The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-29 00:00:00

es; 1a Rh ice led Ate um ish ins ave ion ent ritY leo) her RELIEF OP THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THE THAMES STEAM-VESSEL.—Alderman Pirie yesterday stated to the Lord Mayor that a distinguished member of Lloyd's had signified his willing ness to receive subsCriptions f or th e di s t resse d widows, orp hans, and other relatives of the un f or t una t e crew w h o per i shed in t hel Thames steamer on the 4th of January. It was, he observed, unne cessary to detail the particulars, as the public papers had so fully stated the nature and horrors of the disaster; but his great object in coming forward on this occasion was to assure his Lordship, and through his Lordship the public, that the necessities of the relatives of the poor fellows who were lost were very great, and had unquestionable claim's upon the sympathies of all good men. The Lord Mayor expressed high gritification at the exertions which the highest charac ters in the city were determined to make to raise a subscrip tion for such objects as the alderman so humanely repre sented, and stated that he bad no doubt of the result.—Times of Weilnesday.—[ln addition to the above, we have the gra tification of stating, that the Queen, with her usual benevo lenCe, has liberally remitted thirty pounds to be added to the fund collecting in Liverpool, for the widows and children left by the unfortunate crew of the Thatnes.-1 THE LAST SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT. —On Tuesday the last subscriptign concert of the season took place, and was fashionably and well attended. Some disappointment, how ever, was experienced in consequence of the nos-appearance of Herr Koenig, who was announced to perform on the cor nopean between the first and second parts. An explanation was given to the gallery, which had not been informed upon the subject of that gentleman's non-appearance, the other parts of the house having been freely supplied with a circular, con taining the correspondence between Mr. Ashton and Herr Koenig, who having, on the 20th instant, accepted an en gagement to be present at the concert on Tuesday evening, was compelled, in consequence of arrangements with the lessee of Drury-lane Theatre, to relinquish his engagement with Mr. Ashton, though, according to Harr Komug's state ment, •Mr. Eliason had permitted him to appear in Liver pool, but, for some reason unexplained, he (Mr. Eliason) was compelled to retract the permission. This appears to us to completely exonerate Mr. Ashton from blame, and it ap pears to us that Mr. Eliason is the only person on whom it should rest. Mr. Ashton, we believe, would be the last man to countenance an imposture of any kind. But to the con cert :—The overture to Masaniello was admirably played. The trio " This Magic-wove Scarf," from Barnet's opera of the " Mountain Sylph," was delightfully sung by Miss Ro mer and Messrs. Makin and Harrison. We cannot say much for Mr. Harrison's " All is lost now.". Wood and Templeton have made too vivid an impression upon our minds to relish this charming composition from any but able voices. Miss Romer, in the aria " Prendi per me," quite char me d h er hearers. liorseley's " Tempest" was cleverly sung by Mr. Mackin. The Grand Duet by Mrs. and Miss St. Albin was the leading feature of the evening. Of Mrs. St. Albin it is needless to speak : her brilliant execution and great taste is too well known to require comment. Miss St. Albin appears to be a most promising peanofortiste. The chorus " Now trump," was encored. 1 44 ,,eld a sem" was deliciously sung by Miss Romer and Mr. Machin. It really was very capitally done. The second part commenced with a pleasant little interruption, which on su b siding was succee d e d by Weber's " J u bil ee " overture. The duet " Loy.; and War," by Mr. Machin and Mr. Harrison, went off flatly. The song " Young Spring" was encored, Miss Romer sung it very charmingly. Thalberg's Prayer, from 111056 in Egitto, by Mrs. St. Alb in, quite eleet rified.the audience, her execution and power is astonishing. Mrs. St. Albin has no English compeers of h er own sex upon the piano-forte, perhaps few foreign even. M r. Machin's " Gather ye rosebuds, " was deservedly encored, as was al s o H er old's (not Rooke's, as in the programme) " "l'is really very strange." We have no doubt there will be many grumblers upon this occasion, in consequence of Herr Koenig; but when the difficulties to be enco untered, and t h e many tastesto be gratified by the manager of these concerts, are considered, —taking the series altoge ther, we have little hesitation in saying, that there is a debt of gratitude due to him for providing some very delightful entertainments; and if faults have existed, they are over whelmingly counterbalanced by the pleasure afforded. Few men would t a k e the trouble, Mr. Ashton has, for so little profit. If the affair had been got up by a committee, we suspect far less gratification would have been obtained. MR. EGERTON'S BENEFIT AT THE AMPIIITFIEATRE.— We beg to draw the attention of our readers who support the theatres to Mr. Egerton's announcement, that his benefit will take place on Monday next. Under the circumstances ill which Mr. Egerton is now placed, in respect to the T heatre-Royal's patent, and considering the great outlay of money which has taken place in rendering the Amphitheatre a pleasant place of public resort, we think that some very strong, demonstratio n oug ht t o b e ma d e i n M r . E ger t on ' s behalf. His theatre must be closed, if we understood the matter rightly, almost immediately, and at a time when a re turn ought to be looked for. The case, therefore, presses most hardly upon him. The public have bean highly grati fied with the entertainments at the Amphitheatre, as is clearly shown by the excellence of the attendance. We trust that those who have enjoyed themselves will not now forget to show Mr. Egerton the estimation in which he is held, al though a stranger in Liverpool. The excellence of the dramas prOduced, and the spirit with which they have been put upon the stage, fairly entitle him to expect that pit, boxes, and gallery, will be filled in every " nook, hole, arid corner." The bill of fare, to use a common expression, is most attractive. " Mazeppa" has been prepared in a style almost unparalleled in Liverpool, whether for scenery, dresses, or decorations ; while the afterpiece of " Cherry and Fair Star" has been got up regardless of expense. We hope that Monday night will prove a real benefit. FIRE IN LANCELOT'S HEY. --On Wednesday night, about half-past eleven o'clock, an alarming fire broke out in the office of Messrs. Vianna and Jones, in Lancelot's Hey, which threatened to communicate with the warehouses ad jacent ; but by the timely arrival of the fire-engines it was subdued, and confined to the above premises. The spirit vaults underneath, occupied by Mr. Cearns, were partially damaged. The premises we understand are fully insured. Tut BOTANIC GARDEN.—We are glad to learn that the Botanic Garden, with its conservatories and library, is now rendered available to the respectable tradespeople of the town, by the proprietors having judiciously determined to issue to subscribers, family tickets, at one guinea per annum. We believe that this measure was adopted in order that all might enjoy the hthilthful and elevating pleasures of this de- . lightful institution ; and we trust that the liberality of the proprietors will be duly appreciated by the public. STABRlNG.—Yesterday, at the police-court, two boys, James Norris and Edward Williams, who had been remanded from Monday, owing to the illness of the person whom they had aurattulted, were placed at the bar charged with having attacked a man named Chadwick. It appeared the com plainant, without giving provocation, was pushed in the street by the prisoners and two others.' He gave one of them a tap on the head, when the prisoners assaulted him, and Norris, who was seen with an open jack-knife in his hand, stabbed him behind inflicting upon hi m a sev ere wound, which had confined him for several days. The prisoners denied the charge; b ut the evidence was clear against them. One of, them had been committed five times, and the other fifteen times. They were committed for trial at the sessions. MRS. WAYLEIT'S BENEFIT, LIVER. —Mrs. Waylett takes h er b ene fi t at t h e Li ver to-n i g ht, on the close of her virs . second enga gement . H er bill i s a very good one. Waylett's son gs are gus h es o f melody !, and are " Fascinate sages.' We perceive that Mr. Hoskins has consented to play Peter Spyke, in the " Loan of a Lover." There will be doubtless an excellent house. LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY The annual general meeting of this company took place on Wednesday, at the Cotton Sales-room, in the Exchange buildings. Charles Lawrence, Esq., chairman of the board of directors, presided.. The report of the director-ft, and the accounts of the receipts and disbursements, were read. These shewed, notwithstand ing the diminution of traffic and travelling, owing to the stag nation of trade and other causes adverted to in the report, a considerable increase over the nett proceeds of the corre sponding period of last year. They were approved of by the meeting. A dividend at the rate of £5 per cent. was made for the half year ending 31st December last; and a first instalment, at the rate of £2 per share upon the £3OO shares, and of 4s. per share upon the original quarter shares, being a portion of the interest to which those shares (only) are entitled, was likewise ordered to be paid to the proprietors of those shares out of the surplus fund. The attention of the meeting was then called by Mr. Alston and Mr. Coglan to the following paragraph in the report : " The last circumstance which the directors will mention, as having diminished to some extent the travelling by rail way, is the temporary want of confidence in the security of that mode of conveyance. The directors deeply regret the railway accidents which have occasioned this apprehension in the public mind. In the sudden developernent and ex tension of this new mode of locomotion—in the marvellous transition from a speed of ten miles to that of thiity miles an hour —though we may regret, perhaps we can hardly wonder, that newly-opened lines have not been altogether exempt from accidents. The earnest attention of railway manage ments is turned to the consideration of the best means of making railway conveyance as pre-eminently safe, as it is decidedly cheap and expeditious ; and the directors have the fullest confidence in the accomplishment of this great object, if indeed, taking a fair comparison, it be not already attained. It is a circumstance worthy of remark and congratulation, that the frequency of accidents seems to be in no way con nected with the increase of traffic on any railway ; those lines where the traffic is the largest in the kingdom having 'been for a long time almost free from these casualties. In the last twelve months, one million and fifty-two thousand passengers have been conveyed on the Liverpool and Man chester Line, with but one accident, which befel a passenger who recklessly jumped out of a second-class carriage when at full speed, to save a few miles' walking from the next stopping-place. It would seem that the necessity for con stant vigilance and unremitting care on the part of the en ginemen, policemen, &c., owing to the almost continuous movement of a large traffic, produces as its consequence that habit of vigilance, and that intuitive caution, on which the secu rity of railway travelling must at all times materially depend. Connected with this subject, the directors are h a ppy to refer to the General Railway Conference which was held at Birmingham, on Tuesday the 19th instant, the object of which was to consider and devise the means of increased safety to railway travelling. The resolutions passed at the conference have appeared in the public papers, and copies of the proceedings may be 6btained at the Treasurer's office by proprietors feeling an interest in the subject." The thanks of the proprietors were unanimously voted to the directors, and to their managers and assistants, for their vigilant anti skilful management of the line, and for their care and unremitting attention in these respects. Charles Lawrence, Hardman Earle, Thomas Sands, and John Cropper, jun., Esqrs., (nominated by the proprietors,) and James Loch, Esq., (nominated by the Duke of Suther land,) being the five directors going out of office by rotation, the first four gentlemen above-named were unanimously re elected directors. It appears from the statement of accounts submitted to the meeting, that the receipts for the half-year ending Dec. 31, 1840, were as following :—from the coaching depart ment, £81,713. 3s. 2d.; from the carriage of merchandise, £54,901. 4s. 10d.; and from the carriage of coal, £2709. Os. 7d.; mating a total of £139,323. Bs. 7d. The expenditure for the same period amounted to £68,694. 75.; leaving a nett profit of £70,629. Is. 7d. BRITISH INDIA SUGAR COMPANY. —We shall soon see this company before Parliament with its bill of incorpora tion. The shares, we hear, are to be allotted in a few days. A more hopeful and profitable project was never yet launched as a joint stock company. The profits for many years can not be less than from 50 to 70 per cent., and there is little doubt the shares will be at a high premium shortly after their allotment.—City Chronicle and Tea Dealers' Journal. THE VICARAGE OF NEWCASTLE.---It is with feelings of deep regret and disappointment that we announce that the Rev. George Townsend has decided, after much hesitation, and for reasons of paramount consideration, not to accept the is pastoral d charge of this large parish, which was placed at the risposal in the most handsome manner by the patron of our ,:ving, the Lord Bishop of Carlisle. At the period of be ee :inouncement on the subject last week there seemed to 1 7_ e sort of doubt that the worthy Prebendary was actually - te r of far a Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and such indeed he was as feel 6 th e Patron was concerned. The parishioners at large consider that that th xce e i r e have great reason to deplore the determination grace societ lit and most accomplished neighbour, for they o take the r et i t a he, above most men, is eminently qualified to our town, and, what is of far higher import, oak j ourNal. in the great cause of the Church.—Neiv- TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS. A special meeting of the council was held on Wednesday, for the purpose of taking into consideration and determining upon the report of the special committee, appointed on the 11th instant, to inquire, consider, and report, whether alte rations cannot be made in the dock bill, as it now stands, to prevent all reasonable opposition. The Mayor presided. DEATH OF MR ALDERMAN LEATHOM The MAYOR said it was his painful duty to announce to the council the death of Mr. Alderman Leathom. In private life Mr. Leathom was amiable, kind, and considerate ; as a merchant he was honourable, just, and intelligent ; to these qualities he united a sound and a discriminating judgment, which endeared him to his friends, and those with whom he was called to associate. He possessed a minute and exten sive knowledge of local affairs, and, associated many years ago with Mr. Horsfall, Mr. Myers, and others, was mainly instrumental in discovering the frauds on the dock estate under the old management. Those discoveries gave him a knowledge of the affairs of the port and dock estate which enabled him, very efficiently and advantageously to the pub lic, to exercise the office he so recently filled. Those who knew his services best would most sincerely lament the loss they had all sustained. He (the mayor), might say much more in testimony of the respect to which his memory was justly entitled, but he could not satisfy himself with saying less than he had said in bringing the fact of his demise under the notice of the council. His place, as an alderman of the ward, would have to be filled up, and another in his room would be required to be nominated by the council for the management of the dock estate. It would also be the duty of the council to nominate a chairman for the dock estate ; and, on referring to the town-clerk, it appeared that those several vacancies would have to be filled up at the meeting of the council on Wednesday next. - , THE DOCK WAREHOUSE QUESTION-REPORT OF THE SPE- CIAL 'COMMITTEE. The MAYOI next called on Mr. Robertson Gladstone to present the report of the special committee appointed upon the warehouse question, that gentleman having presided over the said committee. Mr. GLADSTONE having accordingly presented the re port, The TOWN-CLERK read it at length, as follows : REPORT. . the committee to whom the council, on the 11th January, 1841, specially referred " the dock bill as it now stands," with instructions " to inquire, consider, and report whether alterations cannot be made therein to prevent all reasonable opposition," have agreed upon the following report : That the committe proceeded forthwith upon their ap pointment to take into consideration the matters referred to them, each member approaching the important subject with an anxious desire to effect conciliation, and with a disposition to submit his moderated views to the test of candid discus sion and cairn deliberation. That in comidg to the following recommendations, the committee duly considered the dock -bill as it • now stands on the one hand. and on the other, the representations of the Land and Warehouse Owners' Association, contained in a paper laid before the committee under the signature of secre tary of the association, dated the 16th January, 1841. That the result of their deliberations is, that the committee are enabled to submit the following conclusions without a division on any of their resolutions ; First—That, in the judgment of the committee, alterations can be made in the bill to prevent all reasonable opposition. Second—That the following alterations are recommended by the committee to the consideration of the council for effecting that most desirable object :- 1. That the intention of building warehouses on the west quay of the Prince's Dock be abandoned. 2. That transit sheds should be erected on the west quay of the Prince's Dock as soon as practicable after the passing of the bill. 3. That such sheds should be so constructed as to combine security to the revenue and the greatest possible despatch to business, the goods being subject to a rent amounting to a penalty if not removed in twenty-four hours after being pas sed by the landing-waiter. 4. That power ought to be taken to erect transit sheds on the quays of the other existing docks. 5. That it ought to be obligatory to erect transit sheds on the west quay of one other of the existing docks, unless the committee, at the expiration of six calendar months after the opening of the transit sheds on the west quay of the Prince's Dock, should pass a resolution against the erection of such further sheds : and such resolution, on being submitted to the council, us dock trustees, should not be annulled under the power reserved to them by the existing dock acts. 6. But that the bill ought to proceed as to the new dock to the west of the Salthouse Dock. with warehouses on its quays, and without any restriction as to the period of such warehouses being completed or opened, save that there should he none commenced upon such parts of the north and east quays as are between the two intended entrances until two years after the completion and opening of the ware houses on the south and west quays, and the part of the east quay not lying between the two entrances, provided that in such excepted space there may be laid and built, along with the filling up of the quay, foundations and walls up to the surface, of sufficient strength for the erection thereon of warehouses after the expiration of the two years, with vaults under the quay surface. 7. That the warehouses should comprise vaults under the surface of the quay ; but the surface of the quay over which the warehouses are to be erected should be reserved as a public quay, subject only to the general regulations of the dock. 8. That the funds necessary for the erection of the ware houses should be raised on the security of the rates of the general docks and the warehouses. 9. That the accounts of the warehouses and the docks should be kept distinct, and be separately audited ; but the profits of the warehouses should merge in the general fund. 10. That provision should be applied for to enable any owners Or masters of vessels, or their consignees, to enter goods unclaimed, or on which freight shall not be paid, or of which entries shall be delayed, and to deposit them in any warehouses that may be specially licensed and duly autho rised. 11. That the new warehouses should be subject to the watching, lighting, cleansing, paving, and sewerage rates as well as what are strictly parochial. 12. That it be recommended to the council and Dock Committee to pass a resolution, .giving a pledge that .there shall be no application to parliament for further powers to erect warehouses on any of the existing quays until the ex piration of four years from the completion of the warehouses to be authorised by the bill, and to consent that such pledge should be laid before the committee of the House of Com mons, and, if there should be no parliamentary objection, that it should be made part of the.bill, provided that upon such pledge and consent opposition to the bill be withdrawn by the Land and Warehouse Owners'•A4soeiation, and that the bill, as now proposed to be altered,.shall pass in the pre sent session. • • 13. That if these principles. for :alteration of the bill be ap proved by the council, the carrying of them out, comprising the adjustment with the Dock Committee of all matters of detail, and the approval of the necessary corrections •in the bill consequent upon the proposed alterations, be referred to the Finance Committee, in , addition to the references already made to them, with instructions to confer with the Dock Committee thereon, and to report to the council on the bill as corrected Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE, as chairman of the special committee, begged leave to move that the report be received. In doing so, he would take the opportunity of stating that the important subject which had been referred to the special committee, had received from every member of it the most serious and undivided attention. It was right, however, that he should state, in moving that the report be received, that it had been agreed to without prejudice to the opinions of the members of the special committee in the event of its being rejected either in that council chamber or out of doors. He stated this fact because it was so understood in the committee, but he hoped no such circumstance would happen. Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE seconded the motion. The MAYOR said, that as it had been proposed and se conded that the report be received, he presumed there could be no objection to the motion being passed. Mr. SHELL said he should like to know, before making any further observations, whether the whole of the bill was to be again submitted to the consideration of the council, and whe ther ample time would be afforded the council before de ciding on it ? If it would be again submitted, and if ample time would be afforded, which had not been the case last year,—(hear, hear)—then it would not be necessary for him to make any observations on the subject at present; if other wise, he would feel it necessary perhaps to submit a motion, and to divide the council. The TOWN -CLERK, by way of reply, again read the latter part of the report. Mr. SHELL wanted a simple answer to a very plain and simple question—namely, whether the bill was to be again submitted or not? If it were to be again submitted, he saw no necessity for taking up the time of the members with any remarks at present, but if this were to be a final measure he would divide the council. The MAYOR said that the receiving of the report at pre sent was not a final decision of the council. The bill had been already read in separate clauses, and various matters respecting it had been discussed ; therefore, all the new matter contained in the report read, would be brought before the council again, when, upon every item, the members would have an opportunity afforded them of expressing their opinions. Mr. SHELL said the mayor's reply was quite sufficient, but he begged to make an observation or two with regard to the present report, and also with regard to all future reports. He was sure every member must see the unreasonableness of calling a number of individuals together to take a subject into consideration without giving them the slightest informa tion beforehand as to the details of that subject. In cases of necessity, or emergency not amounting to necessity, such an omission ought to be looked over, but no such excuse could be offered in the present instance. A meeting had been held on Saturday, and the council had met on that day (Wednesday) without any step having been taken by the committee to give the slightest information to the members, or to let them know the course they had thought proper to adopt. He did not say it was intentional, but it was acciden tal disrespect to call on the council to decide on matters of great importance without telling them the details in the first instance. He made those remarks now ; he had had occasion to make similar remarks before, and if the council did not perform its duty in calling on the committees to furnish de tails, he would have to make the same remarks again; but he hoped such an omission would not occur hereafter. How ever, as long as he was in the council, which he thanked God would not be very long (hear, and a laugh), he would always express his unqualified disapprobation of such hasty proceedings. The MAYOR said that the report read had been agreed upon by the committee on Saturday last, and that it had been since within the Town-hall, accessible to every member of the council for perusal. If, therefore, gentlemen did not avail themselves of such an opportunity for ascertaining its details, it was hardly fair to cast reflections on the committee. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HUGH HORNBY thought that the charge made by Mr. Sheil was quite groundless. The committee had been ap pointed for the purpose of ascertaining whether they could not adopt some plan to do away with all reasonable opposi tion. They were further directed to draw up a report, and that the mayor would call a meeting of the council to take the propriety of receiving that report into consideration. He (Mr. H.) had never beard of any report being Sent to the members of the council after it had been adopted, and to pur sue such a course in the present instance would be quite un precedented. The most respectful plan was to leave it in the Town-hall for perusal; and that plan had been pursued. Surely, then, no want of respect was manifested on the part of the committee in having merely fulfilled their instructions. (Hear.) Mr. AIKIN said that the committee had a simple duty to perform, and that they had discharged it by adopting Lord Sandon's recommendations. It did not require any very acute mind to discover from the reading of the report that they had been precisely following up Lord Sandon's recom mendations, for, whoever read the report would find that the whole pith and marrow of his lordship's suggestions were therein embodied. The question of the warehouses had, however. been so much before the council, that he was really astonished there should be anything like a degree of warmth evinced by the speakers on the present occasion . Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY could not concur with others in saying that the question at present was, whether there should be warehouses or no warehouses ? The question really was, whether any differences of opinion could be settled by the adoption of the report to which the committee had agreed, and whether the opponents of the warehouse question would meet the plan proposed? Mr. PROCTOR agreed with the former speakers, that inas much as the committee were called on to report and had re ported, Mr. Sheil was in 'error in attaching any blame to them. Mr. Sum explained that the summons convening the preSent council was a little different from the ordinary sum- mons, and, with regard to what the mayor had said about the report having been lying in the Town-hall since Satur day, ho could only state that the fact had never been com municated to him before. Now, he did not recollect that the words " to determine upon the report," which were in the present summons, were ever in a summons before. lf, indeed, it had been said, • to determine upon the report now ill the town-clerk's office," he would have found no fault, because htrwas only sorry that he had not received the in formation about its lying in the town-clerk's office in time for it to be of use to him. The TowN-CLux said that the standing orders showed that the report would be open for inspection for the space of two days. The whole subject was at present under the con sideration of the council, and would reniain so if the question were carried that the report be received. Whether it would come before the council again, would determine on the sort of resolution to which the council would come upon that occasion. With regard to what Mr. Sheil had said about the summons, he had added the words " to determine," but, although inserted, they were not obligatory. Mr. EARLE said, that as he had been instrumental in having the committee appointed, he wished to express his satisfaction at its having led to the present favourable re sults, particularly as a mode seemed to have been at length adopted for settling the question without entailing the ex penses of litigation. Had such a mode been adopted before, vast sums of money would have been saved. (Hear, hear.) • Mr. IsAAc HoLstus stated, that the trustees of the late Duke of Bridgewater were willing to let entrances be made from the Bridgewater Dock to the King's and other docks; and if this were so, he hoped the Dock Committee would take the circumstance into their consideration, as great be nefits would be likely to arise in consequence of such en trances being made. 1 The MAYOR said, that in the discussions which had taken place last year with the Duke of Bridgewater's trustees, every friendly disposition was shown on their part to enter into a mutual arrangement for the benefit of the dock estate, and that be was sure Mr. Holmes's suggestion would receive that attention from the Dock Committee to which it was entitled. He (the mayor) begged now to ask whether there was any objection to the report read being received? (Se veral voices, " No, no.") Mr. HENRY HOLMES said they were all unanimous on the subject of receiving it. Mr. EVANS begged to put a question. As the object of the report was to allay or prevent opposition, he asked any gentleman connected with the warehouse interest whether that object had been then effected ; and he wished to know if there was any body to speak for them in the council? Mr. HAABORD was quite prepared to answer for them, and to express his answer as laconically as the question had been put. In the first place, he would say that Alderman Evans had heretofore protested that he would oppose any conces sions ; and, in the second place. that as the warehouse own ers had not as yet received the report, they were not enabled to say whether they would accept it or not. (Hear, hear.) Mr. EVANS then proceeded to say, that whatever might be the result of the report, and that whether the council di vided on it or not, he could not pass the arrangement over without declaring that it was anything but satisfactory to him. He looked upon it that they had got opponents who had wriggled everything out of them without giving them anything in exchange. The council were now called on, not only to bind themselves, but to bind posterity, not only to bind the present Dock Committee and council, but future Dock Committees and councils. He questioned very much whether the legislature would consider it right, or whether they would quietly permit an interdiction of improvements for twelve years with a town like Liverpool, which was the great commercial arm of the whole empire, and which was advancing with gigantic strides. He could not believe that the inhabitants of Liverpool would look on with patience when they found warehouses rising in the Harrington and Herculaneum Docks, and that they were interdicted in the middle of the old town—the place of all others which in equity ought to precede every other part in improvements — (cries of " Hear, hear, hear")—and he believed that the first warehouse that would spring out of the earth in the Harring ton or Herculaneum Docks, would cause warehouses to be raised up about the Old Dock of Liverpool. But why should any obstacle be placed in the way ? If it were right that warehouses ought not to be built, why not confide in the wisdom and equity of future dock committees and councils ? There was another matter that he considered concerned the character—he would almost say the honour—of the town ; for, to go up to parliament with a plan for a new dock, mu tilated as it was, was, in his opinion, to exhibit a monument to the eyes of the legislature, the British empire, and indeed all Europe, which were looking at them more than they were aware of—a monument, he repeated, of an unworthy subser viency to interests which, if they had any equitable claim, would have found supporters. He had a firm reliance on the integrity of Lord Lyndhurst, and he would be content — much as he disapproved of his political character, if they put him in his official situation, subject to his official responsi bilities—to place the utmost confidence in his rectitude and correctness, and to Lord Lyndhurst and Sir Robert Peel he would confide the whole adjustment of this question. So far from apprehending weakness in the quarter alluded to in committee, he looked there for his strength, and was sure he -would find it -Oleic. He had remonstrated with the sub committee for overrating the power of the opposition, and he had begged of them not to come down, as it were, to zero, while they were getting nothing for it, and they then rose to blood-heat. The MAYOR rose to order. These observations would be very appropriate when the report came under consideration, but at present they were ill-timed. Mr. EVANS said he was referring to the course pursued by the committee who had framed the report, and he desired it to be taken as his protest against parts of that report. He reserved to himself the right of addressing the council here after upon their having limited the number of warehouses, because they had narrowed into so small a basis that, consi dering what they had given up, it was scarcely worth while to go to parliament. Mr. EARLE hoped he would have the right to reply to these observations. Mr. EvANs begged he might be allowed to proceed. Mr. EARLE said he was anxious to have the fullest dis cussion. The MAYOR said that the observations Mr. Evans was then addressing •to the council would be exceedingly well placed if a moticu had been made for the adoption of the re port, but, that not being th e case, they were out of place. Mr. EVANS was sorry to differ in opinion with the mayor, but if they came there, as he had heard it once said in Scot land, " to vote and not to speak," or, if it was the opinical Scot of the council that he ought not to proceed, he would sil down. The MAYOR asked whether Mr, Evans meant to propose any motion against the reception of the report ? because, if so, he might proceed. Mr. EVANS thought the mayor had no right a t p o p d roo ri fov v re eh e to i h m into that at the beginning of his observations. was rv t at n io o n t s. The subject council, e d to which and, n h de though gh hi s addressing re ma r h k i s m m s f he maintained that he was not going into irrelevant ma t ter : Mr. BUSHELL asked the town-clerk whether it was not competent for any member to speak on a m o ti on th at was made? Mr. EVANS said he would bring his remarks to a close, in consequence of what the mayor had stated, but that he would first offer one observation in reply to what fell from Mr. Isaac Holmes, about the Duke of Bridgewater's trustees. To that project they had given every attention, but they found it to be impracticable, because an amount of money was asked to effect an improvement that no man in his senses would say it was worth. (Hear, hear.) The MAYOR asked if Mr. Bushell wished to put the ques tion to the town-clerk which he had asked shortly before? Mr. BUSHELL replied in the negative, but said that he was surprised at the course Mr. Evans had pursued ' • because, according to the word of the r e p or t, it appeare d to have been unanimously adopied, and that no division whatever had taken place upon it in committee, whereas it now appeared, in point of fact, that there had been a very great division on it, not perhaps in numbers, but certainly in opinion. What did the report amount to ? If Mr. Evans was candid in putting forth the opinions he had then expressed, why did he not embody them in the report received ? And if he was candid, and that in fact he was laughing in his sleeve at what Had taken place, then he (Mr. Bushell) would say, that the opinions contained in the report and the opinions held by Mr. Evans were as contrary as white was from black. He (Mr. : Bushell) con fessed that he was in a dilemma with regard to the report under present circumstances, because, at first 'he was glad to find that an unanimous opinion was come to in the committee, but now he was astonished to find that that opinion was not unanimous. Mr. EARLE said that with regard to what Mr. Evans had said about not allowing warehouses to be built, he had one observation to make. If the proposed transit sheds answer ed, there would be no necessity for warehouses ' - if not, it was more than probable that warehouses would b e built. The report was then unanimously received, a slight altera tion in one of its provisions being first agreed to without ob servation. Mr. H. HORNBY then rose and said that the following re solution, which he had great pleasure in proposing, had been just placed in his hands : " That the reference recommended in the report be made to the Finance Committee, subject to the reconsideration by this council of the whole matter, if the object of conciliation be not effected." He would not trouble the council with any observations on this motion, but just to notice a remark which had been made use of by Mr. Evans. He (Mr. H.) thought the committee had not shown any unworthy subserviency to private inte rests, as had been alleged by the gentleman in question. It was true, he (Mr. H.) admitted, that some advantage would arise to local interests, by reason of the time originally in tended for erecting the warehouses being postponed, but it was only using a proper regard to those interests, that no un necessary or undue haste should be used in bringing the bwarehouses reason into h a b t e i h n e g w . as (h ‘ l v e il a l r itig h t e o a c r o .) nce l d to It was was en a tpo eneed_ would be adopted. Mr. J. SMITH asked whether the resolution was in strict order, for he thought they had already disposed of the busi ness of the day. -- Mr. H. HORNBY said that the resolution was in accord ance with the latter part of the report. Mr. J. SMITH understood that they were merely called on to receive the report on that occasion. The TOWN-CLERK replied. The council had then to de termine whether they would receive the report in whole or in part. Mr. JOHN HOLMES then seconded Mr. Hornby's motion. Mr. SHELL moved, as an amendment, "That the report be taken into consideration at the next meeting of the council." He was induced to move this amendment in consequence of what had been stated at the commencement of the report — namely, that it had been agreed to without a division. Now he would put it to any plain man whether that was not the conclusion to which he would arrive on reading the passage in question? He was never more astonished, therefore, than when he heard Mr. Evans say, that he disagreed with the re port, a fact which plainly proved that it had not been unani mously adopted. - It was the duty of the council, under those circumstances to devote a little time to its consideration. Mr. EVANS wished to say a few words with regard to the want of unanimity in the council. It was only on one point that he had reserved his right to dissent, on every other he had acquiesced with the rest of the committee, and, there fore, the argument raised by Mr. Sheil had a very limited and narrow basis to go upon. (Hear, hear.) Mr. R. GLADSTONE said that the observation alluded to in the report was merely intended to convey to the council the unanimity that prevailed in the committee. The MAYOR would further state that there had been very considerable discussion on the subject in the committee, but that all minor matters were merged into a general agreement. There were certainly some strong expressions made use of by members on both sides, but as those 'expressions had sub sequently merged into a mutual agreement, it would not be judicious, perhaps to allude to them on that occasion. Mr. BUSHELL said it occurred to him that the motion be fore the council held out a premium to the warehouse owners for further opposition. He asked when this question was to be settled ? The appointment of the committee hid cer tainly weakened the strength of the warehouse owners, inas much as there were six warehouse owners upon it who were now committed to the principles contained in the report. The effect of the motion, however, would be, to hold out a premium to further opposition. Mr. YATES seconded Mr. Sheil's amendment. He thought it would be rather unfortunate were the council to express its approbation of the report, because it would be well to know, in the first place, if the warehouse owners would withdraw their opposition, and by adopting Ml. Sheil's amendment, there would be plenty of time for ascertaining that fact. If they would not withdraw their opposition, it would be unwise to adopt the report ; for, although he wished the matter to be settled, he could not agree to what was proposed in the report, except on the ground of giving up largely for the sake of conciliation, and to prevent injury from being done to the port of Liverpool by reason of nothing being effected. He thought the time would arrive when the proposed transit sheds would be turned into warehouses. Mr. AIKIN thought that if Mr. Shell and Mr. Yates had had looked to the words " reasonable opposition," expressed in the report of the committee, they would have been saved the trouble of making speeches. Was it to be supposed that that council would stay their bill in consequence of any un just opposition on the part of any portion of the warehouse owners ? There was no doubt that let the council resolve on whatever course it would, some persons would be dissatisfied; and it was impossible to have all satisfied. He had given up several points for the purposes of conciliation and also for the purpose of disarming hostility, and he believed that i they went to parliament, based on the present recommenda tions (recommendations which were contained originally in Lord Sandon's letter) they would disarm opposition,. but he also believed that delay would entail disgrace. Mr. Hornby's motion was indefinite, because, according to its tenor, if the report failed in bringing about conciliation, or if, in flue, any warehouse proprietor was not conciliated, then the whole thing was to be opened up again ! The present course, was far preferable. They were now prepared by a large majority to adopt the course suggested by Lord Sandon, and which reflected great honour upon his lordship, who was now fol lowing in the steps of the great Husk isson. As the commit tee, therefore, had followed up Lord Sandon's recommenda tion, he begged to move " that the report be adopted." Mr. ROBINSON agreed with Mr. Aikin's motion, and hoped Mr. Shell would be induced to withdraw his amend ment, as delay would only have the effect of raising up ima ginary opposition. Mr. CASE could not agree to either the motion or the amendment. (A laugh.) He disagreed from the motion, because it was totally unnecessary, inasmuch as the report recommended a reference to the committee, who were to report to the council, and then for the council to discuss and determine on the report as made by the committee. lie disagreed from the amendment, because it proposed to refer the whole subject to the next council, which would take place before the committee could have made any report whatever. It was, therefore, different from the report of the special committee appointed upon this subject, to which the council were much indebted, and the object of which was, to carry conciliation completely into effect. He agreed to the motion just made by Mr. Aikin for the adoption of the report. For what was the adoption of the report? The adoption of the report meant the adoption of the general principle of the measure, subject to a discussion in the committee, and sub ject to a discussion in the council afterwards, wherein All matters in the bill would be taken into consideration. It would he competent for any one to open a discussion on the subject in the council; and he believed many of the clauses of the ,bill would have to be altered in consequence of the suggestions of the committee. Mr. ATKIN said they only pledged themselves at present to the principle, and then the matters of detail would be under the supervision of the Finance Committee. The principle being conceded, he thought there would be no oc casion to bring that question before the council ;gain. Mr. H. Hongilit said he had no Objection to withdraw his motion in favour of Mr. Aikin's. _ . . Mr. BIRKETT then rose for the purpose of showing that the committee had not adopted the recommendations con tained in Lord Sandon's letter, as alleged by Mr. Aikin ; but was interrupted by The MAYOR, who commenced to recapitulate Lord San don's recommendations, in the course of which Mr. Birkett resumed his seat. At the close there were several calls for Mr. Birkett to proceed. Mr. BIRKETT said that he had three times attempted to address the mayor, but was as often interrupted. He con sidered it extremely unfair, but he would not attempt to ad dress him a fourth time. Mr. H. LAWRENCE suggested that there be an end to the discussion. . . . Mr. SIDAL said, as it appeared to be the general opinion that the report should be adopted, he would not divide the council on his amendment. Mr. YATir.s said, that if the warehouse owners should not have any unfair advantage in parliament, he would consent to withdraw Mr. Sheil's amendment, he having been its se conder.—Withdrawn accordingly. The report was then declared to have been unanimously adopted, and the council adjourned at a quarter after twelve o'clock. -lER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO PARLIAMENT TO OPEN THE SESSION. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) It is a practice so congenial to the feelings of the whig party to make the personal popularity of their Sovereign cover their own notorious want of favour with the public, that I was anxious to be able to inform you, from personal observation, of the exact degree of merit which Lord Mel bourne's administration was fairly entitled to claim, on the score of the favourable reception accorded to her Majesty on this occasion by her subjects. If ever there was a time when the appearance in public of the monarch was likely to excite in a more than usual degree the affectionate congratulations of her people, one would naturally imagine that on this occa sion such congratulations might have been fully calculated upon. Since her last public appearance her Majesty had presented to the nation an heir to the throne ; and upon so youug and so lovely a mother, could a body of English men and women be found callous enough to visit the sins of her advisers, or to manifest towards her any feelings but those of kindly sympathy and loyal devotion? The natural supposi tion *as, undoubtedly, that none such could be found ; and those who are in the habit of jumping to conclusions antici pated (as the ministerial organs have represented the fact) that the royal progress from the palace to Westminster would be " a triumphant ovation." A description of the procession (which you will have from the ordinary sources) I will not trouble you with, but proceed to describe the expression of public opinion which it attracted. In the park the company was very numerous, the entire dis tance, from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards, being lined on both sides of the procession, by people apparently of the middle and lower classes, a great portion being females. During the progress of her Majesty, the most decorous order was observed by the anxious gazers ; but except on one occa sion, when first leaving the palace, there was scarcely any manifestation of popular feeling which could, by a stretch of the ordinary use of language, he termed enthusiasm. In Downing-street and Parliament-street the same concourse of people lined both sides of the road, and most of the shops and windows were crowded with well-dressed females ; but beyond the waving of white pocket handkerchiefs, and an occasional feeble attempt to get up a cheer, no feeling be) uad that of ordinary curiosity was manifested. An evident apathy ap- peared to pervade the entire assemblage, The prevailing sentiment, I'venture to - 14, felt towards her Majesty in the minds of her subjects present, was that of affectionate pity. Throughout the whole of her progress she was evidently suffering from an exertion, to which her present strength was manifestly unequal. Her features were very pale, and marked by an agitation of manner which it is said is unusual in her to display; and by some observers it was thought that disappointment, caused by the evident coldness with which her greetings were received on the part of her subjects, contributed to increase the anxious expression of her countenance. Her winning smile and deeply-interesting manner would have disarmed any hostility, however deep rooted, could such a feeling exist towards her ; but even these failed in converting pity and admiration into enthusiasm. Beyond the ordinary number of mere sightseers, I believe that nine-tenths of the crowd assembled would gladly have forgone the pleasure of seeing the person of their Sovereign, and have preferred that the session should be opened, and the royal speech read, by commission, rather than that her Ma jesty should be dragged from her domestic privacy, and ex posed, within so short a period after her ss accouchement, and on in her sent evident state of weakne, to the fatigue c- sequentpre upon this pageant. Some public demonstration, however, was desired in favour of the Melbourne incapables ; and her Majesty was willing to make the-sacrifice of personal comfort to strengthen her m i n i s ters. I doubt much, however, and lam not singular in doubting, whether the result has answered ministerial expectations. The members of the ministry themselves, I may rem ark, very prudently abstained from making any very prominent display of their own persons on their way to both houses. STRANGE ADVENTU FRAUD .RE-SUPPOSED CASE 0 Public attention has been much attracted to the suspicious circumstances of the loss of the Dryad. A somewhat similar otiiansaction has recently come to light, and been the subject much c onversation in Liverpool. Some few months since vessel called the Active sailed from Liverpool for Lisbon, laaden with British manufactures. A letter was subsequently received from some place in Spain, from the captain, stating her total loss. In due course he presented himself in Lisbon, prepared the necessary documents, and forwarded a minute account of the circumstances to the parties who had shipped the goods. The usual claims were of course made on the underwriters, and duly honoured. Letters, however, have j us t been received , stating that a Hamburgese vessel bad arr i ve d at Madeira, and had offered for sale goods which had been t a ken from the Acti va . S ome merc h an ts in Madeira ' recognising the mark of the Lisbon house to whom the goods belonged, called for the interference of the consul, and by his exertions the Lisbon owners were made aware of the facts. Th e account given by the Hamburger was, that having fallen in with the Activa abandoned by her crew, they had taken out the goods to make her navigable, and had sent her into the island of St. Thomas. On the other hand it was sworn, in the papers sent home by the captain of the Active, that she had been seen to go down after she was abandoned ! Whatever may be the real history of the transaction, one fact is certain, that the risks and losses incurred by British merchants from the incapacity, cowardice, or roguery of such peo ple as the crew of th e A ct i ve, are wholly due to the apathy with which our government permits foreign powers to cripple our mercantile marine by capricious fiscal enactments. For instance, merchants at Liverpool are virtually compelled to s hip goods for Portugal in Portuguese bottoms, because our grateful allies impose an additional 15 per cent. on British goods imported in British bottoms ! Such matters as these ar e quite beneath the consideration or notice of the diplo matic dignitaries of the foreign-office. Since the above was in type, we have received the Morning Post, and in the Lisbon letter we find the following allusion to this transaction. It will demand a searching investigation. By the Portuguese schooner Funchal, arrived here in six days from Madeira, it is related that a Danish barque had appeared there with a quantity of Manchester piece goods, which were attempted to be sold by the captain, who, how ever, from a want of knowledge of the custom. house regu lations, had not made proper manifests, so that the property was seized under the custom-house law, and the captain fined some £6OO. It appears that the Dane had met at sea the Portuguese brig Activa, dismasted and abandoned, from which he had taken the goods in question to lighten the ves sel, upon which he shipped his mate and some five men, sending her on to St. Thomas ! If such are the facts, the Dane appears to have been disposed to appropriate the whole cargo, and will probably get himself into unpleasant difli culties ; whilst, had he gone honestly to work, the salvage must have been very great, as the cargo was est i mated at £15,000 value. FEMALE POACFIER.T.An .offender ans wer i ng t hi s descrip tion, was, about two o ciock in the m orn i ng o f Sunday, the 10th instant, caught following her vocation on th e game pre serves of I. B. S. Morritt, Esq., of Rokeby Park, in the north riding of this county. The female alluded to, is house keeper to a person named Hodg son , res idi ng in Barnard Castle. The fruits of this fair one's early rising, is said to have been a plentiful supply of hares, which were found in her possession, carefullywrapped up in an un d er garment which she had (notwithstanding the inclemency of the season) stripped off for the purpose. The matter has been investi gated before the magistrates, and the gall an t f a i r comm i tte d to the House of Corree : tion,,at N . orthallert on , f or t h ree ca lendar months.—Halilax Guardian. MR. OASTLER.—At a meeting of the friends of Mr. Oasticr, held at thw house of Mr. James Wade, New Inn, on Thursday week, the following resolution was moved by Mr. Auty, and seconded by Mr. Ilustler :—" That it is the opi nion of this meeting tbat our warmest thanks are due and are hereby given to that great and good 'flan, Richard Oastler, for his indefatigable exertions on b e h a lf o f t h e poor, op pressed factory slave; his unabat ing l a b ours in defence of the ill-used handloorn weavers ; and his stern and unflinch ing opposition to the New Poor Law Amendment Act (falsely so called) ; and while we lament the influence which has in duced Mr. Thornhill to cast his old steward into prison (af ter having faithfully and efficiently served him for 18 years,) they trust thst He who has all hearts in his hand will soften the heart of Mr. Thornhill. In the meantime we hereby pledge ourselves to promote his interest by every possible means that lays in our power, ' We are happy t o a dd th at Mr. Oastler's " Fleet Pap ers " are looked fo r w ith i n t erest by a numerous body o f his friends in this town.—Haltfar • Guardian. IMPOSTORS.-BEGGING PETITIONS On Tuesday, at the office of Messrs. Leigh and Sanders, before one of the magistrates of the county, James Seymour, James M'Kinley, and Charles Coxton were hrought up. charg.ed with having committed various frauds, by means of begging petitions. Inspector John Poole stated, that the head-constable had received information that several persons were going about the county with forged petitions, in consequence of which he (Poole) had, in plain clothes, gone in search of them, and found the three prisoners in the neighbourhood of Woolton. He followed them to Liverpool, then to the Knotty Ash, which he entered at the same time as the prisoners, and heard their conversation. Ile found they were about to pro ceed to Mrs. Dugdale's, of Dovecote-house, for the purpose of presenting a begging petition. He (Poole) followed them, and took them into custody near the house of Mrs. Dugdale, with a sovereign, which he had caused to be marked, and which had been received front Mrs. Dugdale, in the pos session of Seymour. Mr. Harvey Bell, butler to Mrs. Dugdale, deposed, that the prisoner Seymour called, about five weeks ago, at his mistress's house with a petition, which Mrs. Dugdale refused to open, and sent the prisoner away. He returned again last Saturday, to inquire if Mrs. Dugdale had received a letter from his (the prisoner's) sister, but she had not, and he went away, and called again on Monday, when Mrs. Dug dale pave him, by the witness, a sovereign. The prisoner asked him for his document, meaning the letter he expected his sister to send to Mrs. Dugdale, which bad been received that morning. This proved to be one of the forged petitions in question. It was given to him, and the witness put his name to it, for Mrs. Dugdale, with the sovereign, which he had previously entered. The prisoner then went away and joined the ot,ier prisoners in the road, when they were taken into custody. _ Mr. Tho'mas Littledale, jun., Liverpool, whose name ap peared attached to the petition, said, that the signature was neither his father's or his own, and that he had on Monday morning received, by post, a petition of a similar description to the one sent to Mrs. Dugdale, being a printed form, and the same list of names attached. _ _ . The following is a copy of the letter to Mr. Littledale and the petition enclosed':— " SIR,—I beg to forward you the enclosed memorial for your perusal. A recent misfortune in business obliges me to solicit the aid of the benevolent on behalf of my parent and family." The printed petition was as follows : " Subscriptions on behalf of Mrs. Wm. J. Morris, widow of the late ?Ir. W. J. Morris, formerly a highly respectable draper here, who died in embarrassed circumstances, in the year 1839, much respected. She is left with a family of seven children, without the means wherewith to provide for them. The benevolent are earnestly solicited to contribute their mite towards a fund now raising for the purpose of enabling her to commence the business of her late husband. The petitioning creditors, Messrs. Scholes and Balmer, manufacturers, Man chester, have kindly contributed the sum of twenty pounds, and, it is to be hoped, their example will not be lost upon those to whom Providence has given the means of rendering timely assistance to the widow and fatherless. (Signed) Rev. R. LEICESTER, £5. RICHD. ALISON, Jun. £3 Much Woolton, Jan. 15, 1841. It is presumed, the names affixed to this will be a sufficient guarantee that the money subscribed will be judiciously ap plied to the above laudable purpose." Then follows in writing `` The bearer, James Morris, is the son of Mrs. W. J. Morris, has had the misfortune to have recently lost his leg by amputation in the Liverpool Infirmary ; subscriptions are received by him on behalf of his parent." The names then follow, amongst which were those of Pat tison Ellames, Esq., £1; R. Roskell, Esq., .61 ; Rev. W. Badnall, £1 ; H. Hornby, Esq., £1 ; Thomas Bolton, Esq., £2; Messrs. Tayleur, Sons, and Co. ; Messrs. Peek, Bro thers, and Winch, £1 ; T. Sands, Esq., £1 ; Rev. Hugh M'Neile, £1 ; I. 0. Bold, Esq., £l. The prisoners were remanded on the above evidence till Thursday. Yesterday, at two o'clock, they were again brought up at Messrs. Leigh and Saunders' office. The magistrates pre sent were John Holmes and John Formby, Esqrs. Inspector Poole gave a detailed statement of his meeting with the prisoners, and the circumstances of their apprehen sion. He had been to Manchester, and had ascertained that there was no such firm there as " Messrs. Scholes and Balmer, manufacturers," who were represented to be the petitioning creditors to the fiat issued against " Mr. W. J. Morris, a highly respectable draper." Margaret Whittle, of the Knotty Ash public house, proved that the three prisoners were together there previous to Seymour going to Mrs. Dugdale's. Richard Crosby, valet to the Earl of Derby, proved that, on the faith of a document similar to that above, the noble lord had given WlCinley £2 on the 22d inst. This was the whole of the evidence. Seymour, when asked what he had to say, acknowledged having received a sovereign from Mrs. Dugdale. The others declined saying anything. The witnesses were then bound over, and the prisoners were committed to Kirkdale for trial at the next quarter sessions. REWARDS TO POLICE OFFICERS IMPORTANT RESOLUTION OF THE WATCH COMMITTEE Yesterday morning, at the Police Court, before the usual business of the day was proceeded with, Mr. Rushton ad dressed those present at considerable length, with reference to the recent appeal case, heard at the Kirkdale Sessions — (Stephen Fletcher versus Edward Rushton and Thomas Booth)—and also, for the information of the public, and of the police (a large number of whom were present), commu nicating the result of a conference with the watch committee on the system of rewards given to police officers. Mr. RUSHTON said before he proceeded to hear any fur ther informations, he thought it became necessary to make some observations on a case which had recently excited con siderable attention, particularly as affecting the police force. An information was some time back laid by certain police officers, against an individual, a publican, named Fletcher, for an offence against the tenor of his license, and upon the evidence adduced he had convicted the defendant, and or dered that he should pay a fine of a considerable amount. Fletcher appealed against that decision to the County Ses sions, in which court appeals of this nature could enter tained. On the trial of the case, it appeared in evidence, or rather on cross-examination — (and he must here say, that the &lice officers did not give their evidence in that direct and straight-forward manner that became every one belong ing to the force)—it appeared that one of them distinctly stated, and also the other, though not so distinctly, that they expected to be rewarded, if the conviction pronounced by him were sustained. Upon hearing this evidence the justices retired; and, according to the reports in the newspapers, which he had reason to suppose were got up with pains and and accuracy, short-hand writers being employed, they quashed the conviction, though it did not clearly appear to him upon what precise ground. They rejected the evi dence' of the police officers as inadmissible, on the ground of their illegality as witnesses. Now be (Mr. R.) felt that the objection to admit their evidence ought not to have been on the ground of legality, but on the ground of their credibility. He had taken consideraable pains since the case was before the sessions, to ascertain what had been the practice of the Watch Committee with re gard to rewards—and it did appear to him that they gave these rewards both upon conviction and acquittal. 13ut, notwithstanding the pains taken by the committee to show the officers that whether in the event of conviction or other wise they would be rewarded for good conduct and extraor dinary exertions, an erroneous impression, it appeared, was established in their minds, that their services would be more appreciated in the event of a conviction. Now, he would suppose that it had been deemed necessary for the mainte nance of the due efficiency of the police force—and he was happy to bear his testimony to their general good conduct as a body—supposing the officers were to receive a reward ou the contingency stated, still they were competent as witnesses, the only question being as to their credibility. This question had been discussed and settled in one of the higher courts, and he should refer on this point to the sth and 6th William IV., cap. 76, sec. 32. The question was raised and argued in a forcible manner by a learned counsel, now occupying a seat on the bench. He stated that the parties giving evi dence in such cases were not disqualified on the ground of illegality, but on the ground of credibility alone. Judgment was in that case given in accordance with that opinion by Mr. Justice Bailey. After abiding to one point at issue, that learned judge said— " The second was the point chiefly relied upon, and it was insisted that by analogy to the cases of rewards and other statutable benefits, it might be considered as a rule in criminal cases, that by a statute conferring a be nefit upon a person who but for that benefit would have been a witness, his competence is virtually continued, and he is as much a witness after that benefit is conferred as he would have been before. The case of rewards is clear on the grounds of public policy, with a view to the public interest, and because of the principle upon which such rewards are given. The public has an interest in the suppression of crime, and the conviction of criminals ; it is with a view to stir up greater vigilance in apprehending that the rewards are given, and it would defeat the object of the legislature by means of those rewards to narrow the means of conviction, and to exclude testimony which otherwise would have been admissible. It is upon the principle, therefore, that the ex clusion of persons entitled to rewards would be inconsistent with the spirit of the acts giving the rewards and against the grounds of public policy, that their competence is virtually continued."—The King v. Williams, page 156—Barnewell and Cresswell. It was also laid down by the writer of one of the ablest books on the law of evidence (Mr. Phillips), who stated that the competency of witnesses was not affected, in such cases, by their expectancy of reward. In Burns's Justice it was also stated, that for the ends of public justice such evidence was admissible, as was that of a person robbed against the perpe trator. Thus, then, it appeared that even in the case of a direct reward, the officers in the case under consideration were competent witnesses. From the decision, therefore, of the magistrates in county sessions, it became necessary to ascertain on what ground they had arrived at such a result; and it appeared to him (Mr. Rushton) that they had felt a reluctance to believe the officers after their cross-examina tion, and had, therefore, quashed the conviction without hearing any of the evidence on the other side. But he felt certain that in coming to that conclusion they were actuated by the most unquestionable motives, by, in fine, a desire im partially to administer justice ; and however different the view he took of the case, ha entertained the profoundest re spect for their opinion and decision. That decision, how ever, was such that it became necessary for the magistrates to confer with the watch committee, and, if possible, obtain their concurrence to the adoption of some measure that should convince the police-officers that they should not be rewarded solely in cases of conviction, but for general good conduct and extra exertions, and that conviction was valuable only so far as it served the cause of public justice. He (Mr. Rushton) had since had interviews with the watch commit tee, who had shewn the greatest willingness to hear any sug gestion that might remove the objections entertained to the mode hitherto pursued, and who promptly and heartily en• tered into his views and feelings on the subject. The result was that, at a special meeting of the watch committee, 28th January, 1811, the following resolution was agreed to : " That until further order, constables shall in all cases be compensated for extra labour and time by extra wages, ac r cording to a fixed sum per hour, to be paid independently of the result of such extra service ; but the claim to be forfeited by any misconduct that may draw down the observation of the magistrate, or the report of the head constable." [We understand that this resolution of the watch commit tee is founded on the 82d section of the 5 and 6 William IV., ch. 76.—The Municipal Corporation Act.] Mr. Rushton, in continuation, said that the change in volved in this resolution would, he doubted not, produce a good effect in the morals of the police force. No reward would henceforward be made to officers except for extra work and time ; and this wise resolution would disabuse the minds of such of the police-officers as entertained opinions similar to those expressed by the two officers who were examined at Kirkdale. He trusted that hereafter the evidence of offi cers would not be rejected on the ground of their being in terested, but solely on the ground of competency as credible witnesses, on which ground the magistrates bad a right to form their own judgment. The business of the court then proceeded. SEVEN YEARS AVERAGE PRICE OF WHEAL—The fol lowing is the average price of British wheat, barley, a n d oats, per imperial bushel, during seven years, ending on the Thursday before Christmas Day, 1810:—Wheat, G s . 'lid . . ' Barley, 4s. Id.; Oats, 2s. 10Id. William Jacob, Controller of Corn Returns.—Office of Controller of Corn Returns, Board of Trade, Jan. S. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE The weekly meeting of the Dock ComMittee was held yesterday, at the offices in Revenue-buildings. Owing to the decease of Mr. Leathom, the lamented chairman, Mr. Benn presided. In addition to Mr. Benn, there were pre sent, Messrs. Barclay, Holmes, Middleton, Smith, Aikin, Booth; Horsfall, G. Holt, Evans, Chapman, Moon, Mar tin, T. Holt, and Tobin. The proceedings of the last meeting were confirmed. The accounts of the week were also passed. Several alterations, on the recommendation of the sub committee of works, were ordered to be made in the shed on the west side of King's Dock. The same sub-committee also recommended that the tender of Messrs. Foster and Stewart, to complete the carpenters' work at several sheds, for the sum of 11,425 be accepted.—Agreed to. A report was next read from one of the Harbour-masters, stating that a fire had occurred, on the night of the 22d inst, on board the Royal George steamer, which, fortunately was extinguished without damage. An information had been laid against the parties._ _ _ A return was made of the amount of dock dues received at Runcorn from the 26th of December to the 23d January. The amount was stated at £B6 2s. Thq CHAIRMAN announced that the Dock Solicitor had applied to the Solicitor for a supply of money to enable him to pay the fees connected with the intended dock-bill, in London, He (the Chairman) presumed that there would be no objection to the parliamentary sub-committee being authorised to grunt the solicitor the sum which he might re quire. A resolution had been prepared, authorising the treasurer to supply the necessary funds, on the application of the parliamentary sub-committee. Mr. TOBIN inquired whether this money would be paid by the corporation ? The CHAIRMAN replied in the negative. cided otherwise. It had been de- Mr. ToBIN. —By whom ? The CHAIRMAN.—By the Town-clerk, and in London, I believe Mr. Tont); --It is_ a pity_we did not know of that before - - . - After a few words from Mr. CHAPMAN, which were not distinctly heard, the resolution was passed. The Corporation Surveyor applied for permission to let Canning Dock dry, for one tide, as soon as might be conve nient, in order to make some repairs to the gates of No. 3 Graving Dock. This request was ordered to be complied with, Mr. Hartley paying attention to the progress of the repairs. The CHAIRMAN stated that a letter had been received from Mr. Wainwright, concerning the order from the Ad miralty for Lieutenant Lord, the Marine Surveyor, to pre pare for service ; in which it was stated that both Lord San don and Mr. Cresswell suggested that the committee should themselves represent the circumstances in which they were placed by the order, and the urgent necessity there was for Lieutenant Lord remaining here, as a means of strengthen ing the hands of the noble lord and his learned colleague in their representations.—A resolution was then passed to the effect that the Chairman should address a letter on the sub ject to the Commissioners of the Admiralty. The SECRETARY then read the report of the Sub-commit tee of the council appointed to consider whether alterations could not be made in the new dock bill to suit all parties. — The report appears in our account of the council proceedings. After it had been read, The CHAIRMAN said great praise was due to the gentle men who had made that report from the shipowners and merchants for their endeavours to bring the matter to an amicable settlement ; and he hoped that in consequence, when the Dock Committee were before parliament, they would not find their labours so onerous as they were last session. Mr. EvANs was understood to express a similar wish. Mr. TOBIN observed that Mr. Evans was very much bet ter looking when he came down, after the onerous duties of attending on the bill, during the last session, than he was when he went up. (Laughter.) At a subsequent period of the meeting, some conversation 'ensued between Mr. HORSFALL Mr. HOLMES, the CHAIR MAN, and Mr. AIKIN, as to whether the transit sheds pro posed to be erected on the margin of Prince's Dock, in the committee's report, should be bonding sheds or not, but it terminated without any definitive resolution. The CHAIRMAN announced that the funeral of the late Mr. Leathom would take place at St. James's Cemetery, at half-past nine o'clock this morning, (Friday), when probably some of the members of the committee would be anxious to shew their respect to the deceased by attending. Mr. HORSFALL said it was with feelings of the deepest re gret that every member of that committee must regard the loss of their lamented chairman. His knowledge of the af fairs of the dock estate exceeded that of every other member, and his assiduity in attending to its interests was beyond all calculation. Mr. HOLMES coincided with Mr. Horsfall, and considered that the loss the committee had sustained was irreparable. Mr. HORSFALL intimated that at the next meeting he should move that a letter of condolence be sent to the family of the deceased. Mr. Eva Ns , whilst deeply regretting the departure of their excellent chairman, conceived that such a course would esta blish an inconvenient precedent. The CHAIRMAN replied that there was already a precedent in the case of the late Mr. Hollinshead. In answer to a question from Mr. Holmes, the SECRETARY stated that Mr. Leathom had been a member of the commit tee from the year 1828. Mr. CHAPMAN gave notice that at the next meeting he should call the attention of the committee to the state of Clarence graving dock. In the meantime he invited the members to go and examine it for themselves. Mr. T. HOLT .mentioned that the present was not a legal meeting, inasmuch as there was a vacancy, caused by Mr. Leathom's death. Several other members expressed a similar opinion. The committee thereupon adjourned. The vacancy will be tilled up by the town council at their meeting on Wednesday next. CORRESPONDENCE. HINT TO THE ELECTORS OF WALSALL TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD Sin, —Through your instrumentality I beg respectfully to ask, whether the electors of Walsall be aware of the facts, that Mr. J. B. Smith was once an unitarian, then a member of the Church of England, and that he is now (I speak in offensively), " as a dog returning to his vomit," again an unitarian ? Surely, if such be the ease, they will no longer encourage the vanity of a man who is " every thing by turns, and nothing Long."—l am, sir, your obedient servant, Myrtle-street South, 25th Jan. 1841. H. W. H. THE MERCANTILE MARINE OF LIVERPOOL TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Liverpool, 22d January, 1841. Sin, —Trusting that you will permit your paper to be made the medium of what may very greatly benefit an extensively useful class in society, I have to request you will give this my letter a place in its columns, assuring you that no object for public consideration could he of more importance. The circumstance of the Collegiate Institution, recently founded, has given me hopes that ere long a neglected portion of the community, which I would earnestly bring before the public, will meet with proper consideration ; and should I unfortu nately fall in exciting a due interest for my subject, I hope it will be attributable to my inability as a writer, and not to its want of importance ; for, without fear of contradiction, I assert, the very existence of our country depends upon it, and the people of Liverpool, more especially, should feel greatly interested, because the class alluded to has been the very means by which Liverpool has risen to its present wealth and reputation in the commercial world. Is it not strange, that so little has been done for those who are generally acknowledged to be the very instruments of our country's good ?—and thousands will bear me out when I say, that this class of persons has been shamefully neglected—and unfor tunately they have no power to obtain a remedy for them selves, being in a manner entirely isolated : their education is altogether different from those on shore, their habits are peculiar, they have a life quite their own. I maintain, that the properly educating the youth of our mercantile marine, should be a paramount consideration. Let me then beg, that the people of Liverpool will consider if they can do any thing for that class, in the midst of the general desire for extended means of education for all others in the community. Let me assure them, with the experience of nearly forty years in the royal navy and merchant service, that the evils existing in the last mentioned service are deplora ble, greatly owing to the want of suitable education and the want of efficient laws and regulations, but more of this hereafter. I wish it were possible for me to bring forward my recommendations with_ such force of language, as the nature of the subject demands ; that part of insti tution should be appropriated to the purpose of instructing young sailors elementarily and practically the use of nautical instruments, and the whole science of the profession by nau- tical professors for that purpose; an observatory would be of immense value to the institution, and with a room for the reception of all chronometers coming to the port, where, I am sure, navigators would be glad of the opportunity of ob taining proper rates and errors for them, upo❑ their going to sea, a very great desideratum in the port of Liverpool; I know such wants have been the cause of the loss of severa vessels in the channel, and shortly after leaving port too steps such as these would be of vital importance to the coun try at large, seeing the merchant service is the great nurser for the royal navy, and as worth and discipline is found i the one service, so will the other be efficient and powerfu Surely government will readily listen to proper represent tions on this subject, and grant facilities for the aecomplis ment The royal navy must, in case of a general war, lave mcn, and impressment would scarcely be tolerated, and how would our ships of war be manned without it? It is :juite chimerical to suppose that men will be induced to leave Merchant ships readili., and enter on board of men of war as the two services relatively exist, to leave a life of wanton liberty, for one of restraint and proper discipline can never be expected ; the one service is certainly beautifully arranged, and with all its parts complete, is like the noble steam engine working with constant regularity, under the control of the engineer, its lawmaker and ruler. Whilst the other service is like the windmill, in its wildest whirlings, under the guidance of the ever fitful blast. I have stated my long experience in both services, and I can speak with certainty as to the state of our merchant service at this moment. It is a lamentable fact, that the insubordination and evils existing there are sapping the very foundations of the nation's bulwark. Let proper laws therefore be enacted by our merchant service, then wholesome and judicious discipline will be created, and the step from this service to the royal navy, would be at once rendered easy. It may be asked by the generality of landsmen, why should such anarchy prevail in our merchant service, and I would tell them the reason is because laws have been made for that service by persons ig norant of his nature, and their legislation has brought the service to the very verge of ruin ; the frequent mutinies, and even mutinies, upon the high seas, should open the eyes of all to this fact. Nautical men only can be judges of this wide-spreading disorder and nautical men should be called upon to assist in the legislation for this peculiar service. Permit me to mention what I experienced upon a very long voyage, completed a short time ago. During twenty months I had visited a great many ships beyond the Cape of Good Hope, and in almost every one the crews had been in a state of mntiny during some part of the voyage, the masters de prived of all authority, and the crews wilfully subjecting the owner's property to very great loss ,• those ships were engaged upon duties far from the civilized world, and their com manders, if conscientious, must have spent many months of misery. My crew had also shown similar dispositions, excited by the plunder of the stores of their own ship, having cut through the planks of the lower deck, and abstracted a large quantity of wine, and from this they escaped with impunity, owing to the insufficiency of the maritime laws. It is im possible that mere landsmen can ever know the hard neces sity of severe rule in that peculiar life, let him try but one trip to sea, in the present season, and in the dark and stormy night, be found upon a lee shore, when the sailors have to hurry from their warm beds, to shift a torn main-topsail ; then would lie discover if any part of his life on shore can bear a comparison, he would then see the necesSity of stern and absolute command, of implicit and active obedience. There are some people, no doubt, obstinate enough, who will not admit that there is any peculiarity in this life, (but they must be destitute of observation indeed who have failed to discover what is so very remarkable,) and may probably ask why should one class of the community be allowed to legis ; late for themselves ; but I hope I have already sufficiently answered this objection ; and I would now call upon the merchants and shipowners of Liverpool to leave no stone unturned till something is done for the reforms,- ' tion of our mercantile navy. Letter after letter has been written on the subject, by those who are suffering, and ar e doomed to witness thi s ev il i ns idiously eaplierjug the whole service. It is as g the apathy with which this is looked upon. I woe.' hope, tee it be too late, the public will open their eyes to the danger. Let laws and rules for the government of the merchant service be immediately laid down by the legislature, assisted by a board of proper officers chosen from the government and merchant service. Exami nations of officers should take place for the merchant service, and certificates of competency be granted by a proper board in each principal port. The rising generation of young sailors should be carefully watched and instructed ;. the laws enacted should support the commanders, giving them proper autho rity, and ensuring their respectability. These laws should ensure the comforts of the seamen, and guard their rights. I am, sir, your obedient set vent, GUBERNATOR SUPERSTITIONS OF POPERY TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Sin,—Subjoined is a literal translation of a paragraph which appears in the Jornal do Commercio, published in Rio de Janeiro, on the 26th November, 1840, which you may perhaps think worthy of insertion in your valuable paper. as throwing some additional light on the superstitions of popery.—l am, sir, your obedient servant, A MEMBER OF ST. JUDE'S CONGREGATION. Liverpool, 25th Jan. 1841 " The undersigned treasurer of the brotherhood of Sta. Luzia da Praia hereby declares to have received an alms of 100§ (equal to £l3 sterling), which was delivered to him by Mr. Joaquin). Joze de Brito, being product of a subscription among the passengers on board the steam-packet Paracense, for the purpose of having made a crown of silver for the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Navigators, in fulfil ment of a promise made to the same most lloly Virgin, ou the occasion of a great tempest which they encountered, and which obliged them to put back to this port."—Jornal do Cowherd°, 26th Nov. 1840. THE LIVERPOOL DEAF AND DUMB SCHOOL TO TILE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Sia,—l had the privilege last night of hearing a most powerful and touching appeal to Christian sympathy, made by the Rev. Hugh Stowell, in a sermon preached in St. James' Church, in the behalf of the Liverpool Deaf and Dumb School ; and as the parent of a large family, all of whom are blessed with the right exercise of their faculties, my con science upbraided me for my want of gratitude and thank fulness to divine goodness for having spared me the terrible affliction of having around me a blind or deaf and mute off spring. I regretted exceedingly that the boisterous state of the weather had deterred numbers from attending, as I feel .confident all parents must have had their feelings awakened in a way similar to what I experienced; and 1 am certain it is only from the subject not being brought sufficiently before the eyes of the public, that this excellent charity in this rich and prosperous town should he under the necessity of having its energies cramped, its usefulness circumscribed for the want of funds. To mothers open always to sympathy— always tenderly alive to anything and everything appertaining to the comfort and welfare of their infant offspring, the ob jects of this charity cannot fail to find iu them powerful ad vocates, or to plead in vain. The wear and tear of active commercial life, has a tendency to distract the attention, to blunt the sympathies and feelings of fathers ; but the cries of her infant, its helplessness and total dependence for its very existence, in the earlier stages of life, find a ready help and succour, a never-failing comfort in the sympathy of ma ternal affection ; they, it would be expected, would be among the first to support an institution for the amelioration of one of the most dreadful afflictions that could possib:y befit an infant, and I feel confident that it is only from a want of consideration, that they are not so. I would therefore, through you, suggest to every parent, that a thank offer ing" should be presented to this institution, in proportion to the number of children in each family, and according to each parent's pecuniary means. The smallness of the amount will not in any way invalidate the gratitude of the donor ; and further, I would suggest iu the case of this charity, and also of the Blind School, the Infirmary, and Dispensaries, sermons should be preached for one of these charities—on the same day—in every church of the town ; by this plan the particular charity advocated would become a topic of conversation, a subject of interest throughout the whole town, and a much larger sum would be added to its funds. I throw out this hint for the consideration of the different advocates of these most excellent institutions, and shall feel much gratified if you and they should deem it worthy of attention ; and in the mean time again appeal to christian parents to think on the condition, temporal and spiritual, of the poor deaf and dumb children, and to bear in mind that the " redemption of their soul is indeed precious." Liverpool, Jan. 23, 1841 TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SIR,—I observe, in my letter which I addressed to the patrons of the Deaf and Dumb Institutions, published by you, an omission of the word board, which perhaps may have been a mistake in the copy I sent you, and which omission conveys a wrong statement. The part of the letter I allude to is, " large SUM has been expended lately in building the New Deaf and Dumb Institution here, yet no mutes can enter it unless a sum is paid for their education." It ought to have been, "No mutes can enter unless a sum is paid for their BOARD and education." It is well known that the Liverpool Institution has set a noble example in giving instruction to poor mute day scho lars gratuitously. It is astonishing that those intelligent mercantile gentlemen who take such a warm interest in the institution, subscribing so largely to it, and giving their time also to promote its best interests as a school, have never thought of making it an asylum, by which its funds would be greatly increased, and the mutes so truly benefitted. Your kindly publishing this letter will correct the mistake in the former.—l am, sir, very faithfully yours, January 22, ISII. W. T. -f--- TO ALEXANDER SMITE!, JUN., ESQ Sift, —My attention having been called to a portion of a speech lately delivered by you, wherein you state you had been informed that I had promised Mr. MOOR ".to use all my influence to seem e his license" if he would vote for Mr. Rathbone, I deem it my duty to assure you that the charge is not only untrue but altogether unfounded. I not only never made such a promise to Mr. Mason, nor spoke to Mr. Mason about a license, but for some years I have not spoken to Mr. Mason on any subject whatsoever; and I never in the course of my life made any such promise to any person whatever for any such purpose. I therefore entreat you to retract your accusation.—l am, sir, yours very obediently, Liverpool, 28th Jan. 1841. RICH. V. YATES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR,—I called upon Mr. Alex. Smith, jun., alone ; and afterwards Mr. James Aikin was so good as to accompany me, when we delivered to him the letter of which the above • is a copy, with the desire of giving Mr. A. Smith, Jun., an opportunity of withdrawing this accusation publicly ; but he declined doing so, and therefore nothing remains for me but to repeat that the accusation is altogether without founds-. tion.-1 am, sir, &c., Liverpool, 28th Jan. 1811. RICH. V. YATES. " The Liverpool Mail of the 26th January having been shown to us, containing the following words, purporting to be part of a speech delivered by Mr. Alexander Smith, jun., to the Tradesmen's Conservative Association, on the preced ing day, namely,— There was one person who kept a house at the corner of Whitfield -street, next door to a Mr. Carter; this person's name was William Mason, and himself and his father were voters for the same house, so that there were two voters in one family, and two voters in one family were of importance in the election in which he (Mr. Smith) was engaged. A friend of his (Mr. Smith's) being surprised that they should have voted contrary to the way in which they had voted be fore, asked the younger Mr. Mason why they had voted in this way, and he gave as his reason, that he had been pro mised a license if he and his father voted for Mr. William Rathbone. (Loud cheers.) He (Mr. Smith) bad taken the words down, and Mason's statement was to the following effect :—He said he had been waited on by Mr. Lawson and another, who said that if he and his father voted as they wished he should have a license next year. Mr. Mason then said that he had had similar promises held out to him before, and that, as they had not been fulfilled, he would require that the assurance should be given by some one on whom he could have some dependance. This, in his (Mr. Smith's) opinion, showed that he understood his business. (Hear, and a laugh.) The next day Mr. Richard Yates called on him to solicit his vote, and promised him to use all his in fluence to secure his license, and said—" No one on the bench has more influence than Mr. Rathbone, and if you vote for him you will secure his influence also." " We hereby declare that the representations in the above paragraph are untrue. I, for myself, William Mason, de clare that I never uttered to Mr. Smith the words which he says he had ' taken down.' And in justice to Mr. Richard Yates we both positively assert that he never called upon or spoke one word to either of us on the subject of the last con test for North Toxteth Ward, that he has not called upon or spoken to either of us for some years past, and that he never on any occasion spuke one word to either the one or the other about a license. " THOS. MASON. " WILLIAM MASON " Sefton Arms, Toiteth-park Road. Jan. 27, 1841.' STEALING JOINERS' TOOLS. young man, named Thomas Quick, was yesterday placed at the bar of the police court, on a charge of having stolen from time to time a quantity of joiner's tools and other articles, the property of several individuals of the same trade. Police-officer Pear son, No. 5, stated that from information he had received, he searched the premises of the prisoner, who is a marine store dealer, where he took out of his hand 54 pawutickets, and through them found a number of joiner's tools, at the. respective shops of Mr. Howard, in Christian-street, and, Mr. Jones, pawnbrokers. He afterwards found some tools in the prisoner's house. The whole were produced. John Jones, a joiner, in Copperas-hill said, that on the 12th De cember, he had worked at the same new buildings in Booth road, Kirkdale. At dark he left his tools in the stable, and on the morning of the 11th, when he returned, he missed a number of them, a measuring-tape, and other articles. He identified the tape produced, and some of the tools. His tools were worth £3. Edward Connor, a joiner, had been working with the prisoner at the premises in Kirkdale, and at night put his tools into a closet, whence they were after wards stolen. Those produced were the same. His tools were worth £5. James Johnson, a joiner, also lost tools from the same building, and recognised some of those pro duced as his property. Henry Edwards, another joiner, also recognised a plane, which he had lent to Johnson. The prisoner said that he had bought the articles, and had ex posed them for sale. He was committed for trial at the sessions, and his application to be admitted to bail was refused by the magistrates, who remarked that such charac tees as he were the most troublesome subjects the police had to deal with.—Another prisoner, au elderly man, named Henry. Fairclough Page, was also committed for trial, on a. charge of stealing a quantity of joiner's tools, from the shop of Mr. Cooper, joiner, Jordan-street. We are happy to hear that our army is to be increased be. the extent of 10,000 men. They are much wanted. There is also a rumour—how true we know not—that an addition is to be made to the marines.—Brighton Gazelle. The National Debt has been increased about &ten Mil lions since the accession of the whigs to office, and this with out taking into account the West India loan of Twenty *t hou, or the war expenses in China, ArTgbanist" , and Syria, which must amount to several millions more. -.- -- - DEATH OF THE DOWAGER COENTESS BATIIIJAST.—The above estimable Countess died at Ler residence in Charles street, Berkeley-square, on Wednesday, after a short illness.. Her Ladyship. who was youngest daughter of Lord Georg e Lennox, and aunt of the presen t Duke of Richmond, w a , born on the 6th of December, 1765, and married on the Ist of April, 1789, Henry, Earl Bathurst, by whom her Lady_ ship had a family of s even children, five of wh om suryive their amiable mother, namely, the present Earl Bathurst, the Hon. William Lennox Bathurst, Clerk to the Pri Lady of the y Council; Lady Louisa Geo r gians Bathurst, Bedchamber to her Royal Highness the Duchess of GI wester ; Lady .e E m ily CharlottePonsouby, and the Hon. and R ev . Ch ar l es Bathurst, The tn li c Y l Beceefised Countess had onl)E. theEa Earl ofa ir l e b d in to o Lady on. returned to town a few d a y s from Brighton.rti, oungest Y daughter of