs Dock ; i s i t at al l li kely that s h e would haul out and gnu the risk of going d,iwn into the Prince's Dock ? why the expense, not lo olvn . lion the danger, won.1(1 prevent it ; the ex pense will , rcater tlA t o the cartaire on the goods. If th e vessel litippe t ca to he in th e same thick. this might, peAaps, be ,and one-half by the warebtilis4=lti4P*s.•_ . The - system pursued by th - e - warehnuse . -keePer 'id some cases he lets rooms out to the "inerchahts, to *limn he gives up possession of the keys; nod, in - othrs, he takes in goods, upon a weekly rent, by the package. In gen , rat he is only the store-keeper, the merchant doiug all porterage, cartage, &c., himself. The only exception (as far as my memory serves) is in the case of tea, when, generally, the warehouse-keeper does the whole work from the ship's side—porterage on the quay. cartage to the warehouse, and porterage, cooperage, laving out for sale, &c , in the warehouse, for which and for rent he receives a fixed sum from the merchant. It has been the custom, from the commencement, for the warehouse-keeper to be merely the store-keeper, with the fore going exception, why, I cannot say; the merchant has been satisfied, and we have gone on in the old way; but latterly there has been some expression of discontent, especially on the London houses, who have—it is natnral.a predilection for the London system. Now this discontent is not general, and I give as my opinion that, if it were put to the vote, merchants generally would be against it; and the Dock Trustees will find that, if they take the partial expression of dislike to our present system—of which we have heard so much of late—to be the general opinion, they will , find themselves mistaken. The merchants generally have been taken by surprise—they have not had time to think about the matter, and, at least, we may say that pnblic opinion is not up to the mark that they have anticipated it—if you van correctly so speak of a thing that may never come to pass. But, whenever the time arrives that it is the general opinion th a t th e o ld sys t em s h ou ld b e g i ven up, it I will be found that the' warehouse-keepers will be very glad to come into the arrangement. However, at this stage, I hope the Dock Trustees will not take it amiss if I tell them frankly that the proposal must not come from. them; it must emanate from some other source; 'and, if I might be allowed to name that source, I should say the different mercantile associations in the tosin—that,,however de siroua they may be to bring the system into opeirttion, it will not succeed without the aid of these bodies. The arguments in favour of our present system are, that it allows every man to look after his own affairs, and do his own business, and some think, too, that it is an economical plan. Here, Sir, I must protest against the position that our oppo nents take against us. They say, yon are interested in the question ; we cannot attend to what vou say; your opinions are of no weight in this matter. Beautiful reasoning this! Who would defend our property if we (lid, not ! Could we expect any one else tolake up the cudgels for us if we did not defend our selves ? "Surely not. We have a right to do so; if we did not, we should be worthy of the robbery and wrong meditated against us Mr. BIRKETT said he would read an article from a news paper, (the London and Liverpool Price Current, of April 27th, 1838,) stating the reason for the decay of the port of London:— " A second cause of this decay is, that merchants in the *- ports have greater facilities and advantages than merchants have in this port. There a merchant has his own special bonded warehouse, and can warehouse his own goods, which must be a great advantage and a saving of expenses iu rent and charges; here we have little else hut docks; and our merchants are subject to all the rent and charges which such establish. ments exact. Formerly, most merchants had their special bonding warehouses, but they have been discontinued for the protection of these great dock companies. " A third cause is the high navigation charges and port dues to which merchants are liable here. Look at the charges all the way up the river, and look at the port charges here, and if compared with those of the outports they will be found to be much higher. This will be found to drive trade away, for men will go to the cheapest port; and as railways are now in pro gress to transmit goods all over the kingdom, obstacles which be fore existed to going to these ports are removed and removing?, Mr. HA RBORD next rose and said,—now, gentlemen, you have just heard some of the statements of the'London merchants read; they are discontented with their arrangements; I think when I come to show you that our charges are less than the charges in . London. we shall be satisfied to remain as we now are. I beg to , state that the measaretnent of the London Docks 'are 1,221,049 square yards, and Quay room of 21,796 yards. In ' Liverpool the dock space is 417,625 square yards 74,060 yards, making in London, three times the extent of dock s p ace, and twice the extent o f quay room, In the West India docks I made the inquiries there of some practical men, and they said it was by no means that they did business so quick as we-Liver pool folks presumed, that we were a sad grumbling set; though they should by no means like to do business in the same petty fogging way as we'do here.—lt was anticipated that St. Cathe rine's dock would yield a very handsome per tentage, but the original proprietors don't receive above 2 to 21 per cent. ou their investment, though those who purchased below par re ceive 4 per cent. I shall show that the merchants having these dock-warehouses, have to pay, to use the vulgar expres sion, "through . the nose" for their accommodation. I have the . . account sales of a Liverpool house, and when I give you the figures yOu will see how the matter stands—fyr as Liverpool folks, .We know what lures are concerning ptaunds, phillings, and pence. In the article . of tea, I hold in tny.httod the account sales connected with a Scottish and Liverpool house. A vessel went 'to St. Katharine's docks, and had on board 8,51.0 chests of tea, the charges on which amounted to the enormous,suna of £2,095 6s. lid. Mr. BIRKETT.—Does that include duty. Mr. HABBORD.—No sir, it is merely tnanagement of the docks and charges. Mr. BOOTHBY.—Does that include all brokerage charges and so forth? Mr. HA RBOR D.—l will read you the charg►ea. Management rate Extra coopering materials . 152 6 1 Warehouse rent BO4 19 9 2,095 6 0 Mr. BOOTHRY.—The warehousing appears to be £3OI. Are the merchants obliged to have their management ? Mr. BIRKETT.—Yes. that is what they complain of. Mr. HARBORD now give you an account of the sal e s of some teas landed in this port. There were 3,436 chests of tea, managed in the same way as that lot I have just mentioned, which only amounts to the small sum of (exclusive of the dock and town dues) £3lB 7s. 6d., making a difference against Lon don of 200 per cent. Mr...Dovun.—For the same time ? Mr. H ARBORD.—Yes, fora similar time; for rent and for doing the same things; they are exactly upon a par for the management and for the rent. In addition to that, putting ou one side these sales accounts, I have the printed documents here of St. Katherine's Docks, showing what it is percent., and, with the printed rates of the Katherine's Docks, taking it per chest, it is just 200 eer cent. more than Liverpool. Mr. BOOTHB v.—Allow me to state that the dock charges in clude the expenses of re-shipment, and therefore the charge made to the seller may also include charges which might attach to the buyer. Mr. II A Horin.—l am fully aware of it, sir. The charges mentioned here do not form any part of those charges. The Liverpool management is three-eighths of a penny per p ound,' and we deliver to the purchaser th e same as they do i n Lo ndon. It is on the same principle as in London, and my charges are less than London,by 200 per cent. The St. Katharine's Dock Company's charge for management; landing, warehouse rent, setting out for sale, &c., is no smaller a sum than Gs. Bd. , for a bohea chest of tea, and Is. additi ona l if shipped. No w these documents are available to any gentleman who may wish to see them, at my office; they are parallel cases with London. I give vou the charges on West India sugar —the sales' account of 100 hogsheads of sugar in London. '['he charges amounted to £5O Bs. Bd. 'l'he parties were desirous of ascertaining what the charges were in Liverpool, and the following is the re- , suit :—ln Liverpool, the charges on 100 hogsheads of sugar, re maining in the house three months, amounted to £34 IBs. 6d., ,Making a difference in favour of Liverpool of 15 per cent. Mr. THOMAS FREME.—Does that include cartage? Mr. HArraoen.--Yes sir; it is the whole expense themer chant would have to incur in Liverpool, and the whole he would have to incur in London.. This is another glaring tact, because this information: was obtained in consequence of the dissatisfac tion as to the chirges of Liverpool, and the party obtaining the particulars contended that the charges in Ldndon were mode rate, and that they were enormous in Liverpool, and would not submit to them until after an investig,...etion. He took a cargo of Mauritius sugar, and compared the London rates on it with these of Liverpool, and said, after trying the experiment, We hive Mauritius sugar 15 to 20 per cent. less in Liverpool than in London, and Molasses, 25. per cent." This I have from a very respectable broker in this town, who is ready to prove the fact if needful. I wrote to Bristol for the charges there, and obtained rather a laconic reply. The rent upon sugar in Bristol, is, in some cases, from 50 to 70 per cent. more than they are at this port. Say, 4s. 6d. per hhd.; 3s. 3d. per ice. ; Is. Id. per brl., for three mouths, and we think ourselves very well off if we get Is. 9d.-per hhd. (Hear.) I think this information will be satisfactory to those gentlemen who are in terested in warehouse property, because it will show that there is no just cause fur complaint. I have also investigated into the Hull Dock charges. Here I have a list of their rates and 1 find in no instanced° they manage their business at a cheaper rate than we do. Now there is a mixture of interests. 'l'he Dock Committee take part of. the management, kit if the mer chant wishes, he can have the management of his own business. It is not a port we can quote; but looking at the rates, the charges there are no t less than those of Liverpo o l; a lth oug h, he it r emem b ere d, t hrust is assessed very heavily for the re lief of the poor. In addition to which, _I also made an inquiry as to the length of time it took to discharge a vessel of 100 to 150 tons and was informed, it would take from four to six days to discharge a vessel of that tonnage in Hull. 1 have also been requested by the committee to state the despatch given to some vessels in this port, and, in addition, to show the cause or causes for some of the detentions which have occurred. The I'hmnix cargo was landed here not long since in five days, belonging, to Messrs. Shawls. It was a general cargo from Calcutta; •the same was landed and weighed in that period, r (not as they do in London,) between 8 and 9,000 packages, besides putting 30,000 bricks on board towards her outward cargo. The Brilliant discharged, as we are aware, through the meth ern of the press, not many d a y s s i nce , ab ou t 550 packages of West India sugar, coffee, and dim, in the short space of twenty hours, which is as much as they can do at London docks, all of which was weighed, and sampled, and ready for sale, Now, have particulars of three other vessels disChatging in Liverpool. We have often heard of detention; and it is a great pity when we have beard so many accusations of those in, the town coun cil, who must hate been ignorant of the trade of the port, if a worse motive has not-been the instigation, or they would no; have made so many unjust accusations. A friend of mine, whet is owner of a vessel which arrived here not long since, with a cargo of fruit, and who bail an export cargo ready for this yes • sel as soon as the import Cargo was delivered, this cargo was kept one month on board, while the merchant or dealer was hawking the samples about to sell the cargo, and thereby making ' a warehouse of another person's vessel. Now, the watehouse keeper cannot be blamed for that. The cargo has never gone into a warehouse, but the vessel has occupied dock spare, and created. detention to other vessels. I have another friend who is part owner. He came here with a cargo of wheat, add though entitled to demurrage he:never got any i he was kept here a month, when his vessel might have been discharged in four days after hel• arrival here, therefore no fault could attach to the warehouse keepers in this instance. We should have been glad to receive the cargo into the warehouses, for we should have had the best part of a month's rent, which we have, course, of Inst. (Hear.) Another friend of mine, who was also inter ested in a vessel called the Manly, from.Monteerrat, discharged from her 308 hogsheads of sugar in the West India docks in the usual way so termed, and she was from the 13th to the, 16th of March discharging her cargo. I think we can manage` as much, if not more, in Liverpool. I have another Vessel dis charging in St. Catherine's Dock. Mr. Harboid then read a letter froin a friend stating that in answer to his inquiry, from 4to 500 packages had been discharged in two days. The dela+s were considerable, and it was three weeks before they could ob tain an account of the cargo, which prevented them making sales and settling freight. In Liverpool von are aware that 9 davit are sufficient. Twete is only one subject that we have to grapple with here, and that is we are told that welifletain vessels in Liverpool an enormous time, and invariably keep them the best part of a month. I heard a gentleman complaining of a vessel, and I took the trouble of searching the whole of the do cuments about it, and I found, although it was stated that she was detained in Liverpool 29 daysin discharging her cargo, the fact.was, it was only 16 days, acid if they had had covered vans, the custom-house o ffi cers would not have preyented them taking part of the cargo to the bonded warehouses, where the goods could have been weighed - and sampled, and she then might have been discharged in 4 or 2-thirds the time. I found she was boarded on the 21st of Nov. and reported on the 23d. , Now this unfortunate vessel we' are accused of se detaining had trot at this time got round the rock. They had dated the detention froth the time, done—though I say only perhaps—as the inconvenience and even expense would not be encountered readily by the ship. owner. But the chances are, the vessel would not be in the same doek, as it will be recollected that there are ten differeol docks, havino. no communication, one with another. But we are, happily, in this case, not left to reason froth theory. It is well known to all, the tobacco warehouse is on the quay I side of the King's Dock, and, frequently, that article is ex ported or sent coastwise; -and I have taken the trouble to as certain whether, in this case, the vessels do take in this article front the King's Dock Quay ;pad I find, that they do not; that tobacco is almost invariably carted from the tobacco ware house to vessels. The exceptions would not amount to I per cent, in 20 years.—l state this on the authority of an officer of the tobacco warehouse. Complaints are made against the systematic pilfering going on, as they say, in the warehouses,—which is not the case in Lon don. Now, for these ke of argument, admit that there is more pil fering here than in London; is it not notorious that the London charges are higher than ours? and 1 think that it is more than probable that the difference will inure thau cover what may lie lost by the merchant in that way. But as a rule, Ido not admit that the pilferage here is greater than in London. Another charge brought against us by the Dock Trustees is, that we, as warehouse-keepers, do not take any care of the goods put under our charge; and one,—an alderman,—went so far as to say, we were regardless of every thing except our own interest. In one sense he is correct, fur if we keep in view our own real interest, we will look well after the property intrusted to us, and if he meant the assertion in that sense I plead yr4ilty —but if his meaning was, that we look after our own interest only, to the neglect of that of the merchant—in my case, fur I can only answer for myself—l must be allowed to say, unelui vocally, that it is not true. If I did not take care of people's property 'under my 'charge, I should render myself liable for any loss, either from pilferage or otherwise. One alderman tells .us that he has suffered loss from .the in solvency of the.warehouse-keeper, that his goods weredistrained upon for the rent of the whole warehouse.. But whois to blame for this, surely himself, he. should be more particular as to the person to whom he intrusts the charge of his property. The same thing might happen to him in the case of his broker, or any other person whom he might employ. But if it is the general feeling that warehouses should be pu under the management of companies for the better security o goods, there can be no objection to it on the part of the ware house-owners. the tide waiter was put an board ' , ~ The vestaTail i Vel4 " „‘ • at water, , t o d oc k ' t ill t h e .27 1 h; f o ur amOre; w 7 eir44'S landing wait er ' and quay berth tw o d a y s tflore; and afterlbef cargo wa s d e li vere d it took another day to jerque her, leaving 16 days for the discharge of the cergis i . which it is said might have been reduced io cue half of that time if we had had covered vans and conveyed the cargo away the seine as teat. I have a statement of the charges immi WO chests of indigo London. at 19s. 6d. which amount to £97.,105. and in Liverpool it would be just £5O. this is 100 per cent. in. favour of Liverpool. I think if after th.S.Mr. Benn is.so much in favour of Londort;be cats not do better than go there altogether. I have.been informed of another rapid discharge of cargo in this port since those J mentioned : the Gipsy discharged 6-1(X) cheats of tea and 100 boxes of silk in 23 hours. Mr. SAMUEL HOLME said—l haYe. beefs reattested o .Mr. Chairman, to attend here this day by the committee, but the proceeding's have been extended so much by the necessary de tails, that I shall not occupy your atjention long. I believe the question .it one 'of more than oidinary impartance. I don't know, in all thy experience, that I have ever attended a meet iug in which questions of' more primary importance have been brought forward. It would be quite hypocritical inme to say that I have no personal interest in this matter, for now I do that which I believe to be the tight of every man; endeavour to proteCt my own property. I will yield to no man in my desire to see my native town progressing, and every facility given on behalf of commerce; and when necessary for me to make a sacrifice for the public good, I trust I shall be always ready to do so; but when I find a measure brought. forward which un settles mortgages, and in 'which faith is brokers with owners and lessees of warehouses, without any fair equivalent, I must op pose such a measure. I believe the foundation of all property, to be lasting must be based on theprinciple of justice; for wh en a measure is propo un d e d on theprinciple of expediency alone, it ought always to be - looked ou with jealousy, fur it is always liable to suspicion. The dock trustees intend building. fifteen warehouses, but can they atop theme ? Will they pledge thesis selves that they will stop at that number? 1 apprehend not, sir. When I am told that the average number .of vessels discharging in the port of Liverpisul 'is generally from two to three-huddred, and when I find that, only fifteen merchants could be accommodated at one time by the warehouses to be built, I ask if the remainder of the vessels to be discharged ate to wait for the accommodation, because if that is to be the case, it will only aggravate time evil which thin measure is pro posed to cure. If you admit the principle that the Dock Com mittee have a right, wielding the public funds, to compete with, individuals, the plan must be extended, and it is ridiculous to say that they will stop at erecting these fifteen warehouses. I think it is wrong in principle to compete against private indi viduals. It may be sport to them but it is death to us., It will establish a monopoly—it will lessen the value of the great bulk of property—it will be a preach of faith—and I think the Dock Trustees would he much better employed than in parliaMeatary litigation, and in endeavouring to ruin a great portion of the warehouse owners in the town. It will fetter instead of setting free the operations of commerce; and I am really surprised that gentlemen whisoarne into power declaring that trade and every thitmg should befree as the wind, can yet sanction a measure which will shackle that trade. (Hear.) I trust that those gen tlemeu who are proposing that measure will never again, for consistency's sake, r a il aga i nst t h e pr i v il ege of the East India Company, or the monopoly of the Bank of England. It will lessen the value of property; and I state from my own knows ledge 'that sales of land are almost at an end; a di ffi culty is found in borrowi ng - an equal sum to that advanced on. warehouse property ; and a state of distress will be the conse quence. To say that mdch of this is imaginary, and that those warehouses cannot to that mischief—but will they bind themselves to those? No, sir, the wedge must beinsetted at the thinnest point, and it will afterwards 4e driven home. It ought to be resisted at the outset as a "iicious principle;, the dock committ ee h ave no r i ght, as a'9inblic body, to comfka with private individuals; if they' want sheds,Aet them ttixe them, andno one will object. I believe £2O or £30,000 have already been expended by the dock truiteesio give that accom modation whi c h th e merchants see m to'. want; .but if they/so:son with the system of warehouse building, the trhole of that Nin3..:of money would be thrown away, for the whidepahese sheds, aausi be rated to the ground. • (Hear:). • 'epntut.l that I aM.•yery near the amount, wheal state that the value of the ware,hyose property of Liverpool is about £4,150,000. 11 'have made this calculation of the .value pf preperty before thii Ineasure was proceeded with; ; but if this - mensiire be Carried.on,'l have tyo hesitation in sayin g , th at i ustea d ef four million s the sv,are s tiouse property of liYi4astiol. would "nut retell three. Very . near -% ; :m Millions and a half of * thia' is mortgaged. The Ware - bee - seems worth 'more* than, three times as much as the lii4rpootonsl Manchester Railroad, the mortgages,.nre about i.6intms, *h amount, and the _ wh o l e of thi s prok ierty.is to be listenesteati4al for uiat'ptirpese? for "carrying otit.Whiit may be a.apesulanye theory, and not based on any good foundation. Now, sir, there was one gentleman .ip the council whajlated that he was a pare houte bwner, and wa s Mit r,Sgainst thenigasure. entertain for him the highest respect. I believe lie is net a very extensive warehouse owner. .when' I 'state that he does not hold more than. nue or stwo warehouses.' . I am informed_that this gentleman (Mr. frornby) was obli ge d to lower rent of one of his warehenses in the Go nin ree Piazz as tro out £3oo' to £l5O. Mr: ffolstnthen proceeded to slate that warehouse property was generally depreciated in value. They had erected some warehouses in Great Howard-street, which they had been obliged to let at a - greatly reduced rent. Corporation' land had been recently bought by. gentlemen by auction which, if now put up would not fetch two-thirds o f w h at the Corporation paid for it. He had himself bought some land near the Queen's Dock, for the erection of warehouses, for which be Aiad given £3 per square yard, and he would not now give more Oar! 30s. a square yard. Mr. Alderman Evans, who might be called the father of this measure, ha f talked of laud in Bath-street selling at £1 per square yard. -He believed that was,a mis take. He remembered Bath-street for twenty rears,, and never remembered land selling there for less than'ts a square yard. He did not believe that land there, which Mr. Alderman Evans said was worth £l2 per square yard would now sell fof £B. He thought. if this measure of the Dock Trustees were per severed in, the warehouse owners would be entitled to compen sation, and the Dock Trustees ought in common justice to com pensate them. If . this measure were carried it would increase the rates of the shopkeepers and th e town generally, because the rents of the warehouses inust„come down, and they paid one-fifth of the parish-rates; the Warehouses, at lowered rents, could. not be assessed at more than the rack-rent, and the additional tax would come upon the shopkeepers of the town. If the Dock Trustees were too plethoric of money, and did not know where to lay it out to advantage, there was au opening for them at the west side of the Salthoitse Dock. At the west side of Wapping there was nearly ailt,t 'statute titres of land close to the Custom-house, and .in a. very advantageous situation, which nobody , seemed to think of. <lI a tompanv of merchants were to purchase Ibis land, the site of the present Salthouse Dock, and a large quantity of land . whiCh forms an eddy in the river, and created an injurious deposite, two parrallel docks might be here built, and a 411 or 50 'horse power steam-engine erected at each end to discharge 'the' vessels by steam ; and he could not see any objection to this, because & number of individuals would then compete wittrindivithali. Mr. Holmes concluded amidst general applause. • Mr. Dover: stated, that complaints had been made that Lon- don possessed superior adVantages to Liverpool, in allowances being made tO wine -merchants and others, for deficiences in strength in their imports. He had ho doubt, if strong repre sentations were made twin Liverporil, that the same allowances would be made to Liverpool. •. . On the moti on o f Mr. THOPiAS PRiblE, a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Harbert! and Mr. Dover for their strenuous ex ertions on behalf of the warehouse holders; and on the motion of Mr. Thomas Freme, seconded by Mr. jehu Leyland, a vote of thanks was given to the chair Man for his conduct in thechair. The meeting then separated at shortly before four o'clock. TRADESNIEN'S CONSKKVATIVE ASSOCIATION.--The monthly; meeting of this association took place lest eveping, at the York Hotel—R. Gladstone, Est., Vice-president, in "the chair, who commenced the business by introducing the names of 48 new members. The chairman. in a very able speech, brought forward . several subjects for the future consideration of the Members. The m ee ti ng . was also addressed by M r: c oo p er , ME T. otaiebthok, Parke, Mr. Ya'nington, and M r . W. E., Gladstone, wh o ma d e some exce llent remarks upon the utility of such a society. ,It gives us great pleasure to witness the steady progress of this body. The Admission of new mem hers upon the two last occasions, amounted to 107 persons. CHESTER TisEicritE.—Mr. Raymond commences his Spring AvPpaign at the aboVe theatre on Monday next. The principal Wrsion of the Liver company are engaged. BURGLARY.—Ou Saturday night or Sunday morning some thieves effected an entrance into the house of Mr. Myers, at Aigburth. They succeeded, we -are sorry .to say, in obtaining considerable booty. They got in by the Back kitchen window, and carried off a gold watch, a considerable quantity of plate, and about £5O in money. • .. • . . LIVERPOOL liIDING SCHOOL.—In complian c e witli there. quest of '• Nimrod" we have inserted the letter of " M." which appeared originally in the Mercury. We are equally surprised with the writer that no adequate encouragement has been hitherto given in Liverpool to the establishment of a riding school. We understand that Mr. Smith, of Lime-street, is the. only professed riding master in the town, and that, although his stile of riding is acknowledged to be first-rate, he has not Met with that support to which we believe him entitled. It is to be hoped that this stigma Will soon be removed from the character of our " good old town." LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RA ILWA Y.—The nurnber of pas:° sengers taken from Birmingham during the second week was one-half greater than that of the first; and we hear !hat one or two additional trains will shortly be started, to provide accom modation for the increasing traffic. Under this arrangemen4 the Lancashire passengers will be forwarded at an earlier hour; allowing only such an interval as will be desirable for refresh-. meta, after a journey of nearly five hours, and previously tri anotherof nearly nine more ; The passengers have lately been mittuolly transferred:froin and to the respective stations of. the London and Grand Junction Companies along the ,line of coin municatiotr, with their ltiggage. Birmingham Herald. . DEATH OF THE DOWAGER COUNTESS OF WA RWlCR.—Hen rielta, the Countess Dowager of Warwick, (daughter of Rich ar d Vernon, Esq., by L a dy - Evelyn Gower, seventh daughter of John, the first. Earl Of Gower, and widow of John the first Earl of Ossory,) died on Friday last, at her residence in B r i g ht on , after an illness of considerable duration. Hec ladyship was born ib August, 1760, and consequently in her 78th year. MELANCHOLY EVENT.—Au inquest was h e ld on Thursday last,. at the Angel Inn, in Bacilli, on the body of Grace Law, 9 weeks old; who was smothered in a tot n-up bed.,, It appeared that tbh father of the deceased, Who was a shoemaker, and Worked in' the•satne room where the bed stood, before commencing work on Wednesday morning put the bed up, not knowing the child was there; and it was half an hour afterwards before the . mo- Vier discovered the fact. 'When taken out, it was qu it e d e ad . Verdict, " Accidental death." , . THE LATEST O(MM—It is privately whispered, that a eel . , tats young actor, who has recently been highly. successful in histrionic assuinptioti z is the . most likely person to win tbe heart and hand of a certain young lady, whose recent immense acquisition of wealth, owing to the death ot a celebrated duchess has excited so,much sensation in the great world.., It is well known that the lady has added the tragedian's name to her visiting list; and we are given to understand, that, .one even ing, a party was given by.the parents of the young heiress, to which many fashionahles Were eipressly invited for the purpose of being introduced to the successful actor., The report goes, that the wedding will take place at the termination of the gen tleman's present engagements.— World of Fashion. • ,• • • , ,• t DEATH OF A. Cow Ert INTOXICATION . —Liaw. ,week MT V Castle, farmer, of Northbonrne, whilst brewing .some strong ale, left a portion ofjr in what,is .called.the well to cool, when one of the cones got from the farts yard; jilt& the.place, and drank so plentifully of the potent beverage, :that she wag shortly taken ill; a farrier was sent for, who administered the proper remedies, but to no.effect,, for in a fete.houra the pout; .anyural died in estate of intoxication, a Warning to driinkards.— , Kentish Chronicle.. , A CAUTION TO MorttuEs.—On Monday Inoroing the wife of Joseph Hudson, a weaver, in George-lace; Middleton, had oc casion to go to a wedding breaktaot, about a mile from her own house. She took with her an infant, nearly ftur Iron ha old, wrapped up in a cloak; but on arriving at the wedding-house, shelouad that her child, a fine boy, was dead—no dimhii i con sequence of her wrapping it up to protect it from the fillteigi4l t•y of the weather.—Cheiter Gazette`