The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-09 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS, The letter of " Clio" w.is certainly scarcely fit for the printcfs' hahos ; but we have linfortnuatelv teistaid it. We have received :or the Oas!ler Lhermion Fund— Prom Mr. Thomas Ball, Whitee,;ii--.1 .7,C0 10 0 A few Friends at. the Rail,ay En' o , ihe Works.. 0 8 6 Mr. Ezekiel M,son .. We have, not, we regret to say, yet been al le to discover Mr. R iwlinson's letter. We regret this the more, as we think it would be of essential service, especially at the present moment. A correspondent wishes to learn, from some one versed in historical lore, on what v,•ecise day King William 111. land- din Ire'and. 'owe works state it to br on the sth of Novrtrt•er (13S8), but the almanacks generally date the event on the 4$ h. It is its Id by others that the vessel anchored on the 4th, but that the royal landing did not take place until the following morning. "A Lover of Fair Dea!ing" wishes to know why "the balance of money cr. , llec:ed for the formation of the Junior Club has not been returned to the subscribers." Our correspondent uses some rather severe expres sions in his letter, but we hope that a❑ insertion of his query will produce a❑ authorised reply which will be satisfactory to him. " A Constant I;i:ader" is desirous of ascertaining, from the Directors of the Liverpool and llat:chest,r Railway, how the reducti -0 o' the . - ClO.OOO effteted in the dis bt:rsements of the company, for the half year ending January last, f.+d been accomplished; for he says, " that pt-r!taps there night still be further deductions made." clad the writer furnished us with 6i, name, we should have been glad to have inserted his commu nication. •Ebr A ) tintti;i: • • TUESDAY NO 1?1\ ING, JAN. 9, 1844. From the proceedings of the law officers of the Crown, and the traversers to the indictments for conspiracy in Ireland, which will be found in ano ther column, it will be seen that the question as to the legality of the repeal agitation is at length about to be set at rest. The government is evidently in earnest. The trials will commence on Monday next, the day originally appointed; and already, amidst the blustering threats of the conspirators that an almost indefinite procrastination of the result is within their power, may be perceived the (lailing of spirit with which they look upon their position —may be heard the initiatory howl which is to ring through the length and breadth of Ireland when the law shall have told their doom. Thus far, the leading ground of complaint by the Radical organs is, that the law officers of the Crown, in exercising their right of striking off the twelve names from the original panel of forty-eight, have struck off nine or ten Roman Catholics and pre sumed Repealers. It would, indeed, have been a marvel if they had not done so, remembering the energetic efforts made by the Repeal Association to swamp that panel with an influx of their own crea tures, and the open boasts indulged in that the starving-out system was to be successfully applied to the defeating of the ends of justice. But the traversers themselves had the right„ as well as the Crown, of striking out twelve names ; and what was their selection ? Was a Liberal Protestant or a Roman Catholic amongst the twelve ? No! The parties objected to by them were exclusively Con servatives ; and, so far as the fact could be ascer tained, the most independent and resolute Conser vatives upon the list. It may be objected, indeed, and no doubt much will be attempted to be made of the circumstance, that of the twenty-four names remaining on the panel, and from which a jury must be struck, the whole are Protestants, and, it may he, of Conserva tive principles. But what does this show beyond the fact that the wealth and respectability of the city of Dublin contains amid its ranks a proud predomi nance of loyalists and Protestants ? That such men will not return "a true verdict according to the evidence," upon these or any other trials, no candid man can doubt for a moment. We return again to the subject, upon which we remarked briefly in our last; viz. the depressed condition of the working women of England.4...and. now, according to our promise, we propose to enter more fully into its details, and the course to be adopted for its alleviation. Its cure, alas, is beyond our hopes I We have said already that to the intense selfish ness of our nature, and to the love of apparent " cheapness," which a false political philosophy has encouraged, is to he attributed the greater portion of the sufferings, which the female workers of the nation are doomed to undergo. Unhappily, there can be no refutation of the fact. The gradual ope ration of these causes, and the corresponding depre ciation of the condition of the poor throughout the land, may be distinctly traced through the last five and-twenty years. Such depreciation has gone, step by step, with the growth of that system of reck less competition in trade, which our mania for cheap —as distinguished from good—commodities has originated. It has been aided' by the influx of a struggling population into our large towns, in which the market for labour was already glutted ; and by the disposition of our puffing traders to resort—and indeed the necessity of their resorting—to those cen tral depots of capital and surplus labour for their supplies of cheap goods. Beyond this, and tempted by the same cheapness, which abundant capital and the command of over-abundant Tabour tend to pro duce, those traders are brought to embark in the retailing of goods, quite opposed in their nature to those which it is their legitimate occupation to vend. Who hears, now, for instance, in our country towns, of straw bonnet making, millinery, and other exclu sively female avocations, occupying profitably the wives or the daughters of our working poor or mid dle classes ? The flash trader has a supply of all these articles, direct from London or Manchester, - the production of the poor suffering Helots, who toil in garrets or cellars for the pittance which a whole sale house permits them to earn; and, by pursuing the cutting system—viz. by selling articles at less than cost price, to draw custom for other articles— is enabled to undersell, and finally to ruin, the poor sempStresses who depend upon a fair profit for their bread. To what market go the thousands of dozens of shirts, collars, &c., weekly made by the starving females in - the metropolis ? They deprive of the means of life thousands of poor females throughout the country ! We heard last week of one large con cern in Manchester—supported, in all probability, by some bubble joint-stock bank—which produces weekly a thousand dozen of ladies' caps. How many dozen pair of hands does such a leviathan producer render idle ? And for what ends is all this misery created ? That a flash shop may puff its. little hour ; a capitalist add some hundreds to his annual earnings, and that the giddy, the thought less—shall we not add the unfeeling ?—of both sexes, may save a mere trifle in articles of usefulness or finery, and be able to boast of imaginary " bar gains," whilst they pay an amount, more than equal to their fancied saving, in the shape of a poor's rate, to support th e v i c ti ms of their senseless avarice ! We would have ouz fellow-countrywomen to dis courage this irreguiar traffic of the retailer. Let " ten t h ousand dozen of straw them reflect that his bonnets bought for cash," and all that sort of thing —the clearing out of the old stock o f some whole sale warehouse —or the hundred doz en of stays (soiled)" to be sold at 50 percent. below cost price," are only baits thrown out to lure them to the pur chase of other articles. And yet for no profit —as a mere pretext to enable him to boast of his cheap. ness—the puffing trader is perhaps consigning to idleness for a season the needles of a hundred poor families, and at the same time permanently reducing the remuneration of their future industry. But there are other circumstances contributing to produce the wretchedness which we deplore amongst our industrious female population. Our public in stitutions, we fear, are not guiltless in this matter. Three weeks or a month ago we brought before our readers the case of a wretched woman, who had died in St. Pancras workhouse, having, almost to the last day of her life, employed herself within its walls in shirt-making, for which the munificent authori ties allowed her the sum of —A FARTHING EACH ! Y s : in a Christian country—under a Conservative government (!) . --.-a knot of heartless parish functiona ries are enabled, by the stringency of a diabolical system of poor laws, to draw around the wretched pauper the string of famine so tight, that she sub mits to a paltry farthing of remuneration for a day's labour, to earn as much as will purchase a few spent tea-leaves ! And whilst this screw is being applied— whilst this farthing is being doled out—what is the working of the system, so far as the poor out of doors are concerned ? Why, this. By the reply of these same commissioners, to a letter addressed to them upon the subject, by the Poor-law Commis sioners, we are informed that for the last twelve years they have been in the habit of employing their female poor in the making of slop shirts, for which they have been in the habit of receiving, from some wholesale slopseller, the sum of 2s. per dozen, or twopence per shirt (!), out of which they magnani mously allowed the poor workers a farthing ! They saved by this course, for the benefit of the rich rate-payers of the streets and squares of St. Pancras—for the benefit of Peers of the realm, mem bers of Perliament, bankers, barristers, lawyers, and a flourishing shopocracy, seven farthings for each shirt made by the labour of the fingers of these poor destitute females. Oh ! "liberal" humanity where is thy blush? The working, then, of this system, so far as regards the poor beyond the doors of a workhouse, is simply this :—lt drives them within its doors! The hard hearted usurer, who can get a parish to contract to do his work for so miserable a remuneration, is not likely to give more to the poor sempstress out of doors. What reeks he for the fact that she cannot live upon the pittance which he offers her ? She can go to the workhouse, and there labour for him. The very authorities most interested in the enabling of their poor to live by the work of their fingers, have themselves, in effect, fixed the maximum reward of labour; and that too at a price which entails misery upon the labourer ! St. Pancras, and nearly every other metropolitan union, have thus sold their poor to the Jewish slopseller ; and what wonder that famine, prostitution, child-murder, and profligacy, abound beneath the very eyes of England's aristo cracy, and in the very seat of its wealth, or that the country is inundated with crime, and its industrious, rural, and town populations are involved in misery and poverty,—the effects of a forced competition with the cheap productions of these masses of op pressed and depreciated labour ! Well, indeed —when we contemplate such ruin and wretchedness, wrought by ou - : own selfishness and folly—might we address to the thoughtless and unthinking of our fellow-beings the appeal of the inimitable Hood, in a poem which ought to be immortal ! " Oh ! men with sisters dear ! Oh ! men with mothers and wives ! It is not linen you're wearing out, But human creatures' lives. Stitch —stitch—stitch, In poverty, hunger, and dirt ; Sewing at once,_ with a double th rea d , A SHROUD AS WELL AS A SHIRT t" But is it only in workhouses—beneath the cold, worldly eyes of the officials of Somerset House, and liberal"boards of guardians and vestrymen—that these atrocities are committed ? For the sake of human nature, would we could say "Yes t" But we cannot. Our very charities are tainted by such practices. Our Magdalene institutions—our peni tentiaries—our orphan asylums,—these, too, are operating to deteriorate the condition of the la bourer, and to favour the prevalent mania for " cheapness." We have, perhaps, in these no con tracts with Jew slopsellers—no shirt-making for a farthing or for twopence even; but we have cheap sewing, knitting, washing, and other labour for " lady patronesses," " committee-women," and " yearly subscribers." Many and many a guinea —we refer not to the charities of our own town, of whose working we do not know sufficient; but to charitable institutions in general, and we shall be happy to hear that our own are amongst the excep tions—many a guinea, paraded before the world as the gift of charity, is, in a truly worldly sense, well expended! And little does the poor penitent out cast, or the bereaved orphan know, when they are plying their busy needle upun the fine linen or em broidery of their humane female protectors, and be stowing upon their work the fruit of many a ma ternal lesson—recalling, perhaps, the memory of many a past hour of virtue and happiness—that they are contributing to drive others to the same vicious paths and the same unprotected wretched ness, from which they have been themselves hap pily released ! Little do they know that the meagre remuneration for which their lady-patronesses vend their labour to " very dear friends," or enjoy them themselves, is to be made the maximum remunera tion with which other women, otherwise unsup ported, are to buffet with the world, and maintain, in the paths of virtue themselves, and perhaps fami lies dependant upon them. This should not be. In charitable institutions, at least, it should not, un less we are bent upon making charity itself an empty bubble, and professing humanity a bye-word. We are quite ready to acknowledge that such in stitutions are not always capable of being self-sup ported. Besides, industrious avocations must be carried on in these establishments, for the employ ment and training in industry of those contained in them. But let these avocations, so far as the public out of door are concerned, be fairly paid for, at least to the institution itself, and their price not made, as at present, the convenient pretext for the selfish to screw down the remuneration of the independent labour which they employ. Genuine charity should spurn to profit by its own exercise ; and when we reflect upon the tendency which attempts so made must have upon the open market for labour, it is surely a mockery to attempt the training, in indus try and virtue, of those whom we affect to patronize, when the certainty is before us that, when they come forth from beneath our protection, to struggle with the world, they cannot live by the avocations which we have taught them ! The subject is not exhausted ; but for the present we must now pause. If anything could reconcile us to the conversion of such bodies, as the Select Vestry of this parish, into debating societies, by the admission to their meetings of reporters for the pubiic press, it would undoubtedly he the fact that their proceedings are given by some member, from time to time, to the public, in a garbled shape, through the medium of partisan organs. From some such pimping autho rity, we have now before us the proceedings of the Vestry at its meeting on Tuesday last—the written speeches of Messrs. Urquhart and Thorneley of course given verbatim from the copies read upon the occasion, and those of other gentlemen with such interpolations and suppressions, doubtless, as suited the purpose of the amateur reporter. From such reports, one-sided as they are, and untrustworthy, the public derive all the information which they can derive, of workhouse management; and upon the Mercury's statements, therefore, we are compelled to base the few remarks which we shall offer upon • the proceedings of Tuesday's meeting. The first subject which we shall notice, as given in this one-sided report, is the question as to the improvement and enlargement of the workhouse. We are told by a gentleman, who moved the amend ment, to the effect that a new workhouss should be constructed, and by that talkative, or rather speech reading gentleman, Mr. Urquhart, that by the sale of the present site as building ground, so large a sum would be realised, as to require less from the parish funds for a new building than will be required for the alterations proposed. Of course we have no proof of this. We have not suflicientc onfidence in the persons in question to give an opinion upon the subject. We have no wish to see the authorities of the parish dragged into bastile erecting, or to fur nish to the Poor-law Commissioners, aided by a vestry of Urquharts, the pretext which would be afforded by the possession of a building large enough, for submitting to "the workhouse test" the 3600 destitute beings, who now receive out-door re lief from the funds of the rate-payers. We would rather have the limited capabilities of our workhouse remain a bar to the efforts of " Liberalism" to apply the screw to our working poor, than furnish fresh weapons of oppression—increased facilities for the working out of the murderous principles of the atrocious system of Somerset House. Throughout the whole proceeding of the junta of busy radicals, who have wriggled themselves into a share in the management of parish affairs, we can distinctly trace a disposition to bring the poor of Liverpool under the merciless tyranny of the Poor-law Com missioners; and with all our might we shall oppose the arrival of a consummation so pregnant with added misery and degradation to uur suffering fellow -townsmen. The next subject brought before us is the pro posal of Mr. Urquhart to permit the delivery of temperance lectures at the Workhouse.- What a mockery would this be, practically, to a large por tion of the poor beings confined there I The tem perance of a parish pauper, whose most exciting drink is gruel, must needs be sufficiently exemplary ! Such a being has no £5OO to throw away under its excitement ! But there are some, doubtless, within the walls of a workhouse who may, at some future day, revisit the world as its free denizens; and to these, habits of sobriety would be a great good,. and lessons of sobriety might tend to foster such habits. But from whom should those lessons flow ? The Workhouse enjoys the services of a chaplain, quite able to impart them- to all those to whom they can be of service, without the impressed aid of lecturers,. voluntary or hired. We are told, indeedras- something quite conclusive as to the propriety of teetotal lectures, that the gen tleman by whom they are proposed to be-given is a churchman. We believe he is. He may have his pe culiar crotchets, however, upon the subject;; and it is scarcely concealed that he has. Whether this be the case or not, however, is, in our opinion, little-to the purpose. The object of Mr. Urquhart, we are con vinced, is not that these particular lectures should be delivered, but that they should be delivered by any one rather than the- chaplain. It is against that gentleman's authority,, as the spiritual guide of the inmates of the Workhouse, that the factious efforts of Mr. Urquhart are directed. And this particular lecturing permitted, where, pray, is the limit at which our very enlightened parish dignitary, will stop in his progreSs? Will the next exhibition be a lecture by Fathei Matthew, or an Anti-corn-law, or Chartist harangue, by some other equally cele brated authority ? The concluding piece in these select vestry per formances was the very high-minded a opposition offered by the Radical clique to the re-election of Mr. Nightingall as house surjeon. The very au thorities of Somerset-house had acknowledged the extenuating circumstances in the case of this gentle-• man—had virtually admitted that the memory of twenty years' active services should not be taken as grounds of a harsh and vindictive sentence. The entire medical profession had recognised his great experience and talent in the treatment of such dis eases as are most prevalent within the walls of a workhouse. But what can appease, the malignity of Whig-Radicalism when once aroused ? What hope of peace, or decency of temper and deportment, or of charity, can there be in an assembly to seats in which vain men, with brazen faces and empty heads, have unhappily been elevated ?- The parishioners must get rid of this rabid clique; and we trust they will do so at no distant period, We have given in another column a report of the proceedings of two League meetings, reeently held in Toxteth-park, at both of which the "Liberal " party were signally defeated. The latter of these we have given at some length, as both parties—and especially the League hireling—were allowed a fair hearing; and on account, moreover, of the Radical press having burked the proceedings, owing, no doubt, to their having entirely failed in their antici pated result—the alienation from the cause of Con servatism of the Protestant operatives of the Park. We shall not content ourselves, however, with merely recording these proceedings. We feel bound, in addition, to draw attention to the disgraceful tone in which one of our Radical contemporaries has thought proper to allude to the conduct, and to asperse the character, of some of the gentlemen who have moved in opposition to these insidious attempts to intrude League principles and League doctrines in quarters where they were not welcome, and, in deed, most unwished-for. We need scarcely say that the paper to which we allude as having given vent to its usual and odious Personality against a political opponent, is the Liverpool Mercury. A gentleman—Dr. Harbord— whose services to the Conservative cause in the Park are beyond all praise, had, at the first meeting referred to, exercised the influence which he pos sesses in that district, for the very justifiable purpose of protecting his operative brethren from the insidi ous approaches of the League and their lying hire- lings. For so doing, this gentleman has been at tacked, in their peculiarly gross and offensive style, by the gentlemen who conduct the Mercury; and in their publication of Friday week last the gentlemen in question very kindly suggested that his friends should take care of "the poor doctor," as a person incapable of taking care of himself—as a kind of political lunatic We need scarcely say here, to Conservative readers, that Dr. Harbord is, in cha rade and standing with his fellow-tov►nsmen, very far above the scribblers of the Mercury ; and that their paltry attempts to injure him are but the wretchedly abortive attempts of animals "sans eyes - sans teeth—sans every thing" —save length of ears—to annoy those to whom in every respect they are ridiculously and consciously inferior. We scarcely know that we should have referred THE LIVERPOOL STANDAR) to the sayings of the Mercury, except for the pur pose of reading to Conservatives a useful lesson. At the last of the meetings, which we have reported, Dr. Harbord referred to the fact, that only in the previous week he had given an advertisement to the Mercury, and that, nevertheless, he had been se lected as the object of virulent abuse by that jour nal, for which he' acknowledged that he was rightly served. That Dr. Harbord had the slightest notion of any political or personal favour to be derived from the giving of his advertisement to the Mercury we do not believe. He is too fearless a Conserva tive to make the attempt to silence a political oppo nent by such means. But the lesson to the Con servative public is apropos. That public FEEDS that journal ; and their reward is the increased virus and the increased circulation which they thus give to its lying and spiteful calumniations. But we have something more than this to say to the Conservatives of Liverpool. We have to ask them how long they will leave the voice of the Con servatism of Liverpool to be expressed by the Pro testant operatives of our borough ? Our aristocratic party rely upon these poor, but honest and faithful men, in their hours of difficulty. Do they support them ? Do they encourage them in their loyalty ? They do not this adequately. They leave these " good lads " to battle for themselves ; and we tell them this fact, that such conduct must no longer be pursued, unless it is wished that Radicalism should ride rampant in our borough, over that Conservative strength for which we have hitherto been " the observed of all observers." We must support our operative Conservatism, which is the strength of our borough; or cease to occupy our present posi tion as the only truly Conservative large constitu ency in the united kingdom ! MR. OASTLER, THE MERCURY, AND OUR. SELVES. A lying organ may do injury to the best of causes, if uncontradicted in its falsehoods; and, on this account alone, we feel ourselves impelled to recur to the charges with which the Mercury has endeavoured to thwart the efforts at present making for the release from his con finement of the persecuted Richard °ostler. In the first instance, then, let us, in the performance of our task, place ourselves., as well as Mr. °ostler, correctly before the public. The Mercury volunteered, or was prompted;. to bring a charge against Mr.Oastler—never fairly enunciated-- connected with some supposed delinquency of that gen tleman, in the matter of a colliery rented by Messrs. Rawson, Cousin, and Co., from Mr. Thornhill.. We stated that we would inquiro int.) the matter ; and we did so inquire. We did- inquire.. We learned nothing as the result of such inquiry. Mr. Oastler's committee had nothing to communicate.. What they did know they did communicate. But when all that they knew was communicated, and it amounted to nothing, we were asked by the Mercury whether we had written to Messrs. Rawson and Co. themselves:" We had not done so. We never pled b ed ourselves to do so. We should have thought it downright impertinence to do so ! And, moreover, we were not furnished by the Mercury with. the address of these gentlemen, other than that they were lessees of " certain coal-mines belonging to Mr.. Thornhill." This is all the information which we have received from the Mercury -to this day.. Well,,so far as relates to•the coal-mines in question, that transaction was referred to in a letter from Mr. Oastler, contained in our last , publication, and is tho roughly explained in our publication this day. But what was the reply of the Mercury on Friday ? Oh ! that was not the matter referred to after this, impertinent or not impertinent, we decided to write to the gentlemen above-named, their address-having been furnished es by a party who was accidentally in Liver pool on Thursday last. We felt the difficulty of meeting a charge, when that charge was not defined,. and when our opponent was so shifty. We wrote accordingly to Messrs. Rawson, and to that; letter we have, as yet, received no reply. Should we do so early in the week, we-shall , band the letter to cur contemporary,. in time for his Friday's paper ; and should we not, perhaps he will let us know to what transaction he does refer, that Mr: Oastler himself may give us an explanation, if the Mercury or Messrs. Rawson cannot. We shall not keep on firing - in the dark, at so cowardly an•assassin as our contemporary. There is one thing which must strike every reader, connected with this matter. Why cannot the Mercury state his charge, if he has 0710 to state ? Does be fear an action for libel? We can almost absolve him from that fear. Richard Oastler would scorn to tread upon snob a worm !' STREET ROBBERY.—At the police -court yesterday, a man named Jarnes Welsh was, charged with robbing an old man named Richard Riley of his watch. The com plainant said that on Sunday evening he was going along Highfield.street when the prisoner came up, knocked him downouid having drawn his watch from his fob, made off. He bad also lost his hat. It was proved that the priso ner afterwards %. - ent to a public-house, and called for ale to treat these within, tendering for it, as he hadmo money, the watch. Ile also gave a hat to a man present, and being suspected was given into custody. The watch and hat were identified, and the prisoner was committed for trial. RESIGN/MON OF MR. WHITTY.--It will, no doubt, surprise many of our readers to learn that Mr. Whitty, who has filled the situation of chief constable of this bo rough, since the- passing of the Municipal Reform Bill, with so much credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. has resigned his onerous and responsible post. This, we believe, he h as b een ind u ced to do i n conse quence of the harassing and hazardous nature of his du ties, his, attention to which has, for some time, been preying upon his health. We understand that Mr. Whitty intends devoting himself again to literary pur suits.—Mercury.--[The Watch Committee, in accepting Mr. Whitty's resignation, have passed an unanimous re solution expressive of "the high sense they entertain of the valuable services rendered by him during the period he has held the office of head constable of the borough ; and that in the performance of his arduous duties, the zeal, energy, and ability displayed by him were not more conspicuous that] his uniform discretion and judgment, combining, in a peculiar degree, decision of conduct with the utmost courtesy and forbearance.!* It is said that Me. Whitty intends again to be connected with the journal whose. Lditorship he relinquished to become head constable.] TILE FUNDS: SATURDAY NIG/LT.—The satisfaction, expressed in the city at the revenue return is greater than has been known for some time past, the tact that the greatest increase on the quarter is. shown by the item of Customs being deemed very important. Had the appear ance of prosperity been kept up by the extraordinary action of the income-tax alone, there would have been less cause for congratulation, but now we have the signs of a substantial improvement. The announcement in yesterday's azetre of the application of the fourth part of £908.500: (the surplus shown in the October balance sheet) to the purchase of stock and exehequer-bilk is likewise interesting. The diminution of the national debt by this proeess.is indeed very small, but even a beginning is satisfactory. The stock markets did not close till four o'clock this afternoon, in consequence of its being the first day- for private transfer in the English securities, which increased business; find induced the bank directors not to shut their books h. , ,fOre half-past two. At the con clusion of dealings, quotations, generally speaking, were pretty steady, and did not materially vary from those be fore noted. Consols for money and account left oft 97/ ex. div..; Three per Cents. Reduced, 921 to 98; Time and-a-Half per Cents. Reduced, 1028 to I; New Three and-a-Half per Cents., 104 to ex. div. ; Long An nuities, 121; Bank Stock, 186 to 187 ; India Stock, 272 to 274 ex. div.; Exchequer-bills, 675. to 695. premium ; and India Bonds, 795. to 81s. premium., Tun INFIRMARY.—The annual meeting of the sub scribers of this noble institution was held in the Board room of that establishment yesterday mording, and was attended by some of'the stanchest friends of the charity, which we regret to say, though having indubitable and primary claims on the support of the public, has not for some time past, received that pecuniary support to which it is so eminently entitled. Edward Gibbon, Esq., oc cupied the chair, and the secretary read an abstract of the accounts, from which it appeared that the funds had con siderably fallen off during the last year, though several handsome donations had been given. It appeared that the inmates of the asylum, who had last year numbered 39, had this year increased to 59. On thanks being voted to the Rev. R. Davies, who has for 14 years ad ministered spiritual and moral instruction to the inmates with an assiduity and success beyond all praise, that gen tleman addressed the meeting at some length, showing in a very affecting manner the benefits that had resulted from the dissemination of divine truths amongst the in mates, though the pastoral duties to be performed were onerous and beset with considerable difficulties, most of the patients being of the poorer and unedue ited classes. He had instituted additional services, a_ which, with but slight exceptions, the greatest attention was paid by the hearers, and he had reason to believe that many who had contracted vicious habits, had been reclaimed. The good effect of such auministrations had also been grati'yingly evidenced even amongst the unfortunate inmates of the asylum —so that not one was now under restraint. He thanked_ those present for the kindness he had ever re ceived at their hands, and alluded especially to the worthy chairman, who had for many many years been a firm friend a the establishment. We refer our readers to the advertisement of the proceedings in another column, an d shall probably next week furnish some interesting details from a statement—not yet fully prepared by the board for the information of the subscribers and the public generally. WHIG-RADICALISM, PAINTED BY ITSELF The Liverpool Mercury of Friday last contains so naive a statement of the probable doings in the next session, and the present feelings of the Whig-radical party, that we cannot refrain from giving it verbatim to the world. Here is the precious morceau : " It is not to be supposed that the parliamentary va cation has been passed in inactivity, or that the Anti corn-law League's new agitation, has not given a smart shock to the political parties who, hut for it, would have willingly relapsed into the repose of routine. To the Whig aristocratic leaders it would doubtless have been more agreeable to have tvo-ked Ireland as an instrument to eject Sir Robert Peel, without stirring too deeply the more personal matter of the corn laws; but Lord Spen cer's declaration on the one hand, and that of the Irish repeaters on the other, have driven them, against their will, to deliberate seriously upon taking some decided line of policy, in the full belief that the future fate of their party will depend upon their conduct at the opening of parliament." „. Let the reader direct his attention, for a moment, to the words which we have marked in Italics. First, "it would have been more agreeable " to the vvhig aristo cratic leaders "to have worked Ireland as an instrument to eject Sir Robert Peel !" Poor Ireland ! The aris tocratic whig party would fain have had thee, like some porker of thy own rearing, under its arm, and " worked" thee—squeezed thee like the bellows of a bagpipe pinched thy delicate ears—until thy sweet howlings and spasmodic struggles should have frighted and finally eject ed from office Sir Robert Peel's ministry ! " WORKED IRELAND !" Oh, rare ! good Mercury, " roar again !" The aristocratic whigs, however, have not had their "working" propensities gratified, Lord Spencer, the League, and Daniel O'Connell have baulked their wished for exertions in this, their favourite, line of practice. These fell marplots—Mercurius ipso loquitur —" have driven them (the whig aristocratic leaders) against their will to deliberate upon taking some decided line of policy, (which, it seems, they never yet pursued,) in the fall belief that the future fate"—of what ?—of their country ? Oh, no ! "In the full belief that the future fate of THEIR PARTY (!) depends upon their conduct at the opening of parliament !" Never mind their country ! never mind its prostrate industry ! geed not the cry of its working poor ! " The decided line of policy," to be taken up by aristocratic whigs at the com mencement of the coming session, has nothing to de with these, Whiggery is going to dump Jim Crow, to• join the Anti-corn-law League, or to do some other desperate thing ; but it will jump and do the desperate only for ITS PARTY Oh, rare ! good Mercury—but that it might "create wild laughter 'neath the ribs of death" —we should implore thee to "roar again.!" Seriously,, reader, this is a very amusing and instruc tive confession. After this, why need we care what aristocratic whigs or any other whigs may do, when their object is so distinctly avowed to the world—as PARTY, PARTY ? They would sell their country to its worst enemy, plunge it into anarch and confusion, and finally sell their own souls for—PARTY ! SAILING DIRECTIONS FROM PORT LYNAS TO LIVERPOOL, BY COMMANDER H. M: DENHAM, R.Nr.,.F.R.S. A handsome octavo volume under this with the addition of " charts, coast-views, river sections. tidal courses, and tide gauge table. for navigating the D e and Hersey, including the latest alterations." has just made its appearance, and cannot fail to be highly acceptable to commanders of vessels, and more especially to those who are strangers to our port. The gallant and experienced author„ it will be generally known, was employed for a series of years, from 1833- in making a survey,- with sextant and lead-line, of the outward banks, and the channels leading to the Mersey and the Dee ; and had the honour at an early period of his labours, of so demon strating the advantages of the new, or " Victoria Chan nel"'as a half-tide entrance, that at an early period orhis labours, ail doubt and speculation were laid aside, and it was immediately lighted and beaconed, and has since been of the utmost value to our shipping. From his long and careful surrey has emanated the present volume, in the preface to which he throws out a number of suggestions for further iinprovemenr, perfeceing, and preservation at' en adequate depth of this second highway to our harbour, including screw-pile beacons, screw pile refuge fabrca;. constant dredging at points liable from deposits to become shoal, &e. These more immediately invite the serious consideration of the conservators'of the navigation of our , port, and, so far as we can judge, appear to be dictated by sound judgment and a due appreciation of theirim portance. We have as yet been enabled only to dip into the body of thiS volume, which is- replete with useful di rections, laid dBwn in so clear and readily accessible a manner, that "'he who sails may read." His grand ob ject in this work will, we doubt' not, be eel ieved— namely "'to bring the stranger, who may be driven up, and have missed the pilot-hoatsi into port-anchorage, with chart and book, by night as well as day." Prefixed to the work, which is typographically exceedingly well got up, is a chart of Liverpool 13,7, with the channels, banks, beacons. &c. outwards ; the Mersey up to East ham, and the ree to Mostyn—the soundings minutely marked throughout.. This chart presents ill the changes, corrected to the close of 1843. The coast views are very numerous and distinct; and there is an outline chart of the relative position of the lights in the navigations be tween Liverpool, Ang!esea, Dublin, the Isle of Man, &c. The directions apply to all circumstances and ex igenoies. and to aaviat in reference, there are varied page titles,.and marginal notes. The book', indeed, should be added to the library, large or small, otevery ship-master. hrbssrs. Phillips and Sons, togetherwitb their full qua drille band, performed several sets of quadrilles, waltzes, &c., to the satisfaction of the whole company, last Tues day evening, at Sir John Gerards, Newhall. THOMAS'S.SOIIOOL, TOXTETIVPARK. —On Thurs day last the children in.theseschools„amounting to nearly three hundred, were entertained with tea and buns in the school-room attached to St. James' Church which had been kindly granted by the Rev. Hampton, the in cumbent. In the•evening a number of the congregation of St. Thomas's assembled in the same room and partook of tea, &c. with the Rev. Mr. Butler; their pastor, when very , gratifying reports of the state of the schools and district were read'hy the visitors. Mr—Butler and other clergymen addressed the meeting. The• progress of these schools has been extremely satisfactory, and the neat ap• pearance and orderly behaviour of the children, reflected great credit on those who superintend them. ORPHAN ASYLUM.—It will be observed by our advertisement columns that on Sunday next St. John the Evangelist's Church, in Hope-street, is to be re opened, on which occasion sermons-are to be preached on behalf of this popu!ar Institution. The church which has been closed for the purpose of making alterations, is fitted up in a style of great neatness and convenience. An interesting : circumstance connected with this Church and the Female Orphan Asylum cannot he too extensively promulgated, as exhibiting beneficence of no ordinary character. An arrangement has been made with the proprietor of the Church, by Henry Winch, Esq„ by pews arranged which, a ft er ma ki ng prov i.i on for the necessary expenses, e the profits a re t o b e appropr i ated , to the use and benefit of the Asylum. In thi s b enevolent design he is joined b w y. e th n e nd ß er e si y a . nd Thomas en M ts ac of il tiie r gratuitously tak n i'' who charge of the Church, a n d will he the even i ng preac h er most reasonable scale, and w e cannot d ou b t that a large o es _ a and respectable congregation will be speedily coil cted. Added to the comfort which they are certain to acquire they will enjoy the additional satisfaction of contributing to the support of an asylum sheltering and instructing the poor girl bereft of care and affection. A SHEOND DEATH FROM, BURNING AT THE GREAT FIRE` ?1 , 1 HArtatNaToN-s - ructer.—An inquest was held yesterday, before Mr. Curry, the borough coroner,. on view of the body of Hugh Jones. Robert Edwards,, a labourer, residing in Mathew-street, said he knew the deceased, who was 21 years old. Witness and deceased both worked at Messrs. Branckers' sugar-house._ Last Thursday week they went to work in the morning• in the same room, and during breakfast time, which was about twenty minutes past eight o'clock, an alarm of fire was given. They were in what is called the " piece -room," which i , in the sixth story. Deceased was close to wit ness. Witness ran down stairs directly, and on getting on to an iron bridge that went over the boilers, heard the deceased speak to him, saying—" Oh, Robert, I am badly burnt; what will I do?" The room was full of smoke. Witness made his escape, and saw nothing more of the deceased until Saturday night l as t, w h en h saw him in the hospital, and he was dying. He died in a few minutes after.—Robert Roberts, a labourer, with whom the de ceased lived in Mathew -street, and who also worked at the sugar-house, said that he was at work there on that morning, and heard an alarm of fire. His house was just opposite the gate. He ran out directly into the sugar house yard, and saw the deceased an the iron bridge leading over the boilers. He went up to him and carried him down, and took him home directly. He was severely burnt from his head down to his middle. He was soon after taken to the Northern Hospital. Witness afterwards saw him there.—Mr. John Frederick Behn, foreman to Messrs. Braneker, said he had gone to breakfast in the house adjoining the premises; he heard an alarm of fire given, and directly after smoke and afterwards flames burst out from where the boilers were. Witness saw nothing of the deceased. Before be went to breakfast the place appeared all safe. He could not tell how the fire originated.—Mr. James Doyle, officer of Customs, was on the pre m i ses , an d w hen he heard the cry of some one came and as ked him for the keys, which hefire, gave him, and he w e n t a n d opened the stove door. The fire appeared to have originated there, and there was a great ) q uan tit y o f smo k e . Witness ran u stairs to save hi s a i great blaze of fi re , book and papers, but was met by and was obliged to return. He then saw several of th e men in the mill-room, which was full of smoke. H e h a d riot the keys at the time to let them out, but ran a n d got engines. and handed it t o th e men a hammer at one of t h e - When window. he went for the ham merinside through a t the last witness carrying the deceased out he net whole building was enveloped in flames. Soon after t Themen e -caped through means of the h ammer, with whichthey broke off the staples and lock of the mill door. Witness said he had not the slightest idea room the fire originated.—Mr. Parker, ho w house-surgeon of we Northern Hospital, - said that the' deceased, when b roug ht to the hospital, w as severely burnt, but not, it ~,a 4 at first supposed, dangerously. Every thing was d o ne for him, hut he died on Saturcla in consequence of t he burning. Th e j ury returned a verdict to the effect ti-at tl e building caught fire from some that the decease d wascause unknown, and accidentally burnt, and died from the injuries he received. Jan. 9, 1814 JUVENILE MENDICANCY IN LIVERPOOL• We detest, as cordially as need be, that cold-blooded philosophy which would close the hearts and the hands of Englishmen to the appeals of suffering humanity, and which teaches that the extent of a man's char;table contributions to the supplying of the wants of his fellow-man should be the amount of his poor's rate. We are not prepared to say the provisions of the law, as regards mendicanefr should be strained so tightly that the authorities w ho ad minister it should resemble, in their harsh watchfulnesSr the paid officials of " mendicity associations," and represS entirely the supplications of casual want to the ready band and the open purse of those who are willing to obey the divine injunctions to remember the poor and the afflicted. But there is a limit to the extent to which we would earl the forbearance of the law, and classes of objects to who'll we would apply its strictest provisions. The sturdy beg gars. who pester every passer by for money to lavish is low debauchery ; the impostors who offend our eyes by the exhibition of self-caused deformity or pretended bodilf affliction ; these should be swept from our streets, and would be so swept from them, if our police would do their duty, and must be, unless access is to be denied (to peace able and timid people) to our markets and our public thoroughfares, in which they abound to such an extent ee to constitute an intolerable nuisance. There is one kind of mendicancy, however, which we are bound to suppress rigorously, if we would be just a nd humane to the wretched objects by whom it is pursued. i We allude to juvenile mendicancy —to infant mendicancy. •, Let the reader, on any evening, between dusk and mid night, and in any we a th er , v i s i t some of our leading tho roughfares, and especially the neighbourhoods of the prin cipal theatres and other places of amusement, and, unless accustomed to the sight, he must be shocked by the num- her and wretchedness of the tattered childreu, who dog the steps of the passers by, to importune them for contri butions. Or let him watch the same description of children in their nightly rounds, from tavern to tavern, to , pick up a few halfpence, by singing and other acquire- I ments suited to the tastes of frequenters of tap-rooms, and then let him ask himself—is it real charity, or even hu manity, towards these children to encourage the vagabond life which they lead ? Who are the parties who drive them to these demoralizing practices ? Is it by their own choice, or for their own emolument, that infants of tender years, half clad and half starved, brave the extremity of the winter's cold and the midnight storm—shiver in the most exposed localities, or run bar e f oo t upon t h e hard 1 pavements ? For a solution of these questions, follow home the little outcasts to the wretched dens, where a brutalized father, or a half s t arve d an d wholly dissolute mother, waits to receive the scanty rewards of their mid night wanderings. There is the source from which ema nates the stream of pollution which defiles our streets, and which provides for the law to punish, a race of pick pockets of crime. A striking instance of the horrible effects of this kind of mendicancy has been mentioned to us by a friend, as having come under his observation during the past week. A half idiotic little - boy was observed by him at a corner of a street 1)11 - gaining earnestly with two parties for a le - alfpenny ; and he was induced to ask the particulars of ~ his occupations and his parentage. The wretched little ;- being had acquired —at some of the low theatres and con cert rooms, no doubt, with which our town lately abound ed—the words, the tunes, and the necessary grimaces, for , singeng what are known by the name of " nigger melo dies," streets by his mother, andgenerally remained out of doors until two or three o'clock in the morning I As the climax, of the cruelty, thus practised upon him, be was provided . with a snuff box I from which he took plentiful pinches, from time to time, as he described it, " to keep him from sleeping.!' What, we ask, must be the sufferings of such ' a life ? What must be the horrible depravity,. or priva tion, or both, which could lead - a mother thus toqlevote to certain ruin her wretched offspring ? This species of mendicancy ought promptly to be put down ; and we appeal to the Watch Committee to do their duty by in suppression. We ask for no punishment of the poor children themselves, but rather for theirprotec lion from the profligate parents- who devote them to de the making of a few e xamp l es, w ill e ff ect. struction ; and thi s a strict prevention of the practice, and We are I - et - It:rested to caution the public against a set of men who are going about the streets in the evening and stripping children of their clothes. We und erstan d t h at Dr. R. Hibhert Taylor, Percy street, has been appointed one of the medical officers of the School for the Deaf and Dumb, in the room of Mr. Neill resigned.. SURGEON TO TOE WORKHOUSE.—At the last meeting of the select vestry, Mr. Nightingall, who had retired from this office, but subsequently,had expressed a wish to be reinstated, was reappointed by the board, in compli ance with the request of the poor-law- commissioners. The Observer states that, up to a late hour on Saturday, no final determ:lnation had been come to at the Home Office, on the case of the unhappy men now under sentence of death for the murder of Lord Derby's game keeper. Sr. LUKE'S CHURCH.—The Mulleneux, who has for a short time held the curacy of Bebnington, has been appointed incumbent of St.. Luke's Church, Liverpool, on the presentation of the patron, Sir Joshua Walmsley. QUADRILLE PAIITIES.—In another column will be found an advertisement of Mr. Parker's band. At this season, when balls are so numerous, it would be well for those who have their management, as well as private par ties, to secure Mr. Parker's services, as the celebrity and talent he is known to possess are such as cannot fail to give the highest OR tisfactio”. STREET THEINT.'----A youth, named George Dodson, was, on Saturday, charged before Mr. Rushton with , having, on the previous day, stolen-a chair from a cart-- load of furniture, at the door of Mr. . Morgan's, Imperial Hotel, St. John's-lane. He was seen to take it, in broad day, and walk away with it down by the wall of St. John'i Church-yard. He was committed for trial. ASSAULT AND-CUTTING CASE.—Three men, Michael Corkin, John Kenna, and Patrick Gilligan, were, yester day, charged, by a keeper of a disorderly house in John snoi night, r d e e t an w d i t h i ig f d o r r i c , i i b k l , y andentering severely his assaulting o ltin n g Sa n t i u na rd ;_ ay one of them with a clasp-knife having cut off the tip of his nose, and inflicted two other wounds on his face. The case was proved, and they were committed for trial at the sessions. NOTICES TO CORKESPONDETS. A-correspondent who signs C.A.P. enquires whether, itaperson leaves his seat temporarily in the Pit of the Theatre, he can demand to have it given up to him on his return. We say no, He cannot do this in the Pit ; and we saw an instance a tew evenings ago, where a party was refused to have his seat so restored to him in the Boxes of the Liver Theatre. The Mercury never borrows—oh, not He borrowed, neverthe less, in his last, without acknowledgment, a leading paragraph from the Liverpool Times, upon the subject of the condemned criminals at Kirkdale. We could point on about 2 similar larcenies in every paper which he publishes OL f s P e v ß e O r e V w l e S a I t h O e r N a d N a i y A o R r K twoET;f t e ei r A t N h e . p B u . b- A L n I V a p E p e l! r P a O n lication of ouriast circular, added toaccounts of advanced rates in the Irish markets, caused a temporary firmness-in the Butter trade here. The atmosphere has, however, become !strangely mild for the-sew-on of the year, and the market has aga'n be come perfectly mesmerised. We may mention that fine fresh parcels of Butter are scarce, and for such the prree is supported; but for miticl'ing sorts, (with which we are completely inun dated,) it is difficult to give a quotation. Under such circum stances, therefore, we deem it safe to call the prices from 78s to 625. per cwt. for the finest Kilkenny. &c., down to indifferent Newry. _Pickled Butter is yet at 6.5. to 675. per cwt. for' t•econds. Prime Beef as last noted. Pork is.rather iooking up, and Bacon is more thought of. Foreign provisions (except the very bestißeef not much enquired after. LIVERPOOL COLONIAL MARKET, JAN. 5. • Sugar.—There has been a fair demand: and the sales are 55* hhds.. 8.P., and 1,600 bags Bengal, at fall prices. No sales.ia Mauritius.—Foreign.—The sales of the week are 51) cases brown Bahia , at 15s 6d per cwt. from the quay, 110 boxes white and brown Havana, and so brls. Laguira. in public sale. with alt faults. 100 casks of Demerara Molasses have been sold at 2.is pet cwt.—Coffee. The sales this weak are quite unimportant, consisting merely of 70 bags Penang and go bags Brazil, atthe %notations I (Jo bags Cocoa sold at the reduced quotations; t0 , .0 bags Black Pepper at 2-ad toad lb.—No sales of. Ginger or Pimento.—The only sales of Rice are a few tierces carvolina and 600 bags damaged Beagal.—Nothing done in Rum. LIVERPOOL HAY AND POTATOE MARKET, JANUARY 8. Potatoes, Ipplb s. d. s. d. Hay, old 2' /t) 0 6GoO 10 Pink-eyes Cups Short-tops 1 Cattle ....-- l i 6 8 4 Str o a a w ts ,Wheat : 00- 34-4-- 0 4 0 4 4 Turnips, IF. ton l7 0 —l9 0 Batley .... 0 0— 0 0 Carrots ... .23 0 —3O 0 Manglevaurzle23 0 —23 6 TIDE TABLE. DAYS. MN. EY OLYDAYS, ETC. I 11 Tuesday 91 30 17 10 • Macs sets gh 48m even. Wednes. Is 150 211 17 '5 V enus sets Oh am even. Thurs... 11 231 253 16 7 Binary Tcrm begins. R _N. HEIGHT ...! 344 15 11 Saturn sets 5h 30m ev. 14 9 Cam. Lent Term begins Sunday 14 513 552 13 10 2nd Sunday after Ep ph. ,3 4 ITI 441 • 7 11 ' 13 8 - Os. Lent Term begins. si F ia r Friday .. 12 11 1: 5 6 30 LIVERPOOL : TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1844. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY MORNING, BY JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53, Grove-street, and LEONARD ADDISON, of 14, Great Orford-street, At N 0.4, ST. GRORGE'S CRESCENT, LIVERFOOL Otters and Advertisements axe received by Messrs. Newton at,d Co., Warwick-square; Barker, Fleet-street; Deacon , Walbrock ; Reynell, Chancery-lane; Lawson and Barker, Birebin-fare; Joseph Thomas, I, Finch-lane, Cornhill; Munden Hammornj, Lombard-street ; Mitchell, 8, R e d Lion-conrt, Fleet-street; Clarke and Lewis, 4, Crown court, Threadneedle=street Garraway's; at the London Commercial Coffee-house, Mincing,.lane; at the Jerusalem Coffee-house, Cornhill; Chapter Coffer—house, Paternoster. row ; North and South American Coffer-house, Thread needle-street; and Messrs. William Frent, Le Maitre, and Co., Sise-lane, London; by Messrs. Johnst , e and Co., at their Newspaper and Advertisement Agency Office, Eden Quay, Dublin; Mr.M`Phun, Glasgow ; Mr. Wheeler, Rx changc-strett, and Mr. C. H. Lewis, Market-street, Man chester • Mr. haddock, and Messrs. J. and W. Booth, Book sellers, Warrington ; Mr. Clarke, Pilot-office, Prestcn; and Mr-Coope, 33 Un on-street, Birmingham. Terms of Subscription for this nailer :—On cr.( dit, one year, 35.: halt-year. 1' s. d.—lf paid in advunce—one year £1 is. ; ball-year, loss 6d. c -___ .. ~~. ~r~ NV] RO ST kin SO De Pot Gal TH iienr ber la Prepa selves nit Port the JAW vision follow 2._. Medic " Kir 3. latially knnut ' l l , anal h ands Wards a Prei be elei in Jar or any