The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-03 00:00:00

THEATRE-1?0 7 /AL, tINDEIL Tat MANAGEXENT OF MR LIVERPOOL FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. CHAPLI2s. Second week of Mr. W J. HAMMOND PHIS present FRIDAY, the 3d instant, will be performed a domestic Drama of intense interest, called JONATHAN BRADFORD; Or, TEE MURDER AT THE_ROADSIDE Caleb Serimmidge Mr. Baker Jonathan BraClio - ;171, -- M - 1:. H. Dan Maer?4, Mr. T. Lee Ann Bradford .. Mrs. Bak9e. Sally Sighabout 4 7 E. Honner. End of the Drama, the rayon ' e Song of " Nix MY DOLLY, PALS TA E AWAY," By Mrs. Barton, Mr. P. Cro , and Chorus. A Grand Operatic Pas Seal, Miss Webster. After which, a new Farce. never acted here, called the BOARDING SCHOOL Major Marsden Captain Harcourt Mr. Chaplin .. Mr. H. Holl. Mr. W. J. Hammond .... Mrs. Clarke. James Mrs. Gros de Nap To conclude with a Pastoral. Comical Burletta, called OTHELLO TRAVESTIE, Othello. , Mr. W. J. Hammond. I lago Mr. T. Lee. Desdemona Miss E. Honner. THEATRE-ROYAL, LIVERPOOL FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. STUART. The Tragedy of CORIOLANUS—The New Play of MONEY—Mr. W. J. HAMMOND. fAN MONDAY next, Dec. 6, will be performed, fi rs t V true these three years, Shakspeare's agedy of CORIOLANUS ; Or, THE ROMAN MAT ON. Cahn Marcius Coriolanus Mr. Stuart. Cominius Mr. Chaplin. Volutn . .... Miss Cleaver. Sicinius Mr. Lynne. Virgili Mrs. Baker. First Citizen .... Mr. Baker. Valeri Mrs. Barton. Second Citizen.. Mr. Slaiter. Servilia...... Miss Webster. End of the Play, Mr. W. J. HAMMOND will sing his Original Song, called THE BATCH OF BALLADS, As sung by him three times each night, at the Strand Theatre, London. DANCING, by Master and Miss C. Webster. To conclude with Sir E. L. Bulwer's last popular Play of MONEY ; Or, THE INHERITANCE. —.Mr. Stuart. Lord Glossmore.. Mr. Lynne. Sir Frederick Blount Mr. H. Holl. Sir John Vesey, Bart., K.G., F.R.S , F.S.A.. Mr. G. Cooke. Old 'Member of the Club House.. Mr. T. Lee. Lady Franklin.. Mrs. Clarke. Georgina. Mrs. Barton. Clara. Mrs. Baker. Tickets to be had of Mr. STUART, 32, Upper Beau-street ; and at the Box-office of the Theatre. Evelyn. THEATRE-ROYAL, LIVERPOOL FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. LYNNE, First and only appearance of Mr. TILBURY.—Third Week of Mr. W. J. HAMMOND. / ON WEDNESDAY EVENING next, the Bth instant, Colman's Comedy of THE POOR GENTLEMAN. Sir Robert Bramble Doctor 011apod.. Mr. W. J. Ilismmond. Lieutenant Worthington Mr. Stuart. Corporal Foss Mr. Lynne. Stephen Harrowby Sr. Slaiter. Frederick Bramble Lucretia Mac Tab SINGING AND DANCING THE KING'S GARDENER. Monsieur Galocharde Mr. W. J. Hammond. AN ADDRESS ON THE DRAMA, written for the occasion, will be spoken by Mr. Lynne. To conclude with THE ROBBER'S WIFE. Larry O'Gig .... Mr. Lee. I Sawney Macfile .. Mr. Baker. Mark Redland Mr. Lynne. Rose Miss Cleaver. Tickets to be had of Mr. LYNlkts, 109, Richmond-row ; at the principal Music Warehouses ; and at the Box-office, where places may be taken. ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, GREAT CHARLOTTE-STREET, LIVERPOOL TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS OF / THE YEW TREE RUI/NS! THIS EVENING. (Friday,) the 3d instZt - , and TO MORROW, (baturday,) will be perforded an original and English Drama, called THE' YEW TREE RUINS; Or. the WRECK, the MISER, and the MURDERER, Valentine, Mr. Howard. I Cain Kytlr. H. Beverly. Nancy Nibble Mrs. Farman. Beatrice Pedruth After which, a new Comic Ballet, called ELECTRICITY ; Or, THE DOCTOR OUTWITTED. NEW SCENES IN THE ARENA. The whole to conclude with the Burletta, entitled the UNFINISHED GENTLEMAN. Billy Downey Mr. H. Beverly. Louisa Bloomfield.... Mrs F. Carman. Mary Chintz. An entirely New Drama of the most intense interest, which has been performed in London the whole of the present sea son, entitled ELA THE OUTCAST, is in active prepara tion, and will shortly be produced, with new Scenery, Ap pointments, &c. The Box-office open daily, from Eleven till Three, when places for Boxes may be secured on application to Mr. F. CARMAN. Centre Dress Boxes, 3s. ; Side Boxes, 2s. 6d. ,• Pit, ls. 6d ; Gallery, 6d. Se con d P r i ce at Nine &Clock ; Centre Dress Boxes, 2s. ; Side Boxes, ls. 6d. ; Pit, is. No Second Price to the Gallery. Private Boxes may be obtained. Nightly for Families. A limited number of Season Tickets. Stage Manager, Mr. H. BWVERLY, . TO CORRESPONDENTS " I 0 B" complains of the impertinence of the clerks at the Post-office. He states that a respectable young man was sent at the beginning of the week to the box-office for the letters of his employer, and, neglecting to observe whether the box was empty or not, was subjected to an exceedingly severe and humiliating rebuke, in the presence of several gentlemen who were standing around. Our correspondent states that the annoyance is frequently experienced ; but we hope this public notice of their conduct will put a stop to it in future. We have no situation for " T," but, if he still wishes for an interview, we have no objection to give him a hearing. The subject alluded to by " A B" is noticed elsewhere, but we have not room for Mr. Golightly's letter. CAR Ettnrpoot at tanbarb. FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 3, 1841 In the Liverpool Journal of Saturday there are some further observations on the School Question which seem to require that we should not dismiss the subject so soon as we intended. 'We know not that we shall have much that is novel to advance ; nor do we per ceive that our contemporary puts forth anything that is not, in strictness and in substance, met by some one or other of the positions to which we have already ad verted : however, if an old friend thinks proper to meet us with a new face, we esteem it as a sort of duty that we should let him know we are not ignorant of his devices " The Catholics ", says our contemporary, " do not say ' supersede the Bible so far as our children are concerned.' But they ask that what they believe to be the Bible shall not be superseded by what they believe not to be the Bible ; that municipal ' instruction shall not be framed so as to agree with any man's peculiar tenets ; that religion which they believe to be false shall not be taught to their children ; and all the favour ' they ask is, that their principles ' shall be free from molestation in the schools of the municipality of which they are a part. Abundant are the revenues afforded by the church of England to teach its religion and to favour its principles. Little is the need to lay the hand of thievish rapacity oa afund to which no sect has either legally or morally a better title than any other." In all but the last sentence of this passage, our con temporary only repeats what we had put forward be fore in a more formal shape —namely, the yround of Roman Catholic objection to the use of the authorised Scriptures, and on this head we are willing to abide by what we have already said in reply. As Protestants we cannot recognise the validity of the objection; we cannot suffer it to go abroad that there is any founda tion in truth for the allegation concerning our autho rised version, or give any countenance, directly or in directly, to so serious and, as we are well convinced, so unwarrantable an imputation. We repeat that the Roman Catholic only makes his case worse by calling our special attention to points which we have already well considered, and to which we cannot afford the most distant sanction without abandoning fundamental articles of our creed as Protestants. And what is the answer to this ? Why that herein consists our " bi gotry" and our " intolerance." But, in truth, bigotry and intolerance have no part in the originating motive of our procedure, or in the act itself. It is not bigot ry, it is not intolerance, to act in simple consistency with acknowledged fundamentals of that which consti tutes a man's profession. Did the Council of Liverpool consist entirely, or in the greater part, of Roman Ca tholics, we should esteem it neither bigotry nor into lerance on their part to establish schools which should harmonise in their teaching ; i n a ll essent i al articles, with Roman Catholic belief: They could scarcely do less without laying themselves open to an imputation of latitudinarianism or inconsistency. But, under ex isting circumstances, our contemporary contends that Roman Catholics have a " right" to something more than mere toleration. lie says,— something " We humbly submit th at the y have a ri g ht t o more ; that they have a r i g ht to .share in secular edu cat ion at the expense of the municipality, with other children the municipality, and that to Iraum religious tests to exclude them them is a violation of the rights of conscience, inasmuch as it makes the exercise of those rights penal to the extent of a temporal loss." With all deference to our contemporary, we deny in toto the "right" which he claims, and are ready to take issue with him on this point. Our Council is constituted upon the principle of representation, and it is, as all the world knows, of Whig and Liberal, and not of Tory construction. Our contemporary and his party have had the making of it, and if it does not work to their satisfaction, the blame must rest not upon the managers, but the makers. But being so fashioned, upon what pretence, according toall constitutional law, can the ffsitloriv lay ciLtiut to rights w4ict* utterly subversive of the principle of representation—, utterly subversive of the established principle that the minority must be in all cases ruled by the majority ? If the Roman Catholics have any such rights as our contemporary speaks of, it is plain that they cannot en- force them without an infringement of the constitution under which they consent to live, so long as a majority of the Council is opposed to them. But in fact they have no rights but such as they derive legitimately from the acts of their representatives; the reasonableness of their claims is the immediate point under discussion. To the Municipal Council is entrusted the manage ment of the funds of our body politic, and from their decree there is no appeal but to their constituents at the appointed periods of election. To them it belongs to make such an allocation of their income, or the in come of the town, (which is the same thing,) to educa tional purposes as they may think proper ; and their business it is, also, to determine what system or plan of education may be most conducive to the greatest happiness of the greatest number of the inhabitants. They determine, we will assume, that it shall be scrip tural, and sgetptural without any exception ; and in so determining, we affirm, that they do not deprive any sect of ,F right, nor dispose of the funds of the town with partiality, or, to use the language of our Radical contemporary, " lay the hand of thievish rapacity on a fund to which no sect has either legally or morally a better title than any other ;" they consult, on the con trary, for the best interests of the community at large. " How," exclaims our contemporary, " by excluding the Catholics ?" By making Christianity the basis of their system, we answer. Let them, as they actually did in the palmy days of Radicalism, adopt the latitu dinarian principle, and throw open their schools to all comers by leaving out the only certain and authorita tive source of sound moral and religious instruction— by making their educational instruction purely secular; let them do this, and content the Roman Catholics; but let them expect at the same time to be told, that they are grossly mis-spending the public income; that it is no business of theirs to provide ordinary secular instruction for any class of the community ; that it is not learned clerks but plain honest citizens that are wanting; and that from such useless and absurd ex penditure—such " thievish rapacity" and extrava gance—they must by all means desist ; that all that we are here putting in the way of hypothesis and con jecture is matter of absolute history, and has in reality taken place. "The town has been polled on the question of scriptural education, and has declared in favour of it with a voice not to be mistaken ; our present Con servative Council is its reply. Thus then the scriptural question generally is set at rest. It only remains to say, shall any sect or class be exempt from the rule ? Our contemporary, pleading this exemption for the Roman Catholics, says,— You are merely asked to recognise the actual fact, that others receive Christianity in different modifications from you ; you are not asked to cast a stigma oil your own Bible, but are asked not to rob them of theirs ; you are not asked to dispense with scriptural instruction, but you are asked to allow others to be instructed in what they believe to be scriptural truth, in like manner as you yourselves are in structed in what you believe to be such. To admit this will not stultify you ; but you will be stultified irretrievably if you make what you please to call Christianity incompatible with charity and common honesty." In addition to what we have already said on this point, we have only to observe, that if Roman Catho lics will not avail themselves of our schools, there are plenty of others who will, and that there will be no lack of pupils. We do not look upon it that merely temporal education would be of much use to Roman ists, any more than to any other class of persons, of the contemplated rank in society; and if they will not have our moral and religious instruction, they have no right to take up the room of those who will gladly abide by all our rules, and receive both. Since the few remarks were written, which appeared in our last, upon this important subject, the proceed ings of the Dock Committee, held on Monday to inves tigate the merits of the plans of Mr. Gage, have been laid before the public, accompanied with the opinions respecting them, expressed at that meeting by deputa tions from the shipowners and other associations, and with the report of Mr. Hartley, the present dock sur veyor, upon' their practicability. Still, however, we are afraid that our fellow townsmen at large, and even the mercantile portion of them, are scarcely sufficiently acquainted with the exact features of the question in dispute; and, before venturing upon any decided opi nion of our own upon it, we shall endeavour to render it intelligible in its details to such of our readers as have not had an opportunity of inspecting the various plans, without which no accurate judgment can be formed. The plan of Mr. Hartley and the Dock Committee, upon which is founded the act obtained last session— a modification, it will be remembered, of the original dock warehouse scheme of Mr. Alderman Evans and others--is one for the construction of a new dock upon the site of the ship-building yards and buildings west of, and communicating with, the Salthouse Dock and extending to the river wall. It embraces also the erec tion of warehouses round such new dock, and such an alteration of the present Salthouse Dock as, without decreasing its water space, will increase the width Gf the quay room at its south-eastern corner, by giving up a portion of that corner, where it approaches too near to the houses on the east side of the dock, and taking from the quay in return a portion of the land at the north-eastern corner, which is at present com paratively useless. In addition it is proposed also to rebuild and enlarge Nos. 2 and 3 Graving Docks, upon their present site between the small dock leased to the Manchester River Company and the Canning Dock basin ; and to widen a street called Gower-street, which runs down by the south end of Salthouse Dock to the river wall. In form, the new dock, as laid down in Mr. Hartley's plan, approaches to a square, and is en tered from the river by an entrance basin with two gates, formed by enlarging the present Canning Dock basin, with which it communicates at the north-western corner. It has also a communication on its eastern side with the Salthouse Dock. In extent these pro posed works are estimated to consist of about 3000 yards of lineal quay space, and 23 acres of water space. The warehouses to be erected consist of two piles— one running from the entrance gut at the north-western corner to the communication with the Salthouse Dock in the middle of the east side of the proposed new dock ; and the other occupying the frontage of the western, southern, and the remaining portion of the eastern side. The whole is surrounded by a street of ample width for cartage, from the back of the ware houses or from such vessels as discharge into the sheds below; and space is left on the west side for the for mation . of a marine parade in front of the river, and for the construction, if necessary, of landing steps for the accommodation of the steam-boats crossing or going up the river. The plan, or rather plans—for there are five or six different ones—submitted to the Dock Committee by Mr. Gage, and the principle of which appears to have received the approbation of a considerable portion of the mercantile interest in the town, we need not de scribe at length, after the attention which has been drawn to them by Mr. Gage himself in his pamphlet, and the more recent description of them in the report of the dock surveyor, which we published in our last. The principle upon which they are designed is nothing new to the public; and, in fact, differs only in the ex tent of its application from that upon which the present Victoria and Trafalgar Docks are constructed. To in crease the lineal quay space afforded, Mr. Gage pro poses to substitute for one square dock a number of canals of various widths, by running tongues of land into the proposed dock from east to west, by the side of which a greater number of vessels may load and discharge than is practicable in a dock covering the same area, if constructed in the ordinary square or nearly square form. In one plan he proposes to ex tend docks of this formation over the whole of the space between the Baths on George's pier, and the extreme south of the site already fixed upon, removing entirely the Graving Docks and the Manchester Dock ; and in another, which appears to be the favourite plan with many of his admirers, he arrives at his increase of lineal quay space by projecting from each side of the western face of a square dock, a pier curving inter nally, covered with warehouses fronting to the river, and provided with entrance gates in the centre. From all the attention which we have devoted to the s ubject, and having entered upon it in a perfectly un biassed spirit, we mint candidly acknowledge that we are WA satisfied with any of the various plans pro .. • • &teed, We are eariviriced that the apuv wag ut th, Salthouse Dock might be laid out with more advantage to the interests of the port, upon the principle con, tended for by Mr. Gage, than as proposed in the par liamentary. plan; and we are equally convinced that the projects of that gentleman, in detail, can never• pro duce what the public want, along with an increase of .lineal quay space,—a dock or docks capable of being efficiently worked. The defects in their proposed construction, as pointed otit in the report of the dock surveyor, are, in our judgment, established even more fully by an examination of the plans themselves than by the evidence of Mr. Hartley ; and we know that the same opinion with respect to them is entertained by other parties equally capable with hint of forming a judgment with regard to the practicability of their being worked with•advantage and convenience. We do not at all under estimate the importance of the object sought to be secured by Mr. Gage, and so 7 - urgently prayed for by the various associations—viz., an increase of available quay space in the centre of the port. On 4 the contrary, we admit it fully. But the principles by which it is to be gained are, we submit, in Mr. Gage's plans, carried to an extreme. If other docks, already existing, are wider than is requisite, those proposed by him are as much too narrow ; and would be found to be so in working. The landing spaces of 120 feet in width are equally too narrow; and when it is borne in mind that they are to be used on both sides, and have but one communication with the quay and the town, we can only come to the conclusion that constant obstructions would be the result of their adoption. And if upon both sides of these narrow slips, and fronting to the interior water space, the pro posed warehouses are to be erected, of any useful width, we cannot really imagine how cartage to and from them can go on at all in the dark alleys which they will then form. With respect to the plan of a dock with a concave face to the river, covered with warehouses, we are satisfied that, on reflection, few even of the most san- , guise supporters of Mr. Gage's projects will be found to insist upon its adoption. Without taking into con sideration the difficulty of mooring vessels safely against the convex quay within, which must strike , any impartial man who examines the position in which they are laid down in Mr. Gage's own plan,—with their bows and stern off, and only touching the wall amid ships,—the danger in case of a gale from the westward, to those placed in the circular basin outside—which, when the proposed warehouses five or six stories high are erected upon it, must be operated upon with terri fic effect, and become a perfect Maelstroom—will, we are convinced, be perfectly obvious. But, it may be said, the parties most interested in procuring an increase in the dock accommodation of the port, and best able to judge what the nature of that increase should be, have declared their support of the plans —one or other of them—laid before them by Mr. Gage; and their disapproval of that of Mr. Hart- ley, the dock surveyor. With submission we really think that this is scarcely the fact. They have ap proved the general principle, and some of the general views put forward by that gentleman; and which are no new discovery even as applied, we believe, to the very space of ground in question. The declaration of Mr. Hartley that he has supplied designs for, and strongly advocated the adoption of the same principle for several of the recent new docks ; and the fact that it is at the present hour in practice as applied to the North Dock, must be satisfactory upon this point at least. But it can scarcely be said that the mercantile bodies are very generally prepared to fall into the de tails of Mr. Gage ; and upon this very point we are afraid lest justice should not be done to the real inte rests of the town from the course proposed to be adopted by the Dock Committee. The plan of Mr. Hartley and those of Mr. Gage are to be submitted to the examination of the first engineering experience; and what may be the result of such an examination ? Why this. The crude and ad captandum plans of Mr. Gage may be rejected as impracticable, and that of Mr. Hartley pronounced the practicable working plan; and yet can it be for a moment urged that such a judgment, so arrived at, should be decisive upon the question as to the hest mode of disposing of the land before us ? We think not. -The strong manifestation of npinion to which the plans of Mr. Gage, defective in detail as we consider them, have led, cannot, or ought not, to be thus met. The feeling amongst the mercantile community that the principle of construction contend- ed for by Mr. Gage is correct, and that adopted by the Dock Committee faulty, is too prevailing to be slight ed ; and we do trust that that committee will pause before they place it beyond their power to retract. 'We are ourselves inclined to doubt whether their own plans are entirely approved by Mr. Hartley himself, although upon that gentleman's head is visited the discredit which attaches to them; and we contend, therefore, that if any plans are submitted to the judg ment of the eminent engineering experience proposed to be called in, an unfettered design from Mr. Hartley himself, and not one only which may have been pre pared more in reference to the advancement of a pet scheme of a portion of the Dock Committee than for its general advantages to the port, ought in justice to the public, and to his own professional character as well, to be amongst them. Mr. Hartley may not pos sess the " comprehensive mind" and brilliant concep tion of his competitor on this occasion; but he pos sesses what is, in the estimation of many, quite as valu able—viz., long experience, intimate local knowledge, perfect acquaintance with details of a practical nature, and considerable reputation acquired by the substan tial construction of so many enduring works around us ; and it would certainly be equally unjust that his _ . .. reputation should suffer by the construction of an ill advised work, for whose defects he is not morally re sponsible, or that, on the other hand, such a work should be borne up against public disapproval by the outward sanction of his name, if it is not, in sincerity, given to it Since the preceding remarks were in type, the report of Mr. Gage to the Dock Committee, and the proceed ' ings of that Committee at its sitting yesterday, have come before us ; and to these we appeal with confi dence, as confirming most completely the opinions which we have expressed. The evidence of the Har bour Masters is, we think, quite conclusive with re spect to the impracticability of Mr. Gage's projects ; and we can only now repeat our hope that the whole question, as to the appropriation of the valuable quay space to which they refer, will be adjudicated upon, before the Committee proceed to act upon their present design, even although approved, in, preference to those of Mr. Gage, by any engineering authority which may he called in. Our contemporary of the Liverpool 'limes, when he penned an article which appears in his last publication, must really have imagined that the community amongst which he flourishes are enveloped in worse than Cim merian darkness, or afflicted with a lamentable forget fulness of facts and dates. "The editor of the STAND ARD," asserts this veracious scribe, " is about to do what the Mail, the Times, and nearly all the other Li verpool papers did several months ago ; that is, to show that this port possesses many great advantages as a point of departure for the West Indian Mails." In reply to this pitiful and paltry effusion of spleen, we can briefly say, that it is not true that we ever allowed the editor of the Liverpool Times or of any other journal thus far to outstrip us in the advocacy of any measure of local usefulness; and a reference to our file will prove that on this very measure we were as early and as earnest in our advocacy as our contempo raries, and were favoured by being made the vehicle of conveying several most important communications to the public, in addition to our own efforts in its be half. Our contemporary observes, in conclusion, that our stirring it now " must be taken as an apology for our neglect of a subject of great importance which has already been fully discussed and explained by all our contemporaries." Indeed ! But has this important subject as yet been decided upon by the legislature, most excellent philosopher ? Is it too late even yet for the voice of this great town to be raised for the pur pose of asserting its claim to the legislative considera tion in the decision of this matter ? Not at all we think, and so thinks the world, and so think and fear, at the same time, the opponents of the claims of Liver pool to such consideration, notwithstanding the disco very of our contemporary that we are to sit down quictiy net 144# our flops% bo discussed to his satisfaction. !auso it hag Airgettly Levi ► Perhaps it will be instructive to him to read the foh lowing remarks, which we quote from a Bristol paper of last Saturday : " We happen to know that great efforts are making in Liverpool, and the several other ports interested in the West India Mail Station, and we therefore exhort our fellow-citi zens to he up and stirring in the matter. Lord Sandon and Mr. Cresswell, the indefatigable members for Liverpool, will, no doubt, labour most strenuously in favour of that town. The Town Council of Liverpool (now a Conservative body) are about to commence a systematic action, in hopes of getting the appointment conferred on their town; surely Bristol will not allow herself to slumber, cud thus forego without a manly struggle, that which even-handed justice should award her." The Times may gather from the above that the peo ple of Bristol are fully alive to the necessity of still us ing every exertion-; and it would certainly be more creditable, in any and every sincere friend to the inte rests of Liverpool, to aid in the attempt which she must make to be heard, than to sneer at and misrepre sent our efforts, which shall be continued to the end, although we should even tire the patience and offend the nice " political morality" by which our contempo rary ever guides his conduct. With respeCt to another article, which is also ad dressed to us, we shall not trouble ourselves to make any serious remarks, although its dishonesty would afford us ample ground for impeaching our contempo rary's peculiar morality. We can, in all sincerity, as sure him that ; the " tricky vein" in journalism will never succeed ultimately; and recommend him, there fore, in future, rather than misrepresent what he cannot confute in any article of ours, to wait until the Man chester Guardian, whose strictures he in general echoes, has broken ground against us. The debate which took place in the Council on Wednesday, on the subject of the Schools, and its results, have not been answerable to our expectations ; but we entertain no doubt whatever that a conclusion satisfactory to all good Conservatives will, after a short time, be arrived at., For the present, we may say that nothing has been done; and this is rather an advan tage under existing circumstances, inasmuch as the non-commission of an error is the next best thing, in ordinary affairs, to the doing of that which, after due examination, it will appear, ought to be done. We should not perhaps say that absolutely nothing has been accomplished ; for the resolution agreed to by the Committee is, so far as it goes, a step in the right direction : it is the initiative—the preliminary which is indispensable towards the introduction of that sound, religion-based system hereafter to be in troduced, or restored to the Schools. The error—if error it can be called—of the Committee consisted in submitting that resolution to the Council before they had matured the new arrangements; and with regard to these, sure we are that the sooner they put them selves in communication with the Clergy, and the more they consult with them upon the subject, the sooner will they be relieved from an onerous and re sponsible duty, and the more confident they may feel of satisfying the expectations of their constituents. It would be just as well if the subject were not again broached in the Council until a complete and definite plan shall have emanated from the Committee. Such a course will probably prevent the exhibition of crude or absurd opinions or proposals—of discordancy among members who ought to be of one mind—and of an evident want of reflection and preparedness upon the subject, such as has been but too clearly manifested by some members in the last and former discussions. The appearance of hesitation, doubt, in certitude, and vacillation, which some gentlemen feel no hesitation in displaying, is, we must say, anything but advantagelus to our common cause, whether as Conservatives or religionists, and is particularly dis • tressing to observe, as it can only have originated from defect of study and adequate investigation of the ques- tion at issue. We would that gentlemen would ask themselves, do they really expect to discover some perfect system which all parties will concur in appro ving ; are they in search of a Utopia, a philosopher's stone, or some other impossibility; or are they only looking, like mertof common sense, for the best system they eanfind—that which has fewest objections, and seems likely to do most good ? If the latter be the case, we can confidently assure them that there can be but one result to their researches, and that they will find the safest and best plan to consist in simply abiding by that system which, as Protestants and Churchmen, they would choose for their own children, and can henwhesitation in recommending for the children of the humbler classes. Are they staggered by the objection that such a sys- tern will not comprehend every religious section—that Roman Catholic priests will enter a protest against it ? What could they have expected ? They are under no obligations to follow the advice of the father confes sors of the Romish schism ; they will never be more safe than when they are keeping such gentry at a re spectful distance. They are called upon to choose be tween Liberalism and Popery on the one hand, the Bible and our established institutions on the other; and will they halt between these two opinions ? It is time for them to screw their courage to the sticking place, and set this question at rest. We do not quarrel with men for feeling great tenderness towards persons who may be excluded from the benefits of an institu- tion by reason of certain rules which, for the greater benefit of the community, it has been found necessary to establish within it, provided this tenderness do not degenerate into culpable weakness ; but there is ano ther and a more numerous body of persons to be thought of, and there are certain principles by which men are bound to abide, be the fruits what they may : duty is ours ; consequences are God's. The Municipal Council of Liverpool is not called upon to establish or endow schools for education of a merely secular character; and were they to divert the public funds to such a purpose, the inhabitants at large would have a just right to complain. They are called upon to maintain institutions in which general and religious instruction shall be combined ; and as religions are many and various, they must make a choice, they must come to a decision, they must give a preference on this subject. In doing this, they do not consult merely for a class, but for all the inhabitants in common. It is as mu , h for the interest of Roman Catholics that they should do so as for any others. They cannot establish schools for teaching Popery; it would be a most mistaken kindness towards Roman Catholics to do so; neither are they to be prevented from establishing schools for teaching from the una dulterated and unmutilated scriptures of truth, be cause Roman Catholic priests enter their protest against it. Be the consequences what they may, there is here no wrong done to any party. In coming to this decision, Protestants only act consistently as Pro testants ; and though Liberals and Papists may rail and slander, and talk of bigotry, intolerance, and so forth, it will be easier to endure such reproach, than in any degree to justify a departure from the strict law of duty or to foresee the end thereof. Our London contemporary, the Standard, brings a heavy charge against the Puseyite party. which, as it affects their moral habits and practices, they are bound to answer, either in a supplementary Tract or some other way. The charge is, that they have made re peated attempts, both by bribe and menace, to corrupt that excellent journal, and bring it over to the evil ways of Puseyism. " Never," says the able and well known editor, " in all our experience, which has not been trifling, have we been exposed to such direct as saults to induce us by base motives to prostitute our columns to the support of a cause condemned by our judgment and conscience !" Now, if such be a fruit of Puseyism, what stronger condemnation could be passed upon the doctrine. "By their fruits ye shall know them"—and this is one from the new plantation at Oxford. The virtue of other journalists and public writers has not, we fear, proved so strong as that of the editor of the Standard ; at all events, it is certain that there are now two daily papers in the metropolis who are very much the humble servants of the party — one of them an acknowledged apostate from a better profession—besides several others weekly and provin cial, and periodicals. We are not surprised at men who show themselves so unscrupulous as to means, feeling desirous of enlisting the Standard in their cause, as it is a journal in such extensive circulation, and conducted with first-rat e t a l en t ; but we greatly rejoice at the same time, as public journalists, for the honour of our profession, th at t h ere i s an integrity en gaged in the service of the public, in this department, which cannot be turned aside by the suggestions of covetousness, or the fear of an unjust revenge. LOC/1/4 LIyERPOOL INFII4.IIfARY.—In another part of our paper is advertised a sermon to be preached on Sunday next, at Tri nity Church, by the Rev. Thomas Bibby, A.M., in aid of the funds ; and it is hoped the clergy generally, who have not this year advocated the claims of so excellent a charity, will not fail to do so, as it is in need, and every way worthy of support. THE BELEVET.—Among the military officers in this neigh bourhood who have received promotion by the recent brevet are the Hon. Sir Edward Cost, who is advanced from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to that of Colonel ; Colonel George Charles D'Aguilar, C. 8., who becomes a Major- General; and Major John Arnaud, who has received the step of Lieutenant-Colonel. The ship John Taylor, from Liverpool for New Orleans, got ashore on the coast of Florida on the 21st ultimo, and went to pieces. She had one hundred and fifty passengers. all of whom landed safely on the beach. It is supposed that nearly all the cargo was lost with the vessel. SERMON IN AID OF THE LIVERPOOL FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM.—On Tuesday a sermon was preached at St. Peter's Church, by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, in aid of the funds of the above-named excellent Institution. The Mayor, attended by the Hector and Town-clerk, a number of clergymen and gentlemen, and the officers of the Corpo ration, proceeded from the Town-hall shortly before eleven o'clock, at which hour divine service was to commence. The church was well filled with a highly respectable congrega tion. The right rev. prelate delivered a most excellent and animated discourse, which was as strikingly appropriate to the occasion as admirable for the sound doctrines which it inculcated. The collection amounted to upwards of £lOB. THEATRE ROYAL.—Mr. Chaplin, we perceive, takes his benefit this evening. His labours during the season as stage manager are deserving of public support. On Monday, Mr. Stuart invites his friends to witness " Coriolanus" and " Money." Mr. Stuart, we believe, is about to deliver the course of lectures on the drama, of which we have spoken highly. They will afterwards be published by subscription. On Wednesday, it, will be perceived, Mr. Ly nne ' s b ene fit comes off. His bill is a very strong one, and embraces all the talent of the company, including Mr. Tilbury, who has volunteered for the occasion. The commissioners appointed to inquire into the mode and expense of the collection of the public revenue have se lected for their secretary, Mr. Thomas Peregrine Courtenay, of the Treasury, a gentleman qualified in every respect for the office. We hear, that Lord Granville Somerset and the other commissioners will immediately proceed to Liverpool to inquire into the revenue establishments of that great com mercial port. Mr. Courtenay, their secretary, was previously the private secretary to Sir George Clerk.—Observer. List of passengers by the steam-ship Britannia, Captain Hewitt, from Boston and Halifax to Liverpool, 16th and 18th November.—From Boston to Liverpool;—Mr. Mall and lady, Mr. Weyman and lady, Mrs. Weyman, J. K. Willmer, German Bryant, F. E. Dixon, James Playfair, J. Beivlev, Thomas Froste, John Broadbent, W. F. Oakes, J. Boyd Millen—From Halifax to Liverpool ;—Wm. Chap man, Henry Chapman, Mr. Ballantyne, Colonel Barnard, Edward Smith, Me., M`Caw, Mr. Wigraw, Mr. Rolls, C. E. Levey, Mr. Graham, Captain Lambert, Captain Alcock, Mr. Irvine.—From Boston to Halifax :—Captain Went worth, Mr. Seizer and infant, Brian O'Hara, Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb, Mr. Brown, W. S. Fyfe. PREscoT CHURCH.—The tine old parish church of Pres cot has been embellished with a most splendid chancel win dow, executed by that celebrated artist, Mr. Evans, of Shrewsbury, in which are combined the depth and richness of colouring of the ancient stained glass, with the elegance of modern design. The subject is the four Evangelists. The window is the gift of the late Miss Mary Chorley, who be queathed a surn of money to be expended for the purpose, at the death of her surviving sister, the present Miss Chorley ; and she, with a desire to carry out her sister's intentions, has not only paid the bequest, but has also most liberally contri buted to the necessary alteration in the chancel of the church, to give full effect to the window. LITHOGRAPHED VIEW OF Rocrt FDRRY.—A very talent ed young artist of the name of Tait has recently taken up his residence amongst us, and has succeeded in producing seve ral correct and beautiful views of the scenery about the town, and one or two public buildings within it. One of these, comprising Rock Ferry and the villas adjoining, is now be fore us. This interesting and beautiful spot is brought be fore the eye with a fidelity that has surprised us, even in these days of improvement. All is life in the view : the steamer on the water, and the boatmen who man her, are traced with a softness and animation which we have never seen equalled, whilst the green fields and the mansions which have sprung up within the last few years are touched off with equal ac curacy and beauty, and the water with the various objects upon it serves to impart to the whole a very cheering ap pearance. We hope this young man will meet with en couragement. 't SUICIDE.—AiI inquest was held on Wednesday, on view of the body of Mr. Joseph Johnson, of Grove-street, who bad committed suicide by hanging himself in his bed-room on the morning of the preceding day. It appeared from the evidence of a widow lady, who acted as his housekeeper, that the deceased had been engaged in some speculations, by which his circumstances were .rendered rather gloomy, and that he had been in a low and desponding state of mind for some time previous to this unfortunate occurrence. De ceased had been out of town on the preceding day, and re turned home about ten o'clock in the evening. He took some supper, and went to bed, as witness thou g ht, i n lii s usual state f mind. Witness called him about ten o'dock in the morning, but, receiving no answer, she opened the bed room door, and saw him hanging. Witness immediately gave the alarm, when officer 136 came in and cut him down. He was quite dead. The officer stated that he found the body hanging close to the window, the deceased having tied two silk handkerchiefs together, and fixed one end to an iron sup port used for securing the window blind, placing the noose at the other end round his neck. Francis Archer, Esq., sur geon, said that he had attended the deceased as medical adviser for the last two years. He had been called on to visit the deceased about two years ago. He was then suffer. ing under an attack of insanity. He recovered afterwards ; but from the knowledge he (the surgeon) possessed of the character of the deceased, he felt convinced that he had com mitted the fatal act while labouring under a fit of temporary derangement. The jury almost immediately returned a ver dict, that the deceased had hung himself while in a state of temporary insanity. DEATH FROM BURNING.—AII inquest was held on Wed nesday, before P. F. Curry, Esq., on view of the body of a female named Emma Porry, who died in the Northern Hos pital, from the effects of burning. The deceased had been servant to Miss Cay, Rodney-street, and on Sunday night, a young lady, who was in the house at the time, was alarmed by hearing a noise in the kitchen. She went down stairs to ascertain the cause, when she met the deceased coming up completely enveloped in flames. She opened the front door, and called for assistance, but deceased ran out, when a man, who was passing at the time, took off his coat and threw it round the deceased, and thus succeeded in extin guishing the flames. She was taken to the Northern Hospi tal, where she died on Tuesday. The jury returned a verdict that the deceased came by her death by burning, but in what manner her clothes caught fire there was no evidence to show. PAROCHIAL ASSESSMENTS.—A special session of her Majestys justices of the pence of the county of Lancaster, acting for the division of Kirkdale, being an adjourned ses sion from the 11th of November, was held on Wednesday, at the Clarendon-rooms, South John-street, for the purpose of hearing appeals against the rates of the several places within the said division, pursuant to the statute 6 and 7 Win. IV, c. 96. The magistrates present were—Joseph Heyworth, C. Horsfall, and Charles Birch, Esquires. The only point of any interest was an application made by Messrs. Venables and Wardle, on belalf of the licensed victuallers, for the purpose of endeavouring to stay the increase of beer-houses, by not allowing a rise in the rates at present levied upon those parties who intended to apply for beer licenses. Mr. Venables stated, that it would have been as well if the different applicants had been served with notices of his inten tion, but whatever decision the magistrates might come to on the subject, he was willing to bow to it. The magistrates gave their opinion against Mr. Venables, as they did not think the circumstances of either decreasing or increasing their rates could have any effect upon the licensed victuallers. BRUTAL ASSAULT.—A fellow named Richard Arnold, an umbrella hawker, made his appearance at the bar of the police-court, on Wednesday, for brutally assaulting a man opposite the Commercial Inn, near Gloucester-street, on the preceding evening. From the evidence of a gentleman who happened to be passing at the time, it appeared that the prisoner, was endeavouring to force himself into the Com mercial Inn, but one of the waiters succeeded in gettin g hi m out. He then seized hold of an umbrella, and struck every person within his reach. The complainant, unfortunately, happened to be passing at the time, when the prisoner turned upon him, and struck the brass point of the umbrella into his left eye, in such a manner as nearly to destroy the sight. He was ultimately secured and taken to bridewell. He was fined £5 and cost, in default of payment to be committed for two months to the house of correction. STEALING SUGAR.--John Knight, engine -tender to Messrs. Vicars and Ring, sugar-refiners, Vauxhall-road, was placed at the bar of the Police Court, on Wednesday, charged by those gentlemen with stealing about 91bs of sugar. Prom the evidence, it appeared that those gentlemen had for a length of time been subject to losses from quantities of sugar dis appearing, and of which they never could get any account. In consequence of this Mr. Ring was instructed to keep a good look-out, and, and if possible find the guilty party. On Tuesday, in consequence of what Mr. Ring had observed in the conduct of the prisoner, Mr. Vicars searched the engine-house and found the quantity of sugar stated above. When he was challenged with taking it, he confessed that he was guilty, but said it was the first time he had ever done such a thing, and begged Mr. Vicars to pardon him for once. Mr. Vicars, however, sent for a police officer and he was taken to bridewell. He was committed for trial. ANNIVERSARY OF ST. ANDREW.—On Tuesday last the annual celebration of the festival dedicated to the patron saint St. Andrew, took place at the Caledonia Hotel, Duke street. Upwards of seventy gentlemen sat down to a very sumptuous repast, prepared by the worthy Highland host Mr. Mackenzie. The chair was occupied by Murdoch Macken zie, Esq., and among other of the gentry and clergy present we observed the Rev. Dr. Ralph. and the Rev. Mr. Parke, together with many of the most respectable merchants of Liverpool. The vice-presidency was fulfilled by Ephraim Knapper, Esq., who was supported by Messrs. Richmond, M`Leod, Revis, and several others. The ordinary loyal toasts having been given from the chair—viz., " The Queen," " The Infant Prince," " His Royal Highness Prince Albert," and " The Queen Dowager," all of which were received with enthusiastic plaudits—the chairman gave " The Kirk of Scot land." The Rev, Dr. Ralph, in adverting to the church of Scotland, said that the constitution of it was such that ap pealed to the intellect and the understanding rather than the gratification of the senses, and he hoped that he, as an hum ble instrument, had exercised every effort to promote and extend the usefulness of the institution throughout life. The Rev. Mr. Parke also responded in a very admirable speech. Among other toasts and sentiments, all of which were very ably responded to, were :—The Immortal Memory of Sir Walter Scott—tile Established Church of England—the Town and Trade of Liverpool—the Land we Live in—Her Majesty's Ministers—the Members for the Borough—the Duke of Wellington—the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns—the Mayor of Liverpool —the Towc-council of Li verpool—Rev. Dr. Ralph and the Rev. Mr. Parke ; thanks to them for their good company—the Land o' Cakes—the Chairman—the Vice-chairman—our worthy Host, Mr. Mac kenzie—the Lancashire Witches. MURDER AND SUICIDE AT PENN INGTON.—The neighbour hood of Pennington, near Bolton, was thrown into a state of great excitement on Monday, in consequence of a poor woman, named Betty Thompson, having suffocated her infant child, and afterwards committed suicide. The most intense interest was manifested as to the cause of this melancholy occurence, which was attributed by some to a feeling of recklessness, arising from the extreme destitution of deceased, who was reported to have been a woman of sober and industrious habits. She occupied a cellar in Smithy-street, where she endeavoured by weaving, and occasionally washing, to support herself and four illegitimate children. • The father of the eldest (a boy about twelve years of age) being dead, and the father of the other three (a man named William Wood) having scarcely contributed anything towards their support,,deceas e d was reduced to circum s t a n c es of great distress ; and h er earnings were found altogether inadequate to supply the family with the necessaries of life. During the past week, she was reduced to a state of extreme destitution ; and having applied to Wood for some assistance, he sent her word that he would neither come to see her nor send her any help. I n about two hours afterwards, she was found hanging from a rafter in the ceiling of her cellar, and her infant daughter (usually called Elizabeth Wood) suffocated iu a mug of water. The Chad4tre Pot Ham.le will meet To.merro w day.) Dee. 4th, at Mere Hall; Monday, 6th, at Village; Wed nes d ay , B t h , at B ra dfi e ld Green ;• Thursd 9th, at Breeton Green ; Saturday, 11th, at the Three Grp hounds. Each day at half-past ten o'elock. Minshu{Z STEALING FROM THE PERSON.—Mary Hoggerty was charged, at the police-court, on Wednesday, by a Mr. liryd son, with having stolen a silver watch from his person, in the neighbourhood of Cunliffe-street, on the previous evenin4 - . It appeared that they had some conversatio❑ together, when the prisoner took the watch from his pocket, and ran off with it. He pursued her, when she threw the watch into a cellar window, where it was afterwards found by another person who had witnessed the act. She was committed for trial. • PLEDGING A GUN.—A man named Mark M'Donald, was charged on Wednesday, at the police-court, by a respectable looking person, with having pledged a gun, which was given to him in January last, to repair. It appeared, how ever, that the complainant knew four months that it was pledged, and had several times since spoken to the prisoner about it, but had not lodged any information against him until the present week. The magistrate said that he ought not to have suffered so long a time to elapse without having him apprehended, and discharged the prisoner., The new church in Warwick-street, built (as we recently noticed) by John Gladstone, Esq., was consecrated on Wed nesday by the Lord Bishop of Chester, who delivered a dis course eminently suited to the occasion from 1 Samuel 2.j, 30 v. Amongst a numerous body of the clergy present we noticed the Chancellor, and the Rev. Messrs. Dr. Tatter shall, Jones, Rawson, Hassell, Hesketh, Morrell, Nolan, Knyvett, and Townsend. The prayers were very impres sively read by Mr. Wilson, the incumbent, who promises to be of the greatest spiritual assistance to the inhabitants of the district, who have been too long deprived of the services of the church, and who, but for Mr. Gladstone's unparalleled liberality, would still be destitute of them. The decay of the teeth and gums arises from different causes, but principally it may be attributed to early neglect, ill health, and the use of tooth powders containing mineral and other deleterious acids, which give a momentary white ness to the teeth, while they corrode the enamel. The ex treme prevalence of this last cause is too well known to need comment. To this fact, indeed, is principally to be attributed the long botanical research, which was happily terminated by the most felicitous discovery ever given to the world for the preservation of the teeth, gums, and breath, viz., ROWLAND'S ODONTO or PEARL DENTIFRICE, which, as a consequent promoter of comfort and attraction, is certainly the first dentrifice of the age.—See advt. At the first annual meeting of the proprietors of the Penin sular and Oriental Steam-navigation Company, which was held on Thursday, some communications were made of con siderable public interest. It was ,atated, as not altogether improbable, that in a short period a more frequent communi cation than a monthly one might .be established, in which case the grant of £lOO,OOO made to this company by the East India Company would probably merge into a contract for the mail service. The opening of a transit by Mehemet Ali for merchandise to and from India, &c., through Egypt, was announced, and a vote of thanks to the Pasha was carried with acclamation. From the report of the condition of the company it appeared that after paying the premiums of in suring, keeping up the wear and tear of the vessels, and pay ing the dividend declared last May, there remained a surplus, out of which a further dividend of 31 per cent. for the half year was declared, and upwards of £15,000 was carried to the reserve fund. ELOCUTION.—On Tuesday evening last, Mr. Alexander Duncan, professor of elocution, delivered his first lecture (of a course of four), on this very essential and important branch of a polite and liberal education, at the Portico, Newington. The lecturer commenced by tracing the history of the art from the earliest period, and then proceeded to offer some observations on its importance as a study, and the pains taken by the ancients to excel in it. He laid down some simple rules for the management of the voice, by the adoption of which the most ordinary speaker might attain to considerable proficiency in rhetorical delivery. During the lecture, Mr. Duncan gave several illustrations from our poetical authors/some of which showed very conspicuously the transcendant talent of the lecturer, and his perfect knowledge of the art upon which he lectured. One of the illustrations,—" The Wreckers,"—wa s given in a splendid style, and had considerable effect upon the audience, which was highly respectable. DEPLORABLE EFFECTS OF DRUNKENNESS.-A woman of about twenty-five years of age, who has paid inanv previ ous visits to the police-court, was on Saturday placed at the bar, having been put into custody for safety—in other words, she had been found helplessly drunk in the streets. Mr. Dowling said, " The husband of this young woman cannot live with her. He allows her ss. a week, but she spends it in drink as soon as she gets it, and lives the remainder of the week 'as she best can. She is often, four days together, without food or shelter; and when in this state, she has twice or thrice attempted to destroy herself. There are marks on her neck of an attempt to cut her throat. She is going to destruction as fast as she can. Perhaps the best way would be to send her to the workhouse, and let her hus band pay for her maintenance." Mr. Parkinson observed that the authorities at the workhouse were already sufficiently troubled with drunken persons, and would refuse to take in one so notoriously drunken as the prisoner. The young woman said that if she were dismissed, she would not snake her appearance there again. She was discharged. • -- „ - AN UNAUTHORISED INTRUDER.—A young woman, of very respectable appearance, who hid her face in her hands, and wept violently, was, on Saturday, pl ace d a t t h e b ar o f the police-office. Mrs. Walker stated, that she went out for a quarter of an hour on the previous afternoon, and, on re turning, she found the prisoner in her house, in the custody of a neighbour. The neighbour, it appeared, had gone into Mrs. Walker's for some purpose, and found th ere th e pri soner, who was a stran ger . The girl, with some trepidation of manner, stated that she wished to see Mrs. Walker ; but after a lapse of a few moments, she began to exhibit signs of an intention to depart without seeing the object of her vist. The suspicious neighbour provokingly remarked, ” You have come to see Mrs. Walker ?" The reply was, " Yes ;" and the response, " Then llinsist upon it th a t on stop to see her." "Oh, I will call again to-morrow." " Oh, no; I cannot think of letting you go thus, for I fancy Mrs. Walker will be glad to see you, and would be angry if I let you go." " But I must go now; I cannot stop longer," said the young woman. The neighbour became resolute also, and observed, " But you shall not go now, I tell you," and straightway she placed herself, as guardian of the so-called visiter, at the door. Mrs. "Walker presently returned and found that some drawers had been opened, and several things removed during her short absence. She missed from one drawer two links of coral beads and a gold clasp. The prisoner was searched, and in her stocking was found a bunch of keys, one of which would open the outer door. Mts. Walker knew nothing of the prisoner. A middle-aged and apparently very respect able woman here rose, and addressing the magistrates, said, " She is my daughter. She has never been here before, and is the best child living. She is the only child I have got, and lam a poor widow." The prisoner was remanded until Monday. She left the dock crying bitterly, and calling out, " Oh dear, what shall I do: STEALING A MONEY LETTER..—A gentlemanly-looking young man, named Henry Edward Weaver, a clerk in the postoffice, was, on Monday, placed at the bar of the police court, on a charge of having stolen a money letter. Mr. W. A. Bond. a senior clerk at the postoffice, said, that on the 27th instant, he saw the prisoner handling a letter in a very suspicious manner. Shortly aferwards, the young man left the office, taking a letter with him, and as lie (the witness) fancied that it was the intention of the prisoner to secret the letter, be followed, brought him back, and took him into the office of Mr. Joseph Banning. He then informed Mr. Ram say of the circumstance. The letter bore the Liverpool post mark of the 27th instant, and was directed to Mrs. Franceys, Ross-street, Dumfries. It would have gone away on the following morning, at three o'clock. Mr. John Ramsay, superintendent of the missing letters department in London, stated that complaints having been made, at the General Postoftice, of the non-delivery of money letters posted at Liverpool, he was sent down hither by his lordship. When he was informed of the facts narrated by Mr. Bond, he went into the office where the prisoner was, and said he had reason to fear that a letter was missing. The young man at once said, " I confess all," and produced the letter. 'Witness inquired, " Whatever could have induced you to do such a thing ?" The young man replied, " I took it for the purpose of stealing the money." The letter apparently contained coin. The prisoner was comm itt e d t o t a k e h is trial. THE SOIREE AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION.—The first soiree of the 'season at the Royal Institution, Colquitt-street, took place on Tuesday evening. J. Brooks Yates, Esq., in the chair, supported by Dr. Freckleton, W. Winstanley, Esq., and S. Turner, Esq. The principal attraction of the even ing was Mr. Haydon's lecture on the Life and Character of Sir David Wilkie. The talented artist gave an admirable memoir of his lamented friend and fellow-student, illustrat ing his recital with numerous pleasant and amusing anecdotes. The lecture occupied upwards of an hour and a half, during which thee the audience evinced the utmost attention and pleasure. The company was not so numerous as on former occasions. We have no doubt that the next, at which Mr. White will deliver a lecture on music, will prove very attrac tive. The promenade was enlivened by the sweet notes of the seraphine, kindly lent by E. Hardman, Esq., and played upon by Mr. Davis. We cannot help remarking, however, that if a good band were placed in the vestibule, these soirees would go off with more eclat. Several very beautiful speci mens of iron work, lent by the Coalbrookdale Iron Company, attracted great attention. Some very choice specimens of fine art were also lent by Dr. Reynolds and Joseph Brooks Yates, Esq. In the theatre several prints, after Wilkie, were hung up, from the collection of Mr. Mayer, to illus trate the lecture. We noticed also some fine paintings sent in by Mr. Winstanley and Mr. Palmer. We had the plea sure of inspecting the coins presented by her Majesty to the institution, being part of the Cuerdale Treasure Trove, which excited so much attention last year,—they are very fine specimens. We were greatly struck by a paint ing sent in by Mr. Huggins, the young artist, (whose " Daniel in the Liuns' Den, " we drew attention to some time ago, now exhibiting in the Post-office Gallery.) The subject is " Satyrane stealing the Lioness's Cubs," from Spencer's Faerie Queen. It i s rea ll y a very clever work, and displays not only talent but genius. The picture is composed of Satyrane, a female figure, the lion, lioness, and cubs. Satyrane is holding up one of the cubs at arm's length, while he defies the angry mother. The lion is seen springing through the gap, with a cub in its mouth, while the figure of the lady crouches in an attitude of the most intense agony on a band, a spectatress of the appalling scene. The picture is finely conceived. The attitude of the man is bold, spirited, and life-like—stern, full of courage and determination. The animals are really wonderfully painted. The lion, springing through the gap, appears without exaggeration to be coming from the canvas. The position of the lioness is beautifully managed for effect; rage, fear, and revenge are cleverly ex pressed in her countenance. She has all " the wish to wound but fears to strike' The artist has given that surprizing fire in the eye, that we Ave noticed before as peculiar to him, in this picture, not only in the animal but in the man also. The cubs are equally well drawn and painted. This picture attracted much and deserved attention. It shows a freshness of intellect, the forerunner of greater things. The company promenaded the rooms till eleven o'clock, apparently much pleased with their evening's entertainment. The following were amongst the company :—John Leyland, Esq., and the Misses Leyland ; Samuel Gair, Esq., and Lady and Miss Gair; Geo. Freckleton, Esq., M.D., and Lady, and Geo. Freckleton, jun. Esq ; Jos. B. Yates, Esq., and the Misses Yates ; Samuel Bright. Esq. ; Miss Bright ; Miss Heywood ; Miss Cumberland ; R. D. Heywood, Esq. ; Samuel Tur ner, Esq. ; Miss Trower ; Weber, Esq. and Lady ; Dr. Scott ; Dr. Duncan ; Dr. Drysdale • Rev. J. H. Shaw a n d Lady ,• Wm. Rathbone, j un . E sq . ; br. Carson, Lady, and Miss Carson ; W. S. Roscoe, Esq. • Snowball, Esq. and Lady ; James Smith, Esq. and Lady ; Samuel Kearsley, Esq. ; Rev. Thos. Dwyer; Geo. Ramsden, Esq. and Lady; Win. Wilson, Esq., Lady, and Miss Wilson ; Mrs. Smith ; Chas. Inman, Esq., Wm. Inman, Esq. and R. Inman, Esq. Thos. Winstanley, Esq. Lady, and the Misses Winstanley ; Mrs. Reeves ; John Marriott, Esq. ; Mrs. Sykes ; Raw lins, Esq. ; R. C. Rawlins, Esq.l Miss Rawlins ; Miss Hunt; Wm. Reynolds, Esq. M.D., and Lady ; Ri c h ar d Rathbone, E sq ., L a d y , an d th e Mi sses Rathbone ; R. R. Rathbone, Esq. ; John Taylor, Esq. and L a d y ; M iss Mar shall; Joh n Ed en , E sq . an d Lady; S. T. Winstanley, Esq. and Lady ; the Misses Rimmer ; John Askew, Esq. ; James Campbell, Esq. and Lady ; M. D. Lowndes, Esq. Lady, and Mr. Lownde, jun. ; Mrs. Rector Campbell ; Bulkeley Johnson, Esq. a nd Lady; , E. Fletche r , E sq. and the Misses Fletcher; A. Swainson, sq•, Lady, a n d t h e M isses Swain son ; J. G. S wa i ns on, Esq., Lady, an d Mi ss Swainson ; C. Barber, Esq., Lady, and the Misses Barber L. H. Stewart, Esq. and Lady ; Yates, Esq. and Lady ; L. H. Samuel, Esq. and Lady • D. J. Jackson, E sq. and Lady ; Samuel, Esq. and the Misses Samuel Dr. Cohen ; David Gladstone, Esq. ; F. Yaniwiecz, Esq., 84. &c. DrAPENtARY ?OR CONAVMPTION AND DlagAte OF 1. " .7. —The importance of this institution may he known from the fact that from Nov. 22nd to Nov. 29th, two hundred and twenty-three patients have had advice, and, number of cases, me di c i ne . Th e num b er o f cases of asthma daily obtaining reli e f, average a b ou t t wen ty. W e perceive by Mr. Cronin' s a d ver ti semen t, hi s wor k on as th ma will be published the e n d o f nex t wee k. in the greater LIEU REV. THOMAS NOLAN.—This gentleman who has only been a resident in the town a few montits, has made a deep impression, not on ly upon hi s own congrega ti on , which is now one of the most numerous in Liverpool, but also upon every member of the Protestant community. A few mem bers of his flock have recently presented him with a pocket communion service, as a small testimony of their gratitude i for his mi n t s t er i a l f a ithf u l ness an d perseverance . It s also intended, we u n d ers t an d, t o en l arge t h e c h urc h by a n addi tional west end gallery, as the building is already too small for the accommodation of those who are desirous of bene fitting by the scriptural ministrations of this talented and devoted minister. The parishioners of Ohlswinford have presented their late curate, the a ßev. Steph en C ragg , w ith a purse o f forty sove reigns and copy of the English Hexapla, elegantly bound, as a token of respect and esteem on his relinquishing the curacy of the parish, the duties of which office he has dis charged with exemplary diligence during a period of nearly six years.— Worcester Journal. [Mr. Cragg is now Chap lain of the Workhouse in this town, and his labours amongst the poor are incessant.] VESTRY MEETING.—A vestry meeting of the inhabitants was held in St. Nicholas' Church yesterday, for the purpose of electing a collector of poor's rates in the place of Mr. Gibson, who has resigned the office. Three candidate! , Messrs. Bradshaw, Newell, and Burrell were duly nomi nated and seconded, and on a show of hands Mr. Bradshaw was elected, when Mr. Joseph Davenport demanded a poi!, which will commence this morning at the Sessions House, at tea o'clock. A SKETCH IN THE TOWN COUNCIL. The principal feature of the proceedings on WednesdaY was, of course, the debate upon what Mr. Thomas Bolton styles the " eddication" question. An amusing preliminary skirmish, however, took place upon the question of increasing the salary of the Superintendent of St. James's Market, in which Mr. Alderman Evans displayed, as usual, the extreme largeness of his opinion of himself. "It was I who lowered this salary," exclaimed the magnificent alderman ; ergo-- the council must not object to raise it at my suggestion. Mr. Alderman Evans may be, and, we have no doubt, is, a very clever personage ; but he mistakes most sadly his changed position in the council since those palmy days when he might, indeed, have said in the lofty verbiage of Coriolanus that— " Like an eagle in a dove cot, I Fluttered your Volscians in Corioli." At present, however, his attempts to play the Roman, or to imitate the grandeur of the Bird of Jove, only remind us of the attempt of a dwarf to enact the former, or of a turkey cock to imitate the latter. Poor Francis Jordan! Reader, have you ever seen the countenance of a mastiff, when in the act of being " choked off" from some dainty morsel which he has abstracted from the larder or from a butcher's stall? If you have, we need scarcely describe to you that of the " old campaigner," when the snug piece of patronage in favour of his market protogee was wrested by the voice of the council from his very jaws. By the bye, whilst on this subject, will Mr. Alderman Evans, who " is versed in the biography of superintendents of,:markets," give us a chapter, in any work with which he may occupy his forthcoming leisure, of the biography of members of market committees ? Such a chapter would contain some " moving accidents by flood and field," which would well repay perusal. But come we now to the question of questions, which is the " Eddication" question ; and first of all let us briefly pay our respects to Mr. John Smith, and his efforts to " establish the Conservative cause" by establishing Juvenile Maynootla for training in the ways of the old Lady of Babylon the chil dren of our Irish working population. Now we must say that we infinitely prefer this throwing off the mask, discarding prin ciple altogether, and returning to the paths of Radicalism, which he once, if we mistake not, adorned, and from which he must have strayed in a thoughtless hour, to the sly, truckling, temporizing policy which was hinted at by some other pseudo Conservatives. We know the meaning of a man who could propose to cut the Gordian knot of this important question, by a proposal so monstrous as that of Mr. Smith. We know that such a man is not a Protestant Conservative ; that his professed attachment to the constitution of his country is a hollow mockery ; and we know too what to do with such men when they again present themselves to solicit the suffrages of their fellow townsmen. What a contrast is presented between the conservatism of Mr. John Smith—that spurious thing which would fondle with popery itself for expediency's sake—and the manly, avowed, straightforward conservatism evinced on this oc casion by Mr. Harbord ! Oh, how we hate to see this beating about the bush—this fear of the avowal of the very principles which have placed them in the Council—the attempts to conciliate what never can be conciliated, unless it gets all its own way—which were but too evident on the part of more than one, or half a dozen, of the conservatives at this meeting ! Amongst these, however, is not Mr. Harbord ; and his ad dress, though divested of every thing which the most fastidious " liberal" could !object to on the score of uncharitableness, was sound and Protestant, and entirely to the point. One would really almost imagine from the zeal w ith which the present system--the infidel system —we are not afraid of calling it by its proper name, though some conservatives may be—laid down for the Corporation Schools, by the late Education Committee, is defended by Mr. Thomas Bolton, that the worthy ex-mayor had some strong personal interests in maintaining it. No man of ordinary nerve could have ventured to have expatiated upon the eminence for literary abilities (I) of the gentlemen who have figured upon that committee of consummate quackery. But, per haps, it is "in the bond." Popery beslavers at its meetings the " liberal" ex-mayor of Liverpool; and upon the princi ple of " caw me—caw thee," the same ex-functionary is the subservient and active agent in forwarding the designs of Popery in the Corporation Schools. In strong contrast with the pertinacious hostility displayed by the common-sense Mr. Bolton against any interference with the resolutions of the eminent literati of the late Edu cation Committee, how can we omit to notice the " gentle dulness" of Mr. Gibraltar Bright, or Mr. bright Gibraltar, who is most assuredly, in his own estimation, a comet of no ordinary magnitude. This luminous gentleman informed the council that he would endeavour to avoid saying anything likely to create—what does the reader suppose? why, 4rcite tnent Mr. Bright of Gibraltar will not create excitement— not set the Thames, or the Mersey, or the Docks on fire, or the fishes in them agape with awe and astonishment ! Hea ven help the poor man ; why, he couldn't excite a silly mouse to commit a petit larceny upon a piece of cheese—a fly to make an inroad upon a treacle pot, or a Tom cat to dip his whiskers into a bowl of cream. Excitement ! Oh, murder. But Mr. Geo. Hall Lawrence ; what shall we say of his long and studied display ? How shall we describe that which is neither fish, fowl, flesh, substance, shadow, or anything else, visible or tangible—which is neither conservative, radi cal, popish, nor Scocinian ; but a jumble of everything under the sun—a collection of negatives, which, in perfect spite of Lindley Murray, do not, after all, make an affirmative Really, Mr. Geo. Hall Lawrence, we do not very accurately comprehend your "conservatism liberalised ". We cannot at all discover what you would be at, or how you would get to it. Some day or other, no doubt, we shall be enlightened ; but at present your views are a problem which we cannot solve ; and we therefore must, in sorrow, give it up. But we say no more. We trust that we have misunderstood the leaning of Mr. Lawrence's opinions, for, in sincere truth, we have always hoped better things from him. But why torture us with these ambiguities of speech, when one manly, straightforward word would settle all our doubts ? We cannot even glance at the sayings and doings of a num ber of other gentlemen who figured upon this occasion, and describe the animation of tone and manner with which Mr. James Aiken pointed out religion as the cause of "throat-cut ting," blood, and murder, and the direct road to a " lunatic asylum;"—how Mr. Turner, in a maiden speech—most conci liatory, bland, and shaky—drew down the gratulations of Mr. Alderman Earle—how that gentleman himself fretted, fid getted, jumped up and sat down—played as many antics as a whole menagerie of monkeys—chattered as much broken nonsense and impertinence as a whole aviary of parrots, par roquets, cockatoos, and magpies, and finally exploded and sate down again, in a cloud of steam, and smoke, and dust mingled together;--how Mr. Mellor uttered a vast quantity of inconsequential trash, which trickled from him like the gin from a half-empty cask when the vent-plug is stopped up and the cock foul—how Mr. Alderman Evans jerked out his cock-a-doodle-doo, and threw his arms about in graceful imi tation of the motions of the telegraph —bow Mr. Robinson declared that the Irish extracts were copied verbatim through out from the authorized version of the Bible, and fifty other extravagances committed upon the occasion ; but turn at once to the more gratifying contemplation of the conduct of the few who, " Amongst the faithless, faithful only found," stood fast to their Protestantism, and presented an unbroken front to the stream of conciliation, expediency, and truck ling to " liberalism" by which they were surrounded. We need not select names, which will be found in our report ; but we must single out one, Mr. David Hodgson, against whom, in especial, the taunts, and the sneers of the whole faction were directed, and who yet stood unyielding, return ing taunt for taunt, scorn for scorn. Nothing could be more dignified than the stern intrepidity of demeanor which characterized Mr. Hodgson—nothing could be more cutting than the rebuke which his firmness under obloquy and misrepresentation presented to those - - conservatives who held back in the hour of trial—. " those trembling cowards who forsook their master"— except that which he administered to "Liberalism," when he asked why those gentlemen, who dilated with such mawkish affectation of charity towards the Roman Catholic poor, did not go to their own pockets,—as the conservatives had done when the children of the protestant poo r h a d b een thrust out there corporatio nby the Lib era l Ed ucation to dip their fingers into c of orn th m e i s t c te h e olls in o s f te t a n d e ofcoming the pockets of the public , for the wh erew i t h to gratify their abounding charity. Under this rebuke even the restless Mr. William Earle was stilled. We could have taken his likeness by the photographic process, or modelled him in wax, as a companion for Hilli-onne Palmerston, or Mehemet Ali, in the exhibition of Tussaud. The result of the division need we describe? It was pictured in the chuckling expression visible upon the faces of the entire radical body in the council; and it kas struck a chill into the heart of ever y true Conservative out of doors! rest Sen cea, bus thei to t purl siral prat the I vane that Ile 1 Com cludi super wide ant t time of 11/1 the c MI to be raise( most Was in 18: 3d,; .:113 . 1 died, the r( Mr. I oceup thong might Jame the ua Mr than 1 superi the in; The The o comm " It to disc Corpoi shall u ,and sh neginn Pool b( cannot wheret tendini cont en .' , The oeh a lf Fishe r Mr, moved confirn Mr. M r. tion Ci rescind passed rules a: Would Hodgs( yield tc ber of chance _ Mr. , fervour of desir schools rest, th use of structic conside use of t Mr. thin gs Mr. forwarci thssenti Motion labour, on the men wl system, examine that wll Roman Yet una resolves lnittee I th em . Mr.? fore. r. ings of ever be , but r. tha reason teed.