The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-11-13 00:00:00

ADJOURNED COUNCIL MEETING The adjourned meeting of the council was held on Tues day, for the purpose of transacting the business left over from the preceding day. The IVIAYOR presided. Alderman EVANS rose, as the regular business was about to be commenced, and said—Before we proceed, I should like to address the council on what affects them as well as the community, and that is the manlier in which the pro ceedings of this council are reported. I admit that, gene rally, they are accurately given, but we have more than one instance where they were otherw se, and on the part of one Paper we have much that is falsified. I care nothing for my self in the affair, but I really do not think wr are keeping faith with the public if we'fail to mark those c nnplete misre presentations. The reporters were admit c l here fur the purpose of giving a faithful recount of the proceedings, and when any of them ceases to do that, he ought to vacate the privilege of being here. I happened in -the newsroom this morning to look at the Mail, and I found that what I said yesterday was therein misrepresented. I looked at the two other papers, in order to see-whether the misrepresentation was general, and I found that the Times and the STANDARD have given it exactly as I spoke, but the Mail has, in the essential parts, altogether misrepresented the thing. Now, I do not mean to follow this up by any motion ; hut, if it be repeated, I shall follow it up by moving that the reporter of any paper that misrepresents shall be prohibited from com ing here. I have no objection to the whole of their other columns being devoted to ridicule and libel, but I think they ought to givethe proceedings of the council as they are with truth and faithfulness. Mr. JORDAN.—I beg to state, in addition to what Alder man Evans has said, that I haves complaint to make on this head against the press generally. If the members, of the Houses of Lords and Commons correct the accounts given by reporters, they also call on the editors of papers to assert that they were present and that they voted so and so. Now, it is a very common practice with the reporters to leave me out altogether—(a laugh)—and to exclude what little I do say ; and sometime since when a motion was made and that I spoke upon it, I was not mentioned as being in the council at all. Now, I think our constituencies have a right to see that we are here, because if, they never see our names in the paper they may think that we have resigned and left the coun cil; and, therefore, every man who sits here has a right to have himself mentioned. Mr. SaIITEI.—I think Mr. Jordan has made a very curious complaint; and I must say that though my name does not always appear in the divisions, I should be very sorry to imitate Mr. Jordan's example and find fault with the press on that account. (Hear, hear.) Mr. G! H. LAWRENCE.—As I have not seen the Mail of to-day I am not in a position either to admit or to refute the charge of misrepresentation of which Alderman Evans has complained ; but I think it cannot be said with truth that the Mail misrepresents, for I know not any paper that reports better than that journal. (Hear, hear.) Mr. D. HODGSON.—I think the papers ought to be left to take their own course without any ieterference•on the part of this council. (General cries of " Hear.") For my own part I have been abused not a little, especially during the low state of the Mercury lately in reference to what they were pleased to designate a wooden Bible, but I have not inter fered, because when men ,•ire found to tell such falsehoods I am anxious to let them possess the character of liars as much as they please, either by acts of omission or commission. Mr. H. LAWRENCE.—For my own part I have been in debted to the newspapers for the manner in which I have been reported, for they generally express my sentiments in much better language than I could myself. The MAYOR.—Thc object of affording admission to re porters here was that they might give a faithful, or, at least, a substantially faithful, account of what occurs, and there can be no doubt that it would be exceedingly wrong if any distorting words were put into the mouths of any of the speakers. If we cannot have the power of either lords and commons, the reporters should confine themselves to truth. Mr. EARLE.—The papers tell no lies, sir; they are only " errors in degree." THE CHARGE AGAINST THE MAGISTRACY. Mr. AIKIN here said.—Before we go into the business of nominating the committees, I rise not to gratify any wishes of my own, but to afford an individual present an opportii nity of making an explanation. I do not rise with the pre . - sumptuous thought of defending the ma g istracy , but for the purpose of demanding the reason why the individual in ques tion brought his charge against that body. I trust that op portunity will be afforded me of following up this matter; and, in the first place, I will simply recall the words as they fell from the gentleman. His allegation was that " many of those who should have been the protectors of the law had be come the breakers of it, and made others the protectors," and he afterwards repeated the words, and said that " if ever he •should be called upon to state his reasons for making the charge, he should be prepared to do so." I now call upon him to state upon what grounds he advanced it, and I trust no attempt will be made to prevent him from doing so, see ing the very serious way in which the charge was made, and the grand style in which it was introduced ; for the tone, the look and gesture, were all elaborately formed to catch the eye of our wondering imagination. (Hear, and a laugh.) I want to know then, on what basis this charge rests ? Mr. BUSHELI..—Sir, I feel that Mr. Aikin has very justly brought.this matter before the council. (Hear, hear.) Feel ing desirous of leaving this room as early as possible last evening, I requested to know from him whether he would bring forward the subject to-day. I ascertained that he would, and he has now done so. 1 pass over the manner and gesture that he ascribes to me. Whatever may be my mode of delivery in this council that affects nothing that I say, and, therefUre, I cannot help thinking that it would have been better had he confined himself to calling for the explanation he demands. (Hear, hear.) That which 1 said yesterday was, that " some of the magistrates who should have been the protectors of the law, had become the breakers of it, and made others the protectors." And, now, I boldly avow the charge which I intended to convey in those words. (Cheers.) I trust I never said anything in this council for which I could not produce justification ; and it will be for you to say whe ther or not I have had justification for the present charge. You will, however. bear in mind that I brought no charge against the whole body, but that I said "some," unless they were greatly belied, had been guilty of such conduct. Now, 4 r, for the proof. I hold in my hand a newspaper ; and I must crave that no interruption will be given me while es tablishing this charge, so serious as it is to the body at large. (Hear, hear.) In the STANDARD of the ith of August, this year, I find a list -of subscribers to the Protector Society. "nu in the Mail the Bth of August the same list verbatim, I belie„, of subscribers to the Protector Society ; and I shall read the names contained in that list with your approbation. It is headed, " Subscribers to the Protector Society ; and this is the way in which it was introduced in the STANDARD:— " The following list of subscribers to the Protector Society has been handed to us; it having reached us anonymously we cannot vouch for its accuracy." It is thus introduced in the Mail :—Sinews of war for the radical party.—The following list of subscribers to the Pro tector Society has been published by a contemporary, but though correct, we have reason to believe, in the main, there are one or two omissions." And now for the list. J, Waimsley. .. • J. Mullineaux 5OO • Thorneley. . 250 J. C. E wart - Cropper. John Holmes (Laughter.) _ It remains to be seen whether this is a subject for laughter or not, and, before I have done, I shall take the means of proving its correctness. It continues as follows : Eyre Evans. £2oo John Platt.. Pattison Ellames. Francis Jordan. Preston... Frankland. —Blackburn.. Quayle Booth lOO Sheil Thornhi11. W. Rathbone (3d donation).... James Brancker. Yates. . Glenn. Hornby. Segar. Carson 5O Coglan 5O Kee Mason. Mellor. 2O Alison. —Woollright... Now, with regard to this statement, I have to observe, that it appeared in two of the leading journals of this town, and that it has never been contradicted. (Hear, hear.) I have invariably found that, when any charges are brought against a party or individual, there has always been a desire evinced by that party or individnal to rebut those charges, and to prove them to be unfounded ; and it was upon this Published statement, or, at least, partly upon this statement, that I founded my charge against some of the magistracy of this town yesterday. (Hear, and cheers.) The accuracy of this list has, I repeat, never been denied, and, therefore, it Was anything but probable that it was incorrect. (" It is in correct," from two or three voices.) I have nothing to do here with the denial of those who are not magistrates. I find the name of Sir Joshua Walmsley on the list; I also find the 'lame of Mr. Ewart, of Mr. John Holmes, of Mr. Eyre Evans, of Mr. Francis Jordan, and of Mr. Rathbone. As the Christian names of Messrs. Cropper, Booth, Hornby, and Alison are not mentioned, I shall not say whether or not they are the magistrates answering to those names. But, at all events, I have brought the charge against the six magistrates who are named by their Christian and surnames on this list. The next thing for me to do is this : I have heard several !start up and deny that this is true. Now, I call upon those Who have not yet started up to say and deny that they have ever, either directly or indirectly. subscribed their names and their money to any fund for such a purpose (hear, hear) •, and when I have received such a denial as magistrates and as men of honour ought to give to such a charge, I shall get up and say that I am sorry they did not sooner contradict the statement, for that, in such a case, they would have saved themselves from the odium and me from the trouble of /flaking such a charge. (Applause.) I now call publicly for a distinct and a direct denial from each that they have ever given their names or theii money by themselves or by their relatives for such a purpose ; and then, when they give that denial, I shall come forward and express my regret that this statement had not been sooner rebutted, and I shall also ex riiess my regret that I was the means of becoming the ye ele of opinions and sentiments which, if not contradicted, Would have disgraced them as the administrators of the law, and shall express my sorrow for it. (Loud applause.) Mr. AIKIN.—I rise to put an end to this discussion. (Hear, hear, and ironical laughter from the conservatives.) I rise also to exhibit the groundlessness and total falsehood of the The words by the individual who has just sat down. .rhe words he used were, that " thew agistrates if not very touch belied, had been guilty of breaking the jaw." I rise also to say that the individual who made so malignant and b ane a charge as that, when I asked him for the proof, pro uoces two Liverpool newspapers, and reads out of them that !,libscriptions had been paid to a certain society ? many of t hem to tnyknowledge were lies, but suppose they were true, What at has that to do with the breaking of the law ? And yet 41 4 is the ground on which the gentleman has thought pro- Per to assert that " the magistrates, who ought to have been the Protectors of the have become the breakers of it, prove profthat charge, and he produces two papers nearly as worthless as his own charge, because they contain a mass of gross and malignant falsehoods ; but I say, that if they were as true as t hey are false, they have nothing .to do with this question. Bu SHELL rose to reply, when I le MAYOR, addressing him, said—l wish to ask you one 9liestion : have you any other ground for your charge besides les one you have read? Mr. 13usnELL.—Yes, sir, I have. I made an important ° e lission, which I now beg to supply, and I shall make no to Mr. Aikin, except read that omission. I presume kjit every one here knows the objects of the Protector r e uciety, for which the fund I have alluded to was raised, but ii You You should be ignorant of them, I shall read a speech de h,:eted at the close of the revision court by the revising IZettister, Mr. Wharton, the authorised judge of the govern -11 and, as it is very short, 1 shall read it all for you. said : L i : Now the revision of the list of voters for the borough of 4 4 ,;erp00l is gone through, I beg leave, on my own account, t o ' „nn account of many of my colleagues, to return thanks f o ,.';';ie gentlemen who have acted professionally before us, Week assiBtance they have afforded to us during the ardu- We ' e , hUsiness transacted in these courts during the present v t , K • We have each of us had duties and difficulties of a d er Y Peculiar nature : my own have certainly been unprece- Ite d• They have arisen partly from the very great num her of cases that have been brought forward before us, brit Mill more so from the unusual character of those cases— from the unusual testimony adduced—and from the infamous —and we can add, from our own experience, the unusual perjuries resorted to in support of them. The revising bar risters agree cordially in opinion that they are not exceeding the limits of their province in adverting to the cause of those perjuries. They consider they are owing to the associations, by whatever name and upon whatever principle constituted, which have lately been established in this borough, namely, for the creation of votes ; and although my learned colleague, Mr. Walpole, alone of the three, has some doubts of the lite ral interpretation of the letter of the reform act, he has none whatever as to the spirit and intent of the law. We none of us have any doubt as to the spirit and intention of the law." Mr. Ai KIN.—You had better read the advertisements next. (Laughter and uproar.) Mr. BUSIIELL.—These are grounds for argument. (Re newed uproar.) I promise you I shall not be put down by chmour. (Hear, hear.) If I meet not with that cordial re ception here which I thought I might expect, and if my ar guments receive not your unbiassed judgment inside those walls, I shall at least have the town at large to judge of them, and with that judgment I shall have my justification and satisfaction. (Applause.) Mr. Wharton concludes as fol lows " We are unanimously of opinion that these societies are directly opposed thereto, and have largely contributed to the evils which all right-minded men must deplore, and which we have witnessed. We therefore take this public opportunity of expressing an unanimous opinion on these matters, with the object and with the expectation of drawing public attention thereto ; and with the hope that some remedy may be disco vered and devised which will prevent the recurrence of the disgraceful and disgusting scenes which have occurred within thc:eduring courts the present week." _ _ - Now, sir, I have sifted this charge from the beginning. I see that certain magistrates' names are subscribed to the list ; and when I see that this very Protector Society has been denounced in the terms I have read by a judge of the land ; and when I find that such societies have been proved to be against the law, I consider, that until the magistrates, the names of whom I have read, shall come forward and deny that they have subscrib e d, m y c h arge rema i ns . (Ch eers .) •Mr. M'KEI; rose amid cries of " You are no magistrate," and said,—My name having been mentioned in toe list, I shall take this opportunity of stating, that it is a malicious and malignant falsehood, and that the party who put it on the paper knew it to be so. I leave Mr. Bushell, therefore, in the very enviable situation of stating that which is not true. Mr. BRIGHT—What appears in the papers carries its own antidote along with it, for it contains no point. Mr. AIKIN rose amid loud cries of "Spoke, spoke," and vainly essayed to address the chairman for some time. At length, Mr. BUSHELL rose and said he wished Mr. Aikin would be allowed to proceed. Mr. AMIN then said,—You will recollect that Mr. Bushell began by reading the words of the editor at the head of the list. namely, that he could not vouch for its accuracy, and yet it is upon such a statement as that, that Mr. Bushell grounds his charge. It is, therefore, manifest, that the charge is based on newspaper paragraphs so absurd that the editor admits that he cannot vouch for their accuracy, and yet upon the strength of those paragraps, Mr. Bushell can get up with the view of endeavouring to ruin the character of the magistracy. Mr. BUSHELL rose amid some confusion, but gave way to The MAI ox, who said—l must preserve order. It appears to me that you (Mr. Bushell) made a grave charge against the magistrates, and that your authority is the anonymous editor of a newspaper. It further appears to me that it is a very grave charge resting on very slender grounds—for in stance, on a quotation from Mr. Wharton, that seems to me to apply to societies on both sides. Your charge is levelled against a society at only one side ; and with regard to the in quisitorial manner in which you have called on the magis trates to answer whether they did or did not subscribe, I think that no court or parliament would justify such a thing. I think; then, that this subject should be dropped. (Loud cries of " No, no," from the conservatives.) I repeat that your charge proceeds upon newspaper paragraphs, and I do think, or rather feel myself called on to say, that an apology is due by you to the magistrates, for having made so ;rave a charge against them—(vehement cries of " No, no," from the conservatives)—and which you made, I think, on very unsubstantial authority. Mr. BUSHELL. — Have I your permission to go on z Mr. Mayor ? The M Alron. — l cannot allow you, unless you choose to make an apology. (Renewed cries from the conservatives of " No, no.") Mr. BUSIIELL.—I hope, sir, that though you may be sometimes severe, you can at other times be courteous. I craved permission for Mr. Aikin to be heard just now, and perhaps he will crave the like permission for me now. He alleges that I brought forward the present charge on the anonymous authority of a newspaper paragraph in the STAN DARD, but, if that be so, what does the other paper— the Mail—say? I read the editor's remarks before, but here they are again : ' The following list of subscribers to the Protector Society has been published by a contemporary, but though correct, as we have reason to believe, in the main, there are one or two omissions." I feel with you, sir, that this is a grave charge, but I also feel that it must not be blinked in any way. (Hear, hear.) The MAYOR.—I think that observation is unnecessary. Mr. BUSHELL.—It is not unnecessary, sir; I call for justice and impartiality. (Cheers.) The MAYOR..--I cannot allow you to proceed. Mr. H. LAWRENCE. —Mr. Bushell has brought a certain charge, and I feel that it is not for you, as the mayor pre siding over this assembly, to stop the discussion of it in its present stage. (Hear, hear, from the conservatives.) He has stated certain things, whether they have been well or ill founded it is not for me to say, but as our wish is to give you credit for impartiality, I think you should have stopped the discussion before Mr. Aikin made his last observations. As, however, you did not do so, I think the present is not the time for you to attempt it, and if you shall persevere in checking it, you will not be adopting that course which is consistent with the impartiality you profess to ba anxious to maintain. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BUSHELL.—I have only to make one or two remarks in addition to those I have already offered for your conside ration.. I have already shown you that the editor of the Mail said he had reason to believe the return correct : and now, with regard to the apology, I have stated my willing ness to make any apology in my power; but that willing ness was conditional—that is, when the magistrates will rise up in this council, or by letter, and say they have neither directly nor indirectly, either by themselves, their relatives, or their friends, subscribed to the society in question. When they do that, sir, then will I come forward and make a sub missive apology. (Cheers from the conservatives.) Mr. J. HOLMES.—How can they do that, when one of the magistrates, Mr. Rathbone, openly said that he had lent money to the society. (Hear, hear.) Mr. SMITH moved that the business of the day be pro ceeded with, which was accordingly resumed. dust cely was Mr. ging gave did nin inve do visit. icure dui- ssrs• their LS we ever ailed cred, ctive I was and ed by treet ; mink, !seed. ,3 yes- s, was red by dance res of noon• thelr were Id the vessel more rate red for voted Plac e " From ! d iti ; found fc" , n duct , r if he 11, the Lctions Robert urse of a ttest e mad, Stars If says which house kieverY GAOL COMMITTEE. The MAYOR said, it had been deemed 'expedient that the Gaol Committee should always be composed of such members of the council as were magistrates. The committee of last year would stand unaltered, with the exception of the name of Sir Joshua Walmsley, which would be added. Sir JOSRVA WALMSLEY said, as he was a magistrate merely for a year, he would decline being on this committee if the council would permit him. Mr. GLADSTONE and Mr. COOPER were of opinion, that it was not necessary that all the members of the committee should be magistrates. The MAYOR said, the members, it should be understood, always acted in combination with the other magistrates. The TOWN-CLERK said, though it was not compulsory by the act that all the members should be magistrates, yet inas much as there was a doubt as to some of the functions that were to be exercised, it was considered expedient to select such members as were magistrates. Mr. YATES hoped Sir Joshua Walmsley would'consent to act on this committee. He had been found so active and efficient on all the committees to which he had been elected, that it was desirable to have his services on this committee. The following were appointed to be members of the com mittee :—The Mayor, Sir Joshua Walmsley, Messrs. Currie, John Holmes, Earle, Hugh Hornby, Yates, Benn, Hodgson, Roskell, Evans, Booth, Houhgton, and Aikin. GARDENS COMMITTEE. The following were appointed members of the Gardens Committee :—Messrs. Jordan, Morecroft, R. Jones, Bright, Wright, Sandbach, and Cooper. BOROUGH COURTS COMMITTEE. The following were appointed members of the Borough Courts Committee :—Messrs. Morecroft, Evans, Bright, Copeland, Slater, Smith, Cooper, and Toulmin. CHURCH EXPENDITURE COMMITTEE. The following was the first proposal for this committee : Messrs. Earle, Platt, Woollright, Case, Benn, and H. Horn by. Mr. H. LAWRENCE said he thought there ought to be ano— ther conservative on this committee. The members were all of the Church of England, and he would say that he never saw a committee manage their affairs with greater firmness and ability. But he thought they, ought to substitute the name of Mr. Bushell for that of Mr. Bean. Mr. BENN at once acquiesced. It was ultimately agreed that the name of Mr. Birkett should stand in the place of that of Mr. Benn, when the committee was made up of the following members :—Messrs. Earle, Platt, Woollright, Case, Birkett, and Hugh Hornby. PARKS COMMITTEE. The following members were appointed to form this com mittee for the current year:—Messrs. Sandbach, H. Hornby, Bushell, Coglan, Houghton, Gladstone, Yates, Shed, Earle, James Lawrence, and Proctor. Mr. J. HOLMES hoped the committee would have nothing to do for the nest year, for they could not at present spare the funds. Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY hoped the committee would have very much to do ; and that they would work assiduously, and get the public to assist them to carry out the design. Mr. Bin.KE'rr expressed himself unfavourably disposed to wards the undertaking at the present moment. LAW COURTS COMMITTEE. The following were the members appointed to this com mittee : Sir Joshua Walmsley, Messrs. Hugh Hornby, Cur rie, H. Lawrence, Earle, Barclay, Sandbach, Sheil, and Gladstone. TOWN-HALL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE. The ineml;ersOithi;cotnmiticel; the current year are, Sir Joshua Walmsley, Messrs. Earle, Benn, Houghton, and Barclay. WASH-HOUSES AND BATHS COMMITTEE. Mr. H. LAWRENCE said, he had been deputed to move the appointments for what was called the Washerwoman's Committee. (Laughter.) Mr. Lawrence spoke highly of the measure which the committee would have to carry out. Mr. JORDAN thought it desirable that some member of the medical profession should be on the committee. Mr. M'KEE asked if it were conceived that medical men had more knowledge of washing than other people? (Laugh ter.) The following gentlemen constitute the committee : Messrs. H. Lawrence, Sandbach, H. Hornby, Yates, C. H. Jones, and Bright. OIISERVATORY COMMITTEE. The members of the Observatory Committee for the cur rsnt year are Messrs. Aikin, Leathom, Roskell, Platt, Case, G. H. Lawrence, Gladstone, J. Hornby, and Sandbach. APPOINTMENT OF ALDERMEN TO WARDS. It was agreed, that to such wards as had two councillors present, the aldermen should be appointed, subject to con firmation when all the three were present, as required by law. To St. Paul's and Great George's, having each only one member present, (Mr. Wright and Mr. Cooper,) alder men were not appointed. The following were the aldermen assigned to the other wards respectively: Everton, Joseph Hornby, Esq. ; Scotland, Thomas Holt, Esq. ; Vauxhall, T. Bulley, Esq. ; Exchange, Robert Roskell, Esq. ; Castle street, Enoch Harvey, Esq.; St. Peter's, Thomas Leathom, Esq. ; Pitt-street, Thomas Booth, Esq. ; Abercromby, T. B. Barclay, Esq. ; Lime-street, Wm. Earle, Esq. ; St. Anne's. Robert Benn, Esq. ; West Derby, J. Moon, Esq. ; south Toxteth, George Holt, Esq. ; North Toxteth, C. H. Jones, Esq. HEALTH OF THE TOWN. The MAYOR called on Mr. Case for his motion for the ap pointment of a committee to inquire respected inhabited cellars, courts, &C., with reference to the health of the town. Mr. CASE said, he approached this subject with consider able anxiety, for it was one of grea t i m p or t an ce to a vast mass of the poorer inhabitants. A notice on the subject had already been sent up to London for insertion, and he hoped the Council would take powers in some bill during the ne x t session, to do something effectual to resist the letting of cellars, to s ecure the ventilation of courts, and to insure the provision of reasonable conveniences into the dwellings of the poor. After alluding to the inquiries that have been made in parliament on the subject of the public health, Mr. Case said, he had examined the evidence of Dr. Duncan and a gentleman Who had taken statistical notes, and he had checked it against some notes which he had been furnished by Mr. Whitty, the head-constable. He found that there were in this town 11,996 houses in back courts, and 7,800 inhabited cellars. He would take the cellars at a popidation of five each,.whith gave 30,000. He would take the courts at 12,000, and six as the number of inhabitants to each house, which gave 72,000. This gave a total of 111,000 individuals living.in cellars and courts, pretty nearly half the population. Many of the courts had entrances not more than four feet wide, which were covered in at the 'top, so that in many in stances in these narrow courts there was no mode of venti lation whatever. Many of the courts as well as the cellars had no privies. It was evident, that these were the places where fevers and pestilences were generated, so that if fever ever got in, it would he difficult to get it out. It was lament able to remark, that the mortality of last year was no less than one in thirty-three of our population. This called for inquiry ; and if they could ameliorate the condition of the poor, they would be able to lower the rate of mortality. It was natural to suppose, when they contemplated th 6 gloomy, damp, and noisome dwellings in which many of them resided, that when they had finished their daily toil, they were tempted to the alehouse, or the gin-shop rather than to their homes. After some further remarks, for which we regret that we cannot spare space, Mr. Case moved, that a committee be appointed to make all necessary inqui ries, and to take into consideration the subject of the inha bited cellars and small dwellings in back courts, with reference to the health of the poorer inhabitants, and to report to the Council thereon, with any recommendation that may seem proper to such committee. Mr. JORDAN seconded the motion. After some discussion the committee was appointed, and, at the suggestion of Mr. Gladstone, a member was chosen from each ward. The following is a list of the committee : Messrs. John Holmes, Houghton, Case, Wright, Mellor, Aikin, Bright, Yates, Cooper, Birkett, Gladstone, Kilshaw, Slaiter, Moon, Jordan, and Harbord. NEW JUSTICES. Mr. SIIEIL, after many compliments to the late mayor, for the great services which he has rendered to the town, pro posed the following resolutions : " That Sir Josliiia Walmsley, knight, Mayor of Liverpool for the year that has just expired, be recommended to her Majesty's principal Secretary of State as a person who, from his station and standing in the Borough, would be proper, if her Majesty should be so advised, to he included in the Com mission of the Peace for this Borough, and who, if appointed, would, in the judgment of the Council, discharge the duties of the office of magistrate to the general satisfaction of the community ; and Resolved unanimously, That the Mayor be requested to lay this recommendation of the Council respectfully before the Secretary of State, ac knowledging the consideration given to the recommendation of the Council on former occasions, and requesting a continu ance of his Lordship's courtesy in this present instance." Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE rose for the purpose of seconding the resolution, but he was forestalled by Mr. Jordan. The resolution was passed unanimously. Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE hoped, as the majority of one party in the magistracy was so large, that the Council would be disposed to hold out the olive branch in this instance, and to send a similar recommendation in behalf of a gentleman whom he would name, and whom his constituents had de lighted to honour. He would propose that Mr. Sands be similarly recommended. Mr. GLADSTONE seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. EAdLE said, he could not but admire this offering of the olive branch. He remembered the time when he sat in that room, and when there was no such offering by the other party. Mr. CASE remembered it too. He remembered that Mr. Earle sat in that room, and he was a Reformer. Mr. GLADSTONE.—Mr. Earle certainly sat in this room at that time ; how he got in I cannot tell. Mr. EARLE.—I was not made a magistrate&ertainly ; and if they had known my politics, 1 should not have been ad mitted. The Council broke up at a quarter before two o'clock. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE. The Dock Committee held a meeting in Revenue-buildings yesterday for the dispatch of business. Mr. Sands and Mr. Aikin, the two new members of the committee, appointed by the council on Monday, were introduced. There were pre sent besides these gentlemen, Messrs. Leathom, Benn, Barclay, T. Holt, Holmes. Middleton, Booth, Mellor, Bul ley, G. Holt, Evans, Horsfall, Martin , Smith, and Chapman. Mr. LEATROM took the chair. The proceedings of the last meeting were confirmed, and a number of accounts - ordered to be paid: Mr. Franklin, the corporation surveyor, in a letter to the surveyor, applied for a quantity of the committee's mortar for the purpose of being used in repairing the south side of the Chester and Ellesmere Basin, and in the reconstruction of the steps in part of the wharf.—The application was granted, on condition that it be paid for at its fair value. A letter from the manager of the Steam Tug Company was read, acknowledging the offer of a piece of land by the com mittee, for a life-boat station ; and stating that the directors of the company gratefully accepted the terms. The north harbour-master presented a reportdated the sth instant, in which he recommended the immediate deepening of the Prince's basin. The report assigned several reasons for this proposal ; and after a few remarks, it was referred to the Committee on Works. The CHAIRMAN reported to the committee the appointment of Messrs. Sands and Aikin in the place of Messrs Gladstone and Segar. The Harbour-master and Dock-masters' Sub-Committee presented a long report, from which it appeared that the north harbour master had been under the necessity of em ploying a number of men on Sunday, in place of the dock gatemen, and that he requested the instructions of the sub committee thereon. The sub-committee decided that the men should be paid their wages, and that they approved of an extra number of men being employed in cases of emergency, but each case to be reported to them. The report further stated that the snb-committee could not recommend any alter ation in the dock-masters' regulations for discharging berths, and also that they had most peremptorily required all dock-masters to place a copy of the dock-laws on board of every vessel entering any stock. The report concluded with suggesting a list of fines on the servants for petty offences. The report was approved, with the exception of the list of fines, which was ordered to be printed for further consideration. On the motion Mi. CHAPMAN, a resolution was passed, recommending the ship owners and steam-packet proprietors to confer on the best means of preventing collisions, and that a letter be written to the Admiralty, suggesting the introduc tion of some general enactment on the subject. Mr. HORSFALL referred to an account which appeared in one* of the Liverpool papers of a disturbance amongst the extra men employed by the committee, on Sunday ; and ex pressed his fear that they often occurred.—A resolution was passed that Mr. Hartley should report on the subject. The committee then separated. * The STANDARD. CORRESPONDENCE. BRIBERY IN EXCHANGE WARD. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, • Sia,—A case of unparalleled bribery occurred in this ward during the late contest. The niece of a butcher, not a hun dred miles from Byrom-st ree t, was prom i se d by the better half of a celebrated Jewish pawnbroker, and in expectation of victory, a gift in remembrance of the eventful day. When the present arrived, all was expectation and gratitude, for the size of the article seemed to forebode something in the shape of a plate-chest. 'What : therefore, was the surprise of the parties, when the cover was carefully removed, and be hold ! a—a cradle was exhibit e d to their wondering eyes. The " daughter of Israel" proceeded to set off its value to the young lady by stating, that it had rocked all her large and interesting family ; but the butcher, not liking the looks of the relic, ordered it off to the house of a neighbouring publican, where it remained for two days. It is said that the independence of the butcher and the liberality of the pawnbroker were well matched on this occasion. I am, sir, &c., UNCLE BEN. Moss-brook, Nov. 7th, 1840. IMPROVEMENT OF THE TOWN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. you or any other person give me an answer to my inquiry, viz. :—The liberals, or rather I should say radi cals, are constantly boasting of the mighty great acts that their party have done for us since they got into power. I beg to ask, how many streets have they widened ? or what have they done to add to the improvement of the " good old town?" There are a number of old, narrow streets in the central part of the town, which might be widened at a low cost, and would add greatly not only to the facility of bUsi ness, but would be a great improvement and comfort to the town at large. It was only the other day I read in all the newspapers that a poor man, driving a brewer's dray, was killed in Cunliffe-street, owing to no other reason than the narrowness of the street. It is a well-known fact that there is an• immense communication from the north end of the town to the central part. Now Leeds-street and Highfield street are good streets ; and if Cunliffe-street and Sir Tho mas's-buildings were taken down on either side, we should then have an excellent thoroughfare from the north end of the town to the neighbourhood of the railway, the principal streets and hotels, &c. By giving me any information re specting the above inquiries, you will greatly oblige Yours, &c., A CONSTANT READER. THE ELECTION IN EVERTON WARD. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Szn,—l would not have troubled you by noticing anything respecting the late election for Everton ward, had it not been for the remarks which appeared in the Journal on Saturday, which contained, with respect to Everton ward, a complete tissue of falsehoods. He says 15 voters were sent to Ire land. This is false. He says £l5 was in many instances given to voters. I do most solemnly assert that no voter received, to the knowledge of the committee or to the know ledge of a single canvasser, a single shilling ; and I do not suppose that now-a-days gentlemen are so liberal as to spend £3OO or £4OO without some one knowing about it. The same number polled for Mr. Hodgson this time as last, and the falling off was in the radical majority 21. This is accounted for in some measure by deaths, and by many voting for Mr. Hodgson who last time were out of town, and did not vote at all. His success, however, was chiefly gene ral, owing to the management of the worthy chairman, the committee, the canvassers, and to the desire of the intelli gent portion of the community for good, honest, and inde pendent town councillors to represent , them. The case about the watch you have noticed. Now I will give you another sample of radical liberality, which I defy our opponents to contradict. A man named Taylor, with eight children, and who drove a cart for a Mr. , and who was not bribed, went up and voted for Mr. Hodgson. His master, who was standing-by, abused the poor fellow, and dismissed him from his employ at the hustings, before the public. I will not comment on this ; but I do hope the poor fellow's case will be taken into consideration by the committee at Everton, and that they will have the satisfac tion of knowing that, if they get the poor man a situation, they will prevent him and his family from starving, merely for giving a conscientious vote. I hope you will make this public; and if this fact is denied, the man lives at Kirkdale, and can easily prove it himself. I am, sir, your's, &c., ONE OF THE COMMITTEE. NORTHERN HOSPITAL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, In your paper of this day I perceive the following editorial remark :—" • Humanity' asks us why we have not taken no tice of the late disgraceful proceeding at the Northern Hos pital. Our rule has hitherto been, that if we cannot advance the interests of a useful charity, at least we refrain from do ing it harm ; and however we may feel inclined to expose such an improper manifestation of ' liberal' spirit on the part of some individuals connected with the Northern Hospital, we are content, for the sake of charity, to allow the affair, as far as we are concerned, to remain in oblivion." With due respect for your kind feelings displayed towards the charity in the foregoing remarks, I think its interests would have been better served by its omission, as the inser tion of such a paragraph must tend to injure the hospital in the eyes of those who are not in possession of the facts alluded to ; and as they have given rise to much discussion in the town, I consider it only an act of justice towards the subscribers, from the position I hold as their honorary trea surer, as well as to the public generally who feel an interest in the welfare of this valuable institution, to lay before them a true statement of the case, from which they may form their own conclusions thereon ; and every unbiassed person must allow, that it is only such a course as the committee have hitherto pursued that can advance the true interests of the hospital. During the late municipal contest, a voter from North Toxteth ward was a patient at the hospital; - a day or two prior to the election, being canvassed by the conservative party for his vote, they were informed that the man was not in a fit state to be removed; and it was understood, both on the part of the house-surgeon and a medical friend of the conservative candidate, that the man not being convalescent, he was not to be taken to vote. However, on the day of election, the party alluded to, without the consent of th e house-surgeon, took th e man from his bed and carried him away in a coach. Prior to leaving the hospital, the man was told that he was not in a fit state to go, that if he went it would be at his own risk, and he would consequently break through the rules of the internal management of the institu tion, and should not be again admitted. Notwithstanding this caution, he accompanied them to the polling booth, and on being brought back was again placed by them in his bed. The following day being the monthly meeting of the coin mittee, the subject was brought before them, and the man ordered to be discharged on the grounds above stated. It has been attempted to cast the imputation upon the committee of having acted from political motives in coming to this decision, but such was by no means the case, although various shades of political and religious opinions are repre sented in this committee, yet upon the question referred to the majority were composed of gentlemen known to be con servative, and their opinion as to discharging the patient was unanimous. I was unavoidably absent on that day, but was previously aware of the circumstances of the case, and on being made acquainted with the proc..edings of the committee, I fully concurred in what they had done. as they acted solely upon the principle which they always wish to see enforced, to allow no party or political considerations to bias their pro ceedings. They had acted precisely upon a similar course on a former occasion, when patients were taken out to vote fur the reform party ; and I trust that such principles will always be firmly adhered to. We might adopt for our motto—" Open to all parties, in fluenced by none." Our doors are open to the crippled and the diseased of every clime ; our funds are supplied and ad ministered by men of every shade of party ; and surely the arena of political warfare is sufficiently wide without includ 7 ing-the neutral ground of charitable institutions in the stormy and bitter conflict. It is gratifying that there are some points on which we can all meet in union ; and I trust that the same perfect unanimity which has hitherto prevailed in our com mittee will long continue. Some years have now passed over since the trust I hold in this charity was pressed upon me ; for, having other important avocations which press hea vily on my time, I was reluctant to enter upon such a duty ; but I consider that we have a duty to perform to our neigh bour as well as to our God, and as every one is called upon to exercise the talents he may possess in promoting the hap piness and welfare of his fellow -creatures, so did I feel plea sure in contributing rr.y poor services in aid of the wretched and diseased, and assist in the alleviation of their calamities. When I first took a part in the management of this charity, I found its resources crippled to such an extent that, without the greatest exertions of its supporters, its utility must be considerably diminished, if not totally abandoned ; but I have had the pleasure to see it rescued from these difficulties, and diffuse its benefits on a more extended scale. It is un necessary here to speak upon the great benefits it now con fers on.the poorer classes, and the advantages derived by the public therefrom ; but I hope shortly to see it occupy a much higher position, and the great increase of the town calls upon us loudly for increased accommodation. To carry out this we are solely dependent upon the public for their co-opera tion ; but I am convinced that it is only by acting upon such principles as we have hitherto pursued that we can ever main tain our present position. For my own part, on the slightest deviation from such principles, I should despair of receiving from the public that support for which we have now so just a claim ; I should immediately resign the post I occupy, and decline acting with those whose opinions of management were no longer in unison with my own. As regards my own private political sentiments, they are generally known, and have at former periods been publicly avowed ; I trust that on every proper occasion I shall be pre pared to exercise them independently without fear of reproach, which I consider is the high privilege of every educated man,—at the same time I hope when placed in situations of public trust, that I possess honesty of purpo s e and sufficient firmness of character to throw aside all private feeling and act with the strictest impartiality. I must apologise for having trespassed at some length upon your columns, but I trust that the subject, affecting so deeply the interests of one of our most valuabe institutions, will be deemed of sufficient importance,—and I am anxious, by re plying to an unjust charge, to remove a foul stigma which might otherwise be attached to a body of gentlemen with whom I have long acted, it having been imputed to them that they were base enough to sacrifice the best interests of a va luable charity for the mere gratification of a paltry political feeling.—l am, sir, your obedient servant, R. W. BATESON. Water-street, Nov. 10, 1840. [We have given insertion to the preceding communication at Mr. Bateson's particular request ; but we still adhere to • the opinion which we originally expressed, that it would have been far better to have left the matter rest as it was, without any further notice. Mr. Bateson's letter will, in all proba bility, provoke a reply from one of the parties referred to; and though we cannot in fairness refuse insertion to such reply, we beg to intimate that we cannot open our columns to any further communications on the subject.—E. L. S.]• POPISH PLOT-FIFTH OF NOVEMBER. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Sift,—l was delighted to find sermons preached in many of our churches, to commemorate with thankfulness our great deliverances from popish vengeance and persecution in 1605. But I must still ask—Why our churehes were not all open for service on that day ? It is enjoined by Act of Parliament, that " service should be performed in all our churches," and I verily believe that if every clergyman did his duty, he would not allow the day to pass over without calling together his flock, to join with him in offering up thanksgivings to Al mighty God, for so great a national deliverance. I believe by so doing we should continue to raise such a protest against the infernal plotting and despotism of the popi , l, system, as would materially assist, by God's blessing, to o v en the eyes of a multitude of our lukewarm protestants. I fear it is true, as Fuller said, " that the keeping of this day among the pro testants begins already to wax weak and decay, so that the red letters, wherever it is written, begin to grow dimmer and dimmer in our English calendar." Do we doubt what Fuller also observed?—" If this plot had taken effect, the papists would have celebrated this day with all solemnity." If we doubt it, let us boldly and manfully avow it. But first, consider well the St. Bartholomew massacre, and the medal cast in commemoration of it, and also, consider well that this medal was re-cast by order of the Pope at the mint at Rome, in December last only. And why ? This we must leave to the mild and lamb-like spirit of popery in the present day to answer. Sir, it is no fair excuse that a congregation would not be got together. Some would meet ; and are we not to believe the unerring Word of God, that " where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them." Besides which, the responsibility of a congregation not as sembling does not rest with the minister. His not giving them the opportunity does. Ido trust that on the Fifth of November next, we shall have a protest sounded from every pulpit in our town. Yours, &C. &c. A PROTESTANT. TO THE EDITOR OF THE STANDARD. Stu.,—Our attention has been called to the following letter, which appears in the Mail of this day :-- " TO TILE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL MAIL. " Srn,—We perceive, by a subscription list inserted in this day's Courier, that the directors of the Isle of Man Steam packet Company paid to Captain Clegg the sum of £lO, and that the several sums have been disposed of accordingly. If such be the case, and the money subscribed really, and, no doubt, fairly and equally divided, according to the rank and station of each on board the " Huddersfield," Captain Clegg and his brave crew are minus the sum of £2O, as we paid, on behalf of the Isle of Man Steam-packet Company, the sum of £3O, for which we hold a receipt. By inserting this communication you will oblige your's, &c. " MOORE SZCHRISTIAN. " Redcross-street, Nov. 11, 1840." We may, perhaps, be permitted to remark, that it would have been well had Messrs. Moore and Christian informed themselves of the facts of the case before they came before the public, with a charge or insinuation such as that contain ed in their letter. The statement that Captain Clegg and the crew of the Huddersfield are " minus the sum of £20," is altogether untrue. The following is the letter which we received from the Isle of Man, in accordance with which the sum of £2O was paid to Captain Clegg, and the sum of £lO distributed amongst the crew : _ _ " /ate Man, 4th February, 1840. " Messrs. C. HORSFALL and SON. " GENTLEMEN ,—I am instructed by the directors of the Isle Man Steam-packet Company to inform you, that at the half-yearly meeting of the company, held on Tuesday last, 28th ultimo, the sum of £2O was awarded to Captain Clegg, of the ship Huddersfield, and £lO to his crew, in testimony of their estimation of his recent meritorious services, and that, in accordance therewith, I forwarded a letter to him on Friday last ; but regret to say that he had sailed on the morn ing of its arrival at Liverpool ; and in consequence the direc tors intimate that such sum has been placed to the credit of Captain Clegg in the books of the company. I am, gentle men, your obedient servant, (Signed) " EDVV. MOORE, Agent." By the insertion of the foregoing you will oblige your obe dient servants, CHA. HORSFALL & SON. 12th November, 1840. ELECTION OF PROVOST OF EDINBURGH.--The unpre cedentedlykeen contest for the provostship, which has agitated the metropolis of Scotland for several weeks, terminated on Tuesday, in a decided victory of the church party. The only candidates proposed was the late provost, Sir James Forrest, a ministerialist and non-intrusion churchman, and Mr. Adam Black, a ministerialist and voluntary. The two parties in the church of Scotland, on the great question of non-intrusion, united in favour of the former, while the dissenters, and a few churchmen of liberal principles, sup ported the latter. When the vote was taken, Sir James was elected by a majority of 17 against 14 ; two councillors, both of whom are churchmen, and one conservative declining to vote. The violence of a section of the whig-party threatens to lead to a serious division in their ranks, many who have hitherto acted with them being disgusted with the illiberality their proceedings have displayed. NEW CHURCH AT BIRKENHEAD.—It Will be remem bered, that a few weeks since we gave a detailed description of the handsome building which has been recently erected at Woodside, for the purposes of divine worship. The bazaar which was held some short time back, to increase the funds appropriated to the erection of the church was, we believe, through the exertions of the committee, and the liberality of the gentry in the neighbourhood, eminently successful; and we are glad to say that the church, being now prepared, will be opened this morning, when a sermon will be preached by the Rev. F. Ould. The building is dediCated to the Holy Trinity. We anticipate many benefits to the district from the well-known piety, ministerial faithfulness, and persever ing assiduity of the incumbent, the Rev. J. Baylee. GYMNASTICS.—We beg to call the attention of our readers to Monsieur Huguenin's advertisement, and we take leave to subjoin the following observations :—The day of our birth introduces us into the midst of dangers, of living beings, of events; we feel them incessantly, as long as we exist, and it is not in our power to escape them ; it behoves us, therefore, to learn to resist them. For this, strength and firmness of body and mind are necessary. As not our welfare merely, but our very existence here depends on these qualities, they are undoubtedly the most important that man can possess. Man was created in his present situation by the Deity him self ; and can it be supposed, that he should not possess from nature the capacity for a stability necessary him in it? Every thing that destroys this to maintain capacity is called enervation ; what is it that enervates us ? It is softening sensuality, usually called by the gentle name of refined manner, which overruns the soil of Europe with oriental luxuriance. Colonel Gawler, the Governor of South Australia, whose lavish expenditure has brought so much embarrassment on that colony, has been recalled ; and Captain Grey has been appointed as his. successor. Captain Grey is favourably known to the public as an intelligent and enterprising dis coverer in Australia; and by all accounts he is in every re spect fitted for his new office. " THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN." Painted by Edward Prentis, engraved by Scott, and pub lished by Ackernzann and Co., London, and Linnecar, 5, Ranelagh-street, Liverpool. Perhaps there never was a painting more expressive of domestic affliction and trial than this, or one that came more home to the heart. It tells its own tale : at a glance we discover a history. In a lofty chamber we find a family group assembled, every face bearing a different expression, yet all indicative of the subject. Upon one knee, on the floor, with his head deeply buried in his hands, we find the figure of a young man, apparently overwhelmed with grief and remorse, the stick beside him indicating that he has walked to that home which perhaps he left in less humble manner. In an arm-chair is'seated the attenuated form of his mother, stretching forth her arms as if anxious to em brace him. Near her stands the father, averting his face, which bears strong marks of contempt and anger. From his dress and appearance we may suppose him to be a mem ber of the sacred profession. With one arm fondly entwined round his, in an attitude full of the most intense interest, we perceive the sister entreating for her brother's pardon. Her sweet countenance is full of maidenly beauty and rare expression : modesty, gentleness, and love are all legible in the lineaments of her face ; in them are blended the pliancy of the mother and the firmness of the father. She appears to urge her suit with the most•pressing earnestness, yet in a respectful mode, highly becoming in a daughter pleading for a much-loved, but misled brother. This charming creature cannot fail to be admired by all who look upon her—by all who have hearts to feel, and minds to appreciate that which is beautiful and good. She is a gem, such as is found to adorn many an English home. At the door of the apart ment, with her hand upon the lock, we find the old nurse, gazing on the group with the most intense anxiety. Her favourite's pardon would soon be granted if left to her dis cretion. Her look of aged affection is delightfully expressed. The artist has charmingly introduced the tninutice of the picture. .The piano is open, as if quitted by the dear girl at the moment of her brother's appearance, her fingers hav ing just quitted the keys, and her voice having but just stopped breathing the simple ballad of " Home, sweet home," which appears by the open book to -have been the object of her attention. This is a pleasant thought of the artist, as it speaks at once as to the singer's simple habits and her unpretending accomplishments. The sun, darting his rays through the window, lights up the room, giving warmth to the picture. On the wall, suspended between two large pictures, is an empty frame, in which doubtless hung the prodigal's portrait. This picture is an admirable composition, rich in thought and true to nature, while the execution of the engraving is exquisite. ' The " Prodigal Son" ought to be put into every portfolio, and hung in every house in the kingdom. It really " points a moral," and would " adorn a tale." The following lines, from the pen of Mr. James Stone house, convey an idea of the fervency of the sister's en treaty : THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN. TO ILLUSTRATE -THE PICTURE, BY EDWARD PRENTIS, NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF ROBERT NAPIHR, ESQ., GLASGOW. Dear Father, do not turn away— In deep distress my brother kneels; Though he hath sinned, within his breast Repentance now he truly feels. Oh! father, He who died for all— Whose blood was shed that we might live — Exclaimed amidst his cruel foes, • " They know not what th e y do : forgive." He hides his face, with conscious shame He cannot meet your angry eye— Oh ! would you seek to know his thoughts, His tears, his bitter tears reply. He may have mixed in folly's train, And mingled with the light and wild, And revelled in a thoughtless throng ' • But still, oh! still, he is your c hild. Father, recal that happy time When, striving wisdom to convey You taught our little knees to bend, And our young guileless lips to pray ; You bid us then let not yon Sun, That streams upon us pure and bright, Go down upon our wrath, but let Our auger die, as fades the light. Oh ! bear that precept now in mind, Let kindness to his faults be shown ; Or how can we at judgment-day E'er ask forgiveness for our own? May I not bid my brother rise, And say from mind the past you blot ? Oh ! place him in your heart once more, And be his wand'rings all forgot. A flush is on my mother's face, A look of hope, a ray of joy; Her arms are stretch'd to press again To her fond heart her truant boy. Though his disgrace, his sin and shame May blight her health—her spirit chill, Nature's sweet voice can ne'er be hushed, Through all she dotes upon him still. . ee where old nurse, with tearful eye, Half smiling stands beside the door — The faithful creature, bold in love, Has dared to welcome him once more. Dear father, let me bid him rise— Oh! gaze not thus with looks so stern; With prayer your daughter clings to beg You'll bless the Prodigal's Return. Nov. 6, 1840. JAMES STONE HOUSE. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HIGH-STEWARDSHIP. CAMBRIDGE, WEDNESDAY EVENING.—This being the first day appointed for taking the poll, the doors of the Senate-house were thrown open► at 9 o'clock. From a much earlier hour numerous carriages and coaches continued to arrive with the supporters of each candidate, and amid all the bustle usually attendant on a contested election it was inte resting to observe, as the time of polling approached, the vast concourse of members of the Senate in their academic costume congregated from all parts, many who from their years had evidently long left the University, yet still taking as lively an interest in the contest as their younger brethren. STATE OF THE POLL THE FIRST DAY. 10 O'CLOCK. Lyndhurst Lyttelton: . Lyndhurst Lyttelton. . Lyndhurst Ly ttelton.. Lyndhurst Lyttelton 48 11 O'CLOCK. • 115 12 O'CLOCK. 199 151 1 o'CLocK. 217 187 2 O'CLOCK. Lyndhurst Lyttelton.. 273 "14 3 O'CLOCK. Lyndhurst . Lyttelton... 4 O'CLOCK. Lyndhurst Lyttelton 292 When the poll closed for the day, Majority for Lord Lyndhurst l2B Amongst those who voted for Lord Lyndhurst, we notice the name of Cresswell Cresswell, Esq. The poll was ad journed until yesterday morning, and we hope to be able to announce the result of that day's polling from our corres pondent in a second edition. • The New York Star undertakes to deriVe the words " King Jeremiah" from a cucumber, thus:—" CucuMber— gnerkins—jerkins--Jerry King—King Jeremiah." The Philadelphia Ledger says, " Every lady who runs away from her husband is beautiful of course, us every woman who is hung has a remarkably interesting appear ance. A new paper called the Musquito, has been started at Houston, Texas. The Picayune says it is the only mus (pito they ever saw that was worth anything. " Why, Tom, my dear fellow, how old you look !" " Dare say, Bob, for the fact is, I never was so old in all my life." Mr. J. W. Long, editor of the Southern Crisis, asks " When will the editor of the Louisville Journal learn to tell the truth ?" To which Prentice replies, " There's no doubt that we shall tell it before Long." The editor of the New Orleans Picayune, in describing the launch of a grand steam-boat, says, " She dipped into the wave as gracefully as Widow Green could make a courtesy." FALL FAST-HONS. — Last sabbath morning, a youny lady was seen wending her way to church with _Elssler buttons on her wrists, and a hole as big as a ninepence—in the heel of her stocking! says the Providence Republican Herald. A COUNTERFEIT.—A fellow pretending to be in a tit, was carried from the street, in New Orleans, into a grocery store and laid upon the counter, where brandy was poured down his throat, and he recovered. A wag, happening to be pre sent, said the fellow was a rogue, and the fit was a counter fit! AN ExcusE.—Miravaux was one day accosted by a sturdy beggar, who asked alms of him. " How is this," inquired Miravaux, " that a lusty fellow like you are unemployed ?" " Ah " replied the beggar, looking very piteously at him, "if you did but know how lazy 1 am !" The reply was so ludicrous and unexpected, that Miravaux gave the ♦arlet a piece of silver. The Marquis of Waterford seems to be gaining golden laurels on his estates in the county Waterford, where his arrival has been hailed with every mark of esteem and respect. On his arrival at Thurles, his lordship received an address from the inhabitants expressive of their joy at his arrival amongst them. Rockwell and its neighbourhood is in future to be called New Melton, and the extensive stabling recently erected eclipses that of our hunting metropolis in Leicestershire. The " eccentric marquis," as he was once called by his aristocratic friends of the west, is spending his princely fortune, with true Irish freedom, amongst his fellow countrymen. EXTENT AND POPULATION OF ICELAND.—Of the thirty eight thousand square miles of which Iceland consists, only a ninth part is inhabited, and even over this the houses are very widely scattered, with Many black and dreary intervals, sa that man and his dwellings seem like something foreign to the land. The hamlets are always so inconsiderable that they never become the principal object in the landscape, and even the commercial towns seem lost amid the rocky defiles in which they are placed. Assuming the population at 50,000, which it has rarely exceeded, the average will be about 11 to the square mile ; and if we exclude the central deserts, rather more than seven, that is, about a third of the number found in the thinnest inhabited of our Highland countries.—His torical and Descriptive Account of Iceland. MODE of BURIAL IN GREENLAND.—In Greenland the dead are buried in a sitting posture, dressed in their best clothes. As the earth is shallow or foreign, they build tombs of stone, and cover the body with plates of mica slate or clay slate, to preserve it from carnivorous animals. The kayak and hunti ng i nstruments o f the deceased are placed at the side of the gr ave , and they put a dog's head into that of a child, in order that its spirit may guide the helpless infant to the land of souls. On their return to the house, they continue their lamentation in a sort of monotonous howl, at the con clusion of which some refreshment is taken, and each departs to his own dwelling.—Ristorical and Descriptive Account of Iceland. The flag of Lord Exmouth, which was supposed to have been destroyed, with other valuable relics, in the conflagra tion at the dockyard, has been discovered on board a barge, where it was thrown wi th other things during the confusion. Plyntoulk /avowal. DEATH OF WILLIAM WALLACE CURRIE, ESQ. It becomes our melancholy duty to announce the death of W. Wallace Currie, Esquire, a distinguished member of the common council of this borough, though for many years one of the leading reformers of the town, an individual whose straight-forward and manly conduct in vindicating his views in public, as well as his estimable qualities as a private gen tleman, secured to him the esteem of a large circle of his in timate friends, and conciliated the respect even of those who were opposed to him in political sentiment. His demise was so unexpected and sudden, and so immediately following his active appearance in the last debates of the previous day in the council room, that the event has come upon the town in the nature of a shock, and has excited a feeling of heartfelt and universal regret. Mr. Currie was in the apparent enjoy ment of his usual health, and more than his usual spirits on Tuesday night. He had dined with a friend, returned home, and retired without any symptom of indisposition ; but was suddenly taken ill at, we learn, about five in the morning, and expired about half-past six. On his complaining, his amiable lady immediately despatched one of the servants for Mr. Ortt, surgeon, who resides in the neighbourhood, and that gentleman- on' his arrival soon afterwards, conceiving the attack to be apoplectic, instantly attempted to bleed him, but pulsation had too far subsided to render the operation available; and Mr. Bickersteth, the family surgeon, who was soon afterwards brought to the spot, found all human efforts unavailing,—the spark of life being then extinct. As the death of " an honest man," who, whatever were his failings or his errors in general or domestic polity, had devoted a great portion of his life to the service of the town in which he first drew breath, an d t o th e i n t eres t s of which he was warmly attached, cannot fail to excite a sympathzing interest in the prominent features of his life, a biographical sketch of Mr. Currie, necessarily brief, and from our paucity of materials, somewhat imperfect (though we trust accurate in the main), will, we hope, be acceptable to our readers ; and in submitting it we assure them that in speaking de mortuis in this case, we put aside all feelings of a political bias—all such being merged in our respect for consistency and uprightness of character. Wallace Currie was one of three sons of the late James Currie, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., of Liverpool, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, of the London Medical Society, &c., a gentleman whose scientific and literary acquirements, (the latter exemplified in his admirable life of Burns, the great poet of Scotland,) and whose powers and exertions as a scholar, physician, and conversationist, have embalmed his memory in the minds of his posterity. The subject of our sketch was a native of Liverpool—one of three brothers of whom one is also dead and another, the Rev. James Currie, now or lately residing in the island of Jersey. Two sisters, both married, are yet living. Of the early life of Mr. Currie we have few particulars beyond those supplied hi the letters to himself by his father as published in the memoir of the life, writings, and corres pondendencc of that eminent individual, by the now deceased, a work held in deserved repute not only from its literary merits, but from the characteristic vein of parental feeling on the one hand, and the modest exemplification of filial regard that breathe throughout its pages. Mr. Currie was a native of Liverpool, and was born in 178.1, in, we believe, the month of March. He was consequently, at the time of his demise, in the 57th year of his age. He was placed while yet of tender age under the tuition of Dr. Valpy, of Reading, the celebrated scholar, and compiler of some of the cleverest elementary classical books that have yet been published.— The first letter addressed at that seminary to him by his father is dated Liverpool, April 23, 1796, and like all them that followed, it is full of that spirit of parental admonition which characterised all his correspondence to his children, couched in language suited to their juvenile apprehension, and calculated to excite them to court elegant and ennobling pursuits, and to discriminate between right and wrong. There is a passage in this first letter so simple in argument, yet so graphic and undeniable, that we cannot refrain from quoting it. After expressing his happiness that his son likes Homer and Virgil, he remarks :—" Homer, I think, gives too attractive a picture of the heroic character. It was but a foolish thing for the Greeks to go into Asia and fight the Trojans for ten years, because Paris ran away with Helen. Life is but short at the best, and it is a sad thing to see, in all ages of the world, how men have contrived to make it shorter, by killing each other with swords, and spears, and guns and bayonets. It is true, when a man's country is in danger, nothing is more honourable than to arm for its defence. When in after ages, the young men of Greece turned out to meet the invading Persians at Marathon, Sala mis, and Platen, nothing could be more noble than their principle,. or more glorious than their conduct. But their cause was more noble than their forefathers, when they fought under the walls of Troy, as you will easily see. There is a nubility of nature expressed in this passage. It seeks not for war, for its own sake ; but simply war against actual aggression, and that war we shall ever maintain, whe ther as regards an attack on our beloved country, in a physical point of view, or what we consider her admirable, moral, or religious institutions. In his next letter, about six months afterwards, Dr. Currie emphatically remarks, in reference to Homer, with a view, 'doubtles's, to restrain the probable en thusiasm of his youthful son :•-" A great man is seldom or never fairly rated by his contemporaries, and a very great man does not always reach the height of his reputation till a cen tury. or two after he is dead." In a letter addressed to lien when he was thirteen years of age, the Doctor says : " My confidence in your good sense and good heart makes me think of you with more satisfaction than anxiety, as I said at first ; otherwise I can foresee that you will have oh stables to remove, and difficulties to surmount. No matter : if you think rightly and act vigorously, you will be the batter and the happier for your necessary exertions. Look at the greyhound as he lies by the fire : he has nothing to do ; his eye is heavy, his skin is dirty, his hair probably covered with vermin. How stupid and worthless he looks! He is the prototype of the - man who h as no thi ng t o do, and nothing to hope for. But look again ;—be is now in the field :—how animated he looks, his ears are erect--his eye is on fire ! The hare is started;—he bounds forward in all the pride of his faculties, and all the vigour of his powers, and in the fervour of the chase finds 'the highest enjoyment of which he is capa ble. " We are hounds of a higher order ; and, in like manner, mast hunt if we are to be happy. The object of our pursuit is different, because we are partly rational ; though I fear, in many instances, we are also beasts of prey. Be it yours, to let the distinction that attends talents and virtue be the hare you follow ; and you will find in the pursuit the highest en joyment which this imperfect world admits." One of the letters is dated Ist September, 1798, from the Park (Toxteth), for the north ward of which Mr. Currie was member, in the council of this borough. His father gives the following beautiful description of a scene from the Dingle, which, 'as it was in the • immediate proximity of the house in which he died, though now much altered, possesses amelaecholy interest on the present occasion,as well on that account as from the reflections on the transitory nature of human life with which it concludes. It is as follows : " Park, Sept. 1, 1798. "MY DEAR WALLACE,—I have been in daily expectation of a letter from you ; and you may, perhaps, have looked for one from me. That this unsocial silence may no longer pre vail between us, I employ a leisure hour on Sunday after noon, at the Park, in your service. The day is singularly fine. I have been walking down the fields towards the shore. The clouds intercepted the direct beams of the sun ; but the air was warm and balmy. A gentle breeze swept over the surface of the grass, and played round my temples. Nothing could be more soothing. I went down to the Dingle, and pursued my walk to the rocks. The tide was on the flood, and drawing towards high water, and the waves were dashing over the sand, and breaking on the lowest ridge of the rocks. I sat me down and fell a musing. I know not whether you have yet began to feel the effect of scenery on the mind ; but I hope you will be se ns ible of it as y ou gr o w e ld er . Th e scene which I describe, and which you know so well, always affects me by calling up a particular train of thought, and that rather of a melancholy than a cheerful kind. Those grand features of nature, the rolling tide, the over-arching rocks, and even the old and blighted oaks which crown their summits, give me the idea of power and duration, compared with which the power of man, and the littleness of his occupations, and the shortness of his life, sink into insignificance ! " Adieu, my dear boy ! "JAMES CURRIE." From Reading School Mr. Currie was sent to the Univer sity of Edinburgh, and his father continued to write to him when there, in the same parental tone of kindness and ad monition. The last letter in the collection is dated March, 1805. We regret that we have not space to follow up the f e w passages we have selected in the hurry of business, from a most interesting correspondence ' carried on for a number of years on the part of Dr. C. The subject of this brief memoir has not furnished any of his own letters in reply,— f r om, doubtless, an honourable feeling of modesty on his part. We must refer our readers to the work itself in which they will find much to instruct as well as to amuse. Suffice it here to say that Mr. Currie never seemed to forget the in junctions placed upon him throughont a life prolonged to upwards of half a century. While in Edinburgh, Mr. Currie was more immediately under the care of Mr. Dugald Stewart, one of the most dis tinguished professors of the Northern University, and be came a fair scholar in the classics, and more particularly in the English language. We are not aware of his having pub lished any work beyond the Lift: of his respected parent ; but ' that alone was sufficient to confer upon him a reputation of no common order in the literary world. Mr. Currie's vocation was confined exclusively to the agency for the Royal Exchange Assurance Company, and his energy, punctuality, and habits of business, rendered him a favourite with the commercial community. He was not rich, in the mercantile sense of the word, but competent to sup port his station as an independent gentleman. He married about 1G or 17 years ago, Miss France, daughter of Thomas France, Esq. of Bostock Hall, in Cheshire, and has died without issue. In consequence of rather precarious health, he lately made a tour on the continent. He was accompanied thither by Alderman Win. Earle, and after passing through Pan, a bathing place in France, visited the Pyrenees, remain ing some time at Bur6ge. He returned precisely a month before his demise, in, as he and his friends concurred, im proved health; but it was remarked on Monday last that his complexion indicated the inroads of disease. In the opinion of Dr. Brandreth, the immediate cause of death was an apo plectic attack ; or (though less probably) an affection of the heart, which it is known also frequently occasions sudden death. The problem will in all likelihood he solved for the melancholy satisfaction of his friends, as we learn that a sur gical examination of the body will take place, under the di rection of the coroner. The funeral, which it is understood will be private, will take place on Tuesday next, and the in terment will be at St. Michael's, Toxteth-park, in the neigh bourhood of his own estate and house, of Ellerslie, near the Mr. Currie was elected a member of the old common coun cil in 1819, and, in conjunction with Mr. John Wright, was active in promoting the improvement of the town, and par ticularly the widenino. of Lord-street, Dale-street, Titheharn street, &c. He held commission of the peace, and was the first mayor elected under the municipal corporations amendment act. He served the office with great credit to himself, and with such satisfaction to the council generally, that his re-election as chief magistrate was contemplated, and pressed upon him ; but such were the onerous duties of the office, and their interference with his other pursuits, that he declined again to take the burthen upon him. It may be remarked of him, as regards his public life, that he was ca pable of forming a due appreciation on matters of domestic polity, and while others beat about the bush, he grappled with his subject at once, and, as regards public improvements, was generally successful. As a speaker he was somewhat stiff, abrupt, and disjointed ; but his discretion and force of argument bore him through. He exerted his best powers to restrain the excesses of his party, and by some was conse quently regarded at times as a trimmer; but his votes were always given on the liberal side ; and though we disapprove of his general politics, we are quite willing to award him the meed due to sincerity and honesty of purpose. It may be remarked, in conclusion, that Mr. Currie had an air of hauteur in the eyes of strangers, which approached to what might be deemed bordering on self-sufficiency or inordinate pride; but this wore off on a nearer acquaintance with the man, and it is sufficient to add he ever comported himself as a gm-Mine gentleman to friend and foe, and amongst the former were many individuals of high standing and re spectability, who Were opposed to his views on local and ge neral topics. RARE OCCURRENCE.—A landrail, or corncreak, in 'very fine condition, was shot by a gentleman, in a field of short gorse, in the neighbourhood of Pwllheli, on the 30th ult. Queen Adelaide has been pleased to honour the Derby Choral Society with her patronage to their series of winter concerts, the first of which is expected to take place the latter end of the present month. Earl Howe has likewise consented to become one of the patrons of the society. —Derby Reporter. PAPAL ACCIDENT ON THE BIRMINGHAM AND GLOUCESTER RAILWAY.-TWO LIVES LOST. BIRMINGHAM. THURSDAY MORNING. (From our own Correspondent.) At a few minutes before six o'clock on Tuesday evening, a locomotive engine, once well known at the Vauxhall Sta tion, Grand Junction Railway, as Dr. Church's engine, while standing over an ash-pit at the Bromsgrove Station, blew up with a terrific explosion. The following is an official account of the melancholy accident .—The engine in question had been made by Dr. Church, of Birmingham. for some time, and, at his request, allowed to be tried on the Grand Junc tion Railway. On this trial it was found difficult to raise the steam quickly, and Dr. Church had it back again to remedy the defect. Last week, a friend of Dr. Church applied to the directors of the Birminghain and Gloucester Railway to allow another trial to be made on their line, to which they consented, subject to an examination of the engine by the en gineer of locomotives. It was examined by him and his fore men, and reported favourably of; and the steam was got up on 'Tuesday for the first time, and the engine made several trips on the line without any loads attachdl, and worked apparently very well. About six o'clock on Tuesday night, another trial was about to be made, when the engine blew up with a tremendous explosion. Scarf, a very careful driver in the employ of the company with Rutherford, the foreman to the engineer of locomo tives, were upon the engine, with a man in the employ as the proprietor of the engine, and one more person. Poor Scarf was killed instantaneously, and Rutherford so much injured that he expired yesterday (Wednesday) morning, whilst two other men were severely scalded. The cause of the explosion is at present unknown. The engine had no load attached, and was standing still when the explosion took place. Ru therford has left a wife and three children to deplore his loss. COURT OF EXCHEQUER. JONES V. LITTLER. This was an action for slanderous words, tried before Baron Rolfe at the last assizes for Liverpool, when a verdict was re turned for the plaintiff, with 40s. damages. Mr. Kelly now moved to enter a nonsuit, or for a new trial. upon the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain a verdict. According to the learned counsel's state ment, the plaintiff was a brewer, and bad lately been elected a town-councillor for the borough of Liverpool. The de fendant disapproved of the plaintiff's election, and at a meet ing which took place after a coursing match, used the slan derous words which formed the foundation for the action. The words charged the plaintiff with being a rogue, having been compelled to leave Westmoreland for dishonesty, and having been in a sponging-house within a fortnight for debt. The defendant was asked whether he meant to apply his ob servations to Mr. Jones, the brewer, of Rosehill, and he said, " Yes, it is him." It was objected to at the trial, that as the words were not actionable in themselves, it was necessary to prove the averment in the declaration that the words were spoken not only of the plaintiff, but of and con cerning the plaintiff in his trade as a brewer ; and that it did not appear that the language used had any reference to the plaintiff's trade. The learned judge, however, thought that as an imputation was made as to the plaintiff's solvency, and it appeared that he was in trade, it was impossible for the jury not to infer that the slanderous words were used con cerning the plaintiff in his trade. He gave the defendant's counsel leave, however, to take the opinion of the court on the question, and this motion was accordingly made. Mr. Baron Parke thought there was no ground for enter ing a nonsuit, but that the learned judge ought to have left it to a jury to say whether the words were spoken of the plaintiff in his trade as brewer, and as this question had not been left to the jury, the defendant was entitled to a rule for a new trial. The other Barons concurring, a rule nisi for a new trial was granted. The venerable and gallant Lord Lynedoch, now upwards of ninety years of age, is on board the Howe as a passenger to Malta, for the benefit of a warm climate in the ensuing winter. AN ESCAPE.—A bullock, which had been over-driven, created considerable alarm in the Strand, on Monday after noon. While rushing along at a furious rate, some boys in their terror ran up the pit entrance to the English Opera House. They were followed, however, by the infuriated animal, when one poor little fellow actually fell on his knees, and prayed to the bullock not to hurt him. With some dif ficulty the animal was got away, without doing any injury to the scared urchins, whom he had thus for some time at his mercy. DEATH OF THE PRINCESS BORGHESE.—Our Paris cor respondent writes, that intelligence was received in Paris, on Friday, of the death, at Rome, of the Princess Borgbese, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury.—Morning Post. The late princess (before her marriage the Lady Gwendaline- Catherine Talbot) was in her 23d year, having been born Dec. 3, 1817, was married to the Prince of Sulmona, eldest son of the Italian Prince Borghese, May 11th, 1835, and in July of the present year presented him with a son and heir to the principality and estates. An anti-spasmodic lately introduced, and which is highly appreciated under the name of Woodhouse's Ethereal Es sence of Ginger, is an agreeable and elegant preparation of that valuable root, in a very concentrated form, and deserves the notice of all families ; the Faculty's testimonials to this preparation is without precedent.—Naval and Military Ga zette, March 15. A CARNIVOROUS HORSE.—Recently a flock of sheep be longing to Earl Lovelace were turned into a field at East Horsley; and on the following morning two were found dead, and their flesh much torn. The shepherd, suspecting it to be a dog that had committed the slaughter, was determined to watch for him; he did so, but to his utter astonishment saw a horse, belonging to a person named Lucas, running in the field with the sheep, attack them, kill one, suck the blood, and eat part of the flesh.—Devises Gazette. GIGANTIC SKELETON.—As the workmen of Messrs. Parry and Jones were digging a new paint pit at Llanllianna, near Amlwch, they discovered, within three feet of the surface, a stone urn ; on opening which they found a huthan skeleton, in a high state of preservation, measuring the extraordinay length of seven feet six inches. The skeleton throughout was quite proportional to its length, and in a very perfect condition. The urn appears to have been made horn the Aberdovey limestone, and had the appearance of being much corroded by time. It bears no inscription to throw on its history any rays of information, to gratify the inquiries of the curious respecting the gigantic " remnant of departed years." From the rude nature of this urn or coffin, it seems probable that the body had been first laid in the grave, and limestones placed round its sides, and on the top only, which, from the length of time they had lain under ground, had become ce mented together. EAGLES.—The prince of birds is now rarely seen in the Highlands. for the march of improvement is driving them, like the Red Indians of America, to the very remotest mountain solitudes. A pair have long built (above 50 years, it is said,) near the entrance of the Pass of lnverfarigaig, on the banks of Loch Ness ; and eagles are still seen in the western parts of Inverness-shire. In Sutherland we heard of one (a majestic looking bird) that had been caught in a large trap, which it had strength to carry to a considerable dis tance, till both fell into a lake. A correspondent informs us that Mr. James Richmond, gamekeeper to Mr. Gladstone, of Liverpool, has, from September, 1839, to June of this year, trapped six eagles on a high hill, on the farm of Aughna sheen, in Ross-shire. One of the eagles measured, from tip to tip of the wing, 8 feet 2 inches, and the span of his claws were GI inches. The noble bird displayed " the terrors of his beak and lightning of his eye" from the top of a cairn or monument erected by the gentlemen pursuing the trigo nometrical survey. The same gamekeeper has also taken a number of wild cats, one measuring 3 feet 10 inches, and another three feet 8 inches.—lnverness Courier. A Ili3m-nuc.—The learned Dr. Waterhouse, justly de nominated the " American Jenner," while professor of na tural history in Harvard University some years ago, made an artificial insect, to the limbs of which he could communi cate motion while he held it in his hand. After exhibiting it to the class he was lecturing, and permitting every pupil to inspect it, none of them could tell to what class of insects it belonged, though they all believed it to be a real living crea ture, the Doctor thus addressed them :—" I suppose, young gentlemen, you wish to be informed of the name of this bug; had you examined it more attentively, you would all have perceived that it was a hum-buo." INCARCERATION OF A DEBTOR, AND HIS SPEEDY RE LEASE.—On Tuesday last, a poor man was conveyed from Blackburn to Lancaster Castle, for default of payment of a debt, amounting to the extraordinary sum of eleven shil hugs and nine pence ! ! Our informant says, the debt was arrear of poor-rates, and that the man was taken by an officer of the union i in this, however, he may have been mistaken, but there is no doubt about the man being sent to prison for the above paltry sum. As soon as the circum stance became known amo ng th e d e b tors, t h e amount, w i t h an additional sum, was immediately collected and the debt discharged. The half.naked defaulter was then divested of his garments, which were "all tattered and torn," and after being cleaned and shaved, he was dressed, from " top to toe," in the habiliments of a gentleman, selected from the ward robes of the generous debtors. One of the debtors being hi posession of that marshalling musical instrument, the life, he played an appropriate march, and the whole of the debtors formed a procession, and escorted the prisoner to the door, which was immediately thrown open, and as soon as the . newly-clad son of freedom stepped out to breathe the air of liberty, the castle walls resounded with three times three huzzas. The poor fellow being furnished with cash, to pay his fare to Preston, by the railway, and for other necessary expenses, he proceeded to the station, and actually took his seat in the same carriage with the person who had been his guardian to the prison, but the man had not the slightest recollection of his quondam companion and prisoner. This act of the generous debtors is worthy of praise ; as a learned author says, "The poor man who envies not the rich, who pities his companions in poverty, and who can spare some thing for him who is still poorer, is in the realms of humanity —a king of kings."—Preston Chronicle. PRACTICAL . HOAX.—About a fort n i g ht ago , t wo young men, in connection with a railway, in this town, came to the determination of having a little bit of amusement at other people's expense ; and, in order to do so, it was arranged that one of them should profess to be newly married ; the bride elect, according to previous agreement, countenancing the statement as true. A week of the feigned honeymoon passed in joyous hilarity, and the shopmates of the mock bridegroom were enjoying the thoughts of a glorious " tuck out," which they were promised, in the shape of a supper, at a well-known public-house, in the Market-place. The well remembered night came, and each, "big with expect ancy," prepared for rendering ample justice to the respective joints promised for the occasion, viz—Roast beef, mutton, fowls of all kinds, soups, pies, tarts, &c., to conclude with the luxury of custards, cream-cheese, &c. Several of the invited guests took the trouble, in the course of the day, to call at the inn, to make full and satisfactory enquiries, as to the precise time the cloth would be laid, and as to the pro gress of the culinary department. The parties, who were all punctual to the time, had very successfully polished their swarthy faces, and were eloquently lavish in their praises to their liberal host, wishing him and his good lady all th e j oys and comforts of a wedded life, and universal prosperity to their succeeding generation. Several gallons of John Barley corn were toasted away in this manner, when the sententious waiter (Ann) announced, with due gravit y , " supper i s on the table, gentlemen," leading the way to the room where was spread out their repast, carefully and warmly covered up with dishes. All parties appeared good humoured—eyes that sometimes appeared . dull, now sp ar kl e d with vivacity—there was a beaming smile upon each countenance, like the sun suddenly laughing from behi n d a summer's 'cloud, and a looker-on might easily perceive from their preparations and appearance, that their respective appetites where whetted to the bent. Each one took his chair with an air of imposing complacency ; and those gentlemen who had kindly consegted to carve, began to make sundry preliminaries, such as turning up the . cuffs of th e i r coats, a nd stretc hi ng out th e i r arms as if determined to have f u ll swee p an d f ree d om in their earri ng operations. At length the covers were duly removed, when, lo ! what a g h ast l y appearance presente d i tse lf t o th e i r asto nished vision. From the sunshine of June, they suddenly sunk back into the bleak gloom of December ;--one unvaried mess of water-porridge and buttermilk met their withering gaze, and all was in a moment—chaos. Tire disconsolat e expectants threw plates, &c., in all directions, and some of them departed uttering sundry unpleasant rem ar k s upon th e disgraceful joke played upon them, others determined to make the " best of a bad job," plastering the faces of those around them with the porridge, while the party who brought them together richly relished the joke, by peeping through the window from the outside, during the no v el anti-epicurean scene.—Preston Chronicle.