The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-04-22 00:00:00

t.,ORRESPONDENTS A. number of notices of recent puqications are postponed until next week. We do not precisely comprehend the drift of the latter portion of the note of " P. S. and its publication this week would be unseasonable and injudicious. Ebe Ltbtrpoo! `k-lanbarb. TUESDAY 31ORNING, APRIL 22, 1851. E are afraid that Mr. Henry Mayhew, talented and well intentioned as we know him to be, has taken up the wrong end of the cause, of which he puts 'imself forward as the advocate. The jour neyman tailors—what is there in their grievances more than in those of many other classes of our working community ? They complain of what is called " the sweating sys em." Middlemen, they lay, step between themselves and their employers; and reap, in idleness, a portion of their hard earn ings. This is no unusual case. The practice per vades almost every other trade. Even our railway works are let and sub-let almost ad infinitum. By all partiee, from the government to the pettiest public body, the contract system is adopted. To " buy in the cheapest market" is the avowed aim of the present generation; and, to arrive at that cheapest market, we are continually inviting not only tne purveyors of our clothing, but every other class of tradesmen to underbid each other. Cheapness is the gad which, as a nation, we have bowed down to worship. Cheap bread—let us have that by all means! would be the exclamation of ninety-nine out of a hundred of Mr. Mayhew's clients. Then, pray, why not cheap tailoring ? We demand cheap labour from the agricultural classes ; why not ask for cheap labour from every other class ? It is inevitable; and, what is more, it is just. The artisan who is at present enjoying his cheap loaf, with wages thus far not reduced from the high standard, may assure himself with as great certainty that his day is approaching as that he is living and breathing God's air. But to the middleman question again—the " sweating system"—how has it grown up, and bow would Mr. Mayhew prevent it? It is the growth of our love of cheapness ; of the tyranny of capital—we use the term in no inflammatory sense—over labour, which that love of cheapness has aggravated. Is there one of the tailors them selves who exclaim so loadly against the tyranny of capital, who does not, on system, resort to the' capitalist's shop, when he buys his trimmings, or any other necessary of his trade or his life ? Not , one. Yet he knows, when he buys his cheap boots or shoes, and a dozen articles besides, that he is encouraging the middleman practice. We cannot buy a pound of butter, bacon, tea or coffee, but we find a middleman, and sometimes a score, taking a slice of profit. To suppose that it is otherwise would be to suppose that there were no retailers, no butchers, no bacon factors, and curers. So far then, Mr. Mayhew's complaint, on behalf of the tailors, is unphilosophical and absurd. We grant that there is something peculiar in the tailors' case. The middleman there appears to do nothing for his money. We say appears ; because perhaps, if the truth was fully elicited, it would be found that, for that money, he places himself under certain respon sibilities. He has a character and substance to pledge for the correct return of work given out to him to be executed. True, he may be exacting, in the opinion of the operative tailor, too large a per centage for his responsibility. But large as that per centage may be, and low the prices at which he demands to have work done, we fancy that he succeeds because there is always a supply of men or women ready He adopts 11 the world besides adopts; its employer, and the operatives themselves not excepted. The former buys up bankrupts' stocks; and sells, perhaps a cheap suit of clothes, to the very man who has lost most largely by the bank rupt. The middleman's bankrupt's stock is formed out of the improvidence and the necessity of the operative. He buys his labour in the cheapest market. We have nothing to do with the other complaint of the tailors that they are not employed in well ventilated shops, and are compelled to carry the nrinciule wh their work to their own wretched cellars or garrets. It is strictly a matter of price between the two systems. If the work could be done cheaper in ' large shops, we should have barracks erected for the purpose. But so long as there are men to be found who will work for a less price at home, the system will go on. Home, it seems, is the market n which labour can be purchased cheapest. The real enigma which Mr. Mayhew has yet to s. why there are more men anxious to make in men able to of men anxious to wear them. There is plenty of cloth in the country, and plenty of looms and weavers to pro duce more. What is it that stops the beneficial interchange of all this dormant industry and capi tal ? This is the real question which has to he grappled with. In the mean time all the ravings against " tyrasny," either of employers or middle men— waistcoats, and trowsers, tl a is an a ..acing system"— hievous into the bar- Mavbew, and the tailors, may depend 1 the talk about " the sv rather A idle wind, Mr. _ . .. upon it that, in the present state of things, they eannot be made exceptions to the general rule. The voices of the latter, as a body, have contri buted to swell the cry for cheapness ; for a reduc tion in the price of labour, and every product of which they have left is clearly involved in labour as measured in mo dear and limitedinquant he realization or how li - ould greatly ike to kno% hey would ruinous policy, Id, close its slop shops, ,ndition, without first and better their own changing human nature IMPORTATIONS Of f( ign grain and flour con t a rate, which ought to 'ree trader. In the month, average price of wheat, per quarter, our importa tinue to pour in upon u: gladden the heart of ever ended April 3th, with tt ittle, if at al tions were— Wheat Other grain Wheat meal £850,000 280,000 or flour r 4~0,:2 360,000 .. £1,490,000 Or, in round ..on and a half ster ;ing ! 11.1 w have these immense quantities been paid for? In drafts upon London or Liverpool, which on their maturity must be satisfied, in the first instance, in bullion. Surely, we have here something like a key to that serious drain of the pre ' which has left the Bank of England in its coffers, and which is Total value irnbers, a mil 4ous me n the minds of commer- so much a ow, how lot can this process of depletion go ed by some coun- ; or, before many months are ui•aelc•ee in the midat of the s. Either we must with only £l3 creatin vial men on ? Obviously, ter-balancing agency over, w calamities of a n -volts, or diminish our im ports of foreign produce generally. One or other of these is the only natural course. There seems at present very little prospect of our being enabled to pursue the former, if we may believe the advices which we are now receiv' - - the manufacturing districts. We ncrease largely our g trom f, the latest report of , urnal, the Manchester a free trade and prosperity j Guardian, of Saturday last , 3 has been somewhat 'Niece received on r weakened b Monday ni erperiineed by the homy-tra, c which, of course, prevents t afacturers, is also easing the sense contributing t of our present dependence upo of which, and those eery impor to be more than sufficiently ;Ur reiQa markets, some s, are considered factory ia_tl►e report of the .llanches Equally unsai.,.. ter Courier of the eatne date .• urable, the one fair any adranc ther for any increase of busrn ?f prices, and the arns are d. to Id. vs the larger decline no increase sactions have been quit io been t export generally 1 hott9, 8 to a grealer. ar from ex rers arc operating only to pin cops are partieultirly a very Ilan 4pnreqap , i in ~.,,„._tcry state of the ket, the Pao - ter holidays will be strictly kept this ,e, and in many Cairei for a lonyer period than usual. closed last night 1 the lomat ;t of th l i g next, whilst many - - Manchester (Thursday) until Wednesday mor will - not resume work u A similar feeling of dulness pervades nearly every other manufacturing market, whilst the iron trade of the country is in a state of complete prostration, and the masters are meditating a'general reduction •f wages. . An — y iiiaeme 4 144,c e4porta, glen, to the extent which the emergency requires, is not available, at all events for some months to come. Our chief business season for exports has almost passed by; and we must unavoidably wait for the opening of the fall trade. Can we, then, relieve ourselves by the other alternative, a decrease of importations ? This desideratum, we fancy, can only be brought about by a monetary squeeze, sufficiently sharp to check business to this country in foreign markets. Unprofitable, as has been the result, for months past, of imports of nearly every description of pro duce, they will continue to arrive until an action upon the currency renders specie the most profit able shipment. Bear in mind that there exists no prospect of any large supply this year from Cali fornia, where the digging has partially failed for the want of rain for washing. To bring gold, even from that El Dorado, we must send out goods ; and from the last advice* received, we learn that there was every prospect of the market being flooded with unsuitable importations. Russia has forbidden the export of gold, which is either being stored in the coffers of the Emperor, or circulated to form a currency for his subjects, wherewith to settle the foreign balances of trade. An action by the bank, then, appears inevitable; and we are much mis taken if the question has not already been seriously deliberated upon. Yet how can the directors resort to a restriction of discounts, in the present state of things, without virtually proclaiming to the world the ruinous operation of its own inflexible system ? We can discover no undue speculation to be re pressed; no heavy foreign loans negociating ; no large railway expenditure going on ; no hoarding by the public; none, in fact, of those errors of the commercial world, which, heretofore, have served as pretexts for the exercise of the banker's power to restrict the circulation. It will have to be ad mitted, unreservedly, that our present monetary system is antagonistic to the carrying out of Free Trade. The parties to be called upon to suffer will he shown to have been innocent of any offence against prudent dealing. The Legislature alone will be proved to have been blind, and wanting in ordinary sagacity. The Free Trader, we submit, has made a sad mis calculation of the country's power, under our pre sent currency laws, to conduct the great work which he has undertaken. He has not accurately measured the ability of the British nation to in crease its exports sufficiently to balance an import of some twenty or thirty-five millions per annum in the shape of grain, provisions, &c. He asserted that, under his boasted system, Great Britain was to he the depot for the produce of the world; and he will be called upon to make the humiliating confession that he has over-calculated her power. He will have to say to the foreigner—"'Fake back your produce; send your cargoes to Hamburg, to Amsterdam, or keep them at home. This country can no longer provide money to advance upon your shipments !" COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY NEWS, Monday Night. The markets have been closed since Thursday, and though little has transpired the last few days, we are glad to he able to report a general feeling of more confidence. Prices are low, and a steady daily consumption is going on. Last Thursday there was much uneasiness visible on account of a prevailing impression that the Bank Directors would raise the rate of interest; but they separated without doing anything. Had they decided otherwise, they would, indeed, have acted a short-sighted, and, to most interests, a ruinous part. What commerce now requires is quietness and confidence ; and how the Bank Directors could ever entertain the adoption of a step which would have the effect of unnecessarily disturbing these two essential points, we are at a loss to conceive. By the India Mail the exchanges are rather more favourable to this country ; and there are evidently large ship ments of bullion on the way from America, in addition to which the Exhibition is now on the point of being opened, when we shall have tnousands of foreigners arriving, each bringing with him more or less specie. At the present time, to contemplate a dearth of the metallic currency is preposterous, and to raise the value of it would he ruinous. Though our merchants may not want protection, they have a right to ask for a little consideration (an absence of that plunging from one extreme to the other) at the hands of those who have the power of working so much mischief. Saturday being kept as a holiday in the Cotton market, no business was transacted. To-day the market continues dull, with great reluctance on the part of buyers to satisfy even their daily requirements. Prices are about the same ' as on Friday : in some instances, however, spinners have obtained a trifling advantage. About 5000 bales are esti mated as the sales of the day, of which 200 are for export. Fair Orleans, 71d. ; Mobile, 71d. ; Upland, 7d.; Per nambuco, Bd. ; Maranham, Bd.; Surat, sd.—lmport since Friday last :—Uplands, 6663 ; New Orleans and Mobile. 12,480; Maranham, 2945: Total, 22,088. Our Share Market at the commencementof the week was dull, with very little business, an not any material change in prices. As soon, however, as it was known on Wed nesday that no change in the rate of interest could be made by the Bank, the tone became much more buoyant. and prices have continued advancing and business in creasing daily. We annex the quotations of this day : Aberdeen, 16i ; Birkenhead L. and Chesh. 8 3-16 d ; Late Ches. and B'head, 201 ; Caledonian, 151 ; East Lancashire, 171 ; Old - Leeds, 64 4c 34 ; Do. Fifths, ; Do. do. (West R Un) 5.4 d ; Leeds and Thirsk, 191; L'pool Crosby and S'port, 4p; London stock, 130 ; Do. New Quarters, sllp ; M'chester Shef and L'coln, 361; Do. Quarters, 14 Midland, 64 44c4 31 ; Do. Halves, 12c S'bury and Birm. B, 6;1 ; Old Dovers, 28 274 ; York and North Midland. 271 ; Gt. Southern and Western (Irish), 42i ; Royal Bank pref. 125 ; Gas, 187. ST. PETER'S CHURCH, EVERTON.—At the consecra tion of this beautiful church to-morrow (Wednesday), the Bishop of Chester will preach in behalf of the Diocesan Church Building Society. We are informed that - a number of ratepayers, at a meeting yesterday, determined to bring forward, at the Easter meeting to-day, Mr. Clarke, of Cable-street, as a sslect vestryman, in opposition to Mr. Molyneux. _ We understand that all the American commercial houses in this town are about to follow the liberal exam ple of Messrs. Brown, Shipley and Co., and afford the gentlemen in their establishments with the means of visiting London during the Great Exhibition. SUDDEN DEATH.—A labouring man, forty years of age, living at No. 4, Tillery-street, and whose name was Michael Clarke, was found dead in his bed at an early hour yesterday morning. It appeared that he had com plained of illness during the whole of last week. FATAL CART ACCIDENT.—A child named James Par kinson, about three years old, whose parents reside in a court in Greenland-street, died yesterday from injuries received on the Bth instant, when a float, laden with barrels of vinegar, passed over the child's body in Lower llarrington. It will be seen by an advertisement in our first page that Mr. Pringle, of Bold-street, has retired in favour of Mr. M'Clennan, who will, in future, conduct the busi ness. The premises will re-open about the Ist of May, the interim being occupied in re-decoration in a style that will not fall short, if it does not eclipse, some of our now truly elegant specimens of shop architecture. RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—An accident, which from its nature might have been attended with very serious conse quences, but which happily resulted in the most trivial personal injury, and correspondingly slight pecuniary damage, occurred at the Lime-street station at a late hour on Sunday night. A train from the north, consisting of only three carriages, from the inefficient state of the breaks, became to a certain extent unmanageable in its descent through the tunnel, from which it emerged to the terminus with great violence. The shock was sufficient to snap off the stationary buffers, which were hurled to some distance from the frame work. The entire frame of the buffers was Much s liaken, but beyond this and a slight contusion received by one of the passengers, no injury occurred. TIIE WEATHER. — During the past week this district has been visited with a succession of seasonable and refreshing showers, accompanied by a more genial atmosphere. The change has been rather sudden from bleak and drying winds to the powerful action of the sun, aided by fertilising rain, and the results have been marked by a change no less sudden—foliage has appeared, and agriculture has progressed, as if by magic. The face of the country has assumed almost at once its vernal aspect, and, from the promise thus expressed, the most favourable results may be anticipated. The bloom on the trees is already profuse. The young wheat, though, of course, not very high, ha- --- ^ of ---- ' ' an appearance _ great health and promise —an observation which, indeed, applies to vegeta- tion generally. WHs - r DERBT.—The Liberals of this parish seem detcrmiued to keep the affairs of the church in hot water. At the annual vestry meeting, yesterday, the Earl of Sefton took the chair, and Mr. Bold moved that the same amount as heretofore (.CB2 Ils.) for the organ and choir be granted for the ensuing year. An amendment was moved by Mr. Hardy, - that these expenses be not paid out of the rates. The amendment was declared to be negatived, on which Mr. Ilardy demanded a poll, which will commence to-morrow. (Wednesday,) at nine o'clock, at the parish church. We trust that every friend of " decency and order" in the church will record his vote in favour of the original motion as early as possible, and by a•i overwhelming msjority put to silence and confusion ties() agitating dissenters DREADFUL EFFECTS OF INTOXICATION.—A girl named Catherine Dara, at a house in Manesty-lane, was tie unwitting cause of the death of her infant, on Saturday last. About 7 o'clock on the morning in question she got up and came down stairs, carrying her infant (about seven weds old) in her arms. She laid the child on a sofa in the kitchen and then went out ; about nine o'clock she returned, having been drinking in the interim. She was then in a state of intoxication, and lay down upon the sofa on which the child was sleeping. Some time after this, Ann Wilson, another inmate of the house, aroused Dara for the purpose of having her (Wilson's) dress fastened. As she arose to comply with this request, it became appa rent that she had been lying upon her child, w hick was craite dead. Upon Wilson making some remark about the child, her companion said she thought she had left it in bed. An investigation will be made into the case t -day before the coroners ROME AND ENGLAND. -A STRIKING CONTRAST. On Good Friday, the Rev. Dr. M'Neile called the attention of his congregation to the following instructive contrast, suggested as he said by one of the collects for the day. _ " M Rome and by the Church of Rome, we of the Church of England are accounted heretics, and enemies of the Church of God. In England, and by the Church of England, Romanists are accounted heretics, habitually practising what our Prayer Book pronounces " idolatry to be abhorred of all faithful Christians." So much for the theory on both sides, separating us as widely as light is separated from darkness, and condemn ing with authority all plausible compromises on the plea of the same great truths being held by both. Now for the practice on both sides. Yesterday, Maunday Thursday, at Rome, and by the Church of Rome, under the immediate sanction and in the personal presence of the Pope of Rome, we were all cursed ; all solemnly damned in the name of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and by the authority of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the Pope's own authority. (Bulla ccenve Domini, read at Rome every Maunday Thursday.) To-day, Good Friday, in England, and by the Church of England, the Sovereign of England cordially joining, Romanists are prayed for, earnestly prayed for, that it may please God to take from them all hardness of heart, and contempt of his word. In the light of this contrast we recall the Saviour's words, " Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you." God looked down from heaven, to behold the children of men, and on Thursday He saw Rome, and the Church of Rome, full of cursing and bitterness. God looked down from heaven, to behold the children of men, and on Friday He saw England, and the Church of England, full of prayer and e. "By their fruits ye shall know them ;" this is the divine test for both Churches and men. RUMOURED ADOPTION OF HOLYHEAD AS THP, STATION FOR THE DISPATCH OF THE AMERICAN MAILS. For a fortnight past, it has been rumoured that Government, or the Admiralty, had determined to con cede to the interested clamour of the metropolitan public, the convenience of the metropolis, or the demands of sundry railway speculators, by insisting that the boats belonging to the Cunard line, conveying the American mails, shall call at Holyhead, both on their outward and inward passages. Nu such arrangement, we learn, has been definitively concluded upon ; and for the sake of Liverpool interests, and of the service itself, we trust that those in authority will think better of it before taking so unwise a step. To compel the Cunard steamers to call at Holyhead would entail upon the community on both sides of the Atlantic, first, a deten tioa of the mails, for two hours, at the least, both coming and going. In the next place, Holyhead is a difficult harbour to make in average weather, and a dangerous one in bad weather. No commander of a ♦essel, steamer or sailing, desires to near it on his voyage, being quite content to know that he is in good sea room outside of it. In a south-west wind, with half a sale, it is almost impos sible to get into it with safety. Moreover, being corn. pelted to call there would preclude the mail steamers from availing themselves of the north about passage, which the Great Western almost invariably adopted, and which the Cunard steamers are sometimes glad to take. And as for any great advantage to accrue to the commu nity from the adoption of Holyhead as the calling place for the post, ti►e authorities and London may be a trifle accommodated ; but Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Scotland, who ought to have some voice in the determination of a matter so important, will be seriously damaged in conve nience. The change, if made, which we trust it will not be, will he a failure, like many other changes advocated by our present unwise and inexperienced authorities. IMPORTANT TO MERCHANT CAPTAINS, TIE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. WINDLE RICHARDSOM This action was tried yesterday, before E. James, Esq., at the County Court, in this town. Mr. Higgin, barrister, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Almond, solicitor, for the defendant. The action was brought to recover £5O upon contract, that the defendant for reward, as a carrier, for hire re ceived certain goods belonging to the plaintiff, to be car ried from Liverpool to Calcutta, undertook to deliver the same, but neglected to do so, to the damage of the plaintiff. Mr. Higgin stated that the action was upon contract, arising out of a bill of lading. In December, 1845, the plaintiff shipped by the Fairy Queen, of which the defen dant was captain, 13 cases of sherry, 13 cases of pale sherry, and 14 cases of brandy, of the value of £44 Bs. 6d. The cases were consigned to J. E. Cole, at Calcutta, but on the arrival of the ship in that port the consignee was not to be found, and, in conse quence, an advertisement was inserted in the paper, giving notice to the consignee to come forward and claim the goods according, to the usual custom, and they were never given up except upon production of the bill of lading. In this case, however, the goods were given up, as he understood, without the production of such document, to a native of some such name as Randon George, a wharfinger, who gave a receipt merely for the goods from the captain. The plaintiff had never received the proceeds of the goods, nor could he discover what had become of them ; and it was not until after considerable expense and trouble that he, at length, obtained from the consignee an endorsement of the bill of lading to himself. The plaintiff was then called. He stated that he was a wine and spirit merchant in this town. He proved that in December, 1845, he shipped some wine and brandy to Calcutta, consigned to Mr. J. E. Cole, and produced the bill of lading ; that he had not received any payment for the shipment, nor heard anything of it. At the latter end of 1849, or beginning of 1850, saw Mr. Cole, who had heard nothing of it. In cross-examination by Mr. ALMOND, the witness said he had been a wine and spirit merchant since 1637 — was unfortunate in 1841, and obtained his certificate about the end of that year, or the beginning of the following. J. N. Cole is a brother of the consignee : he is now in London. In 1845 there was a house in Liverpool, of the name of Cole, manaced by Frank Cole. Mr. Bremeau wrote out the bat of lading. He was then a clerk to wit ness, but is now a partner with witness. Does not know that the consignee is now a bankrupt. Mr. J. W. Cole, the shipper, was bankrupt about three years ago. The defendant had been several times in Liverpool since 1845. In March, 1850, had only one of the four bills of lading in his possession ; two had been sent to the consignee, one was retained by witness, and one the cap tain had. In 1842 sent out by the Georgina, Captain Williams, who ascertained that a Mr. Crag had obtained possession of the goods. In 1850 applied to the owners of the Fairy Queen for payment of the goods, but they refused. A letter, written by the captain to the plaintiff, was then put in, detailing the mode in which he had acted with the goods on discovering in Calcutta that Mr. Cole, the consignee, was not to be found. They had been de ivered to a party who represented himself to be his agent. Mr. ALMOND contended that for various reasons the action could not be sustained. First, the contract by the bill of lading was not with the present plaintiff, but between J. W. Cole as shipper, and J. E. Cole as shipper. [The bill of lading having been handed to his Honour, this was found to be so.] His HoNoun asked who would be the proper party to sue ? Mr. ALMOND said, either the shipper or the consignee ; but in this case J. W. Cole was put forward as the shipper of the goods, and not until 1850, when a question arose as to whether the goods were lost, did the plaintiff step in and say he was the owner, thereby contradicting the written contract, which it was not competent for him to do ? Mr. Almond quoted a case decided in the Court of Queen's Bench in support of this point. He then proceeded to argue that at least the plaintiff ought to have produced J. W. Cole to show that he was acting as agent to the plaintiff, or the bill of lading ought to have stated it. The case was at least one surrounded with sus picious circumstances. But there was another ground on which he argued that the action would not lie. According to the decision in the case of Evans and Mortlet, goods consigned to A vested in him the ownership, and he was the person alone who could maintain the action. As to the endorsement changing the property in the goods the learned gentleman quoted the case of Thomp son and Domine, 14 Meason and Welsby, p. 403, in which it was held that the effect of an endorsement being only the transfer of the right of property iu the goods, did not transfer the contract itself. If therefore any action at all was sustainable it must be in trover, and could not be on contract. After some observations by Mr. HIGGIN, the learned judge decided that. the action could not be sustained, and ordered the plaintiff to be non-suited. THE CHAPLAINCY-OF TIIE WORKHOUSE.—We under stand that the Rev. Drummond Anderson has resigned the chaplaincy of the workhouse. We have heard that the Rev. Isaac Holmes is a candidate, with every pros pect of success. It will give us much pleasure to hear of the rev. gentleman's appointment. Mr. Anderson has been promoted to the incumbency of the new church in Crown-street. FATAL ACCIDENT.—A man named Benjamin Mostyn, in the service of the London and North-Western Company, met his death at the Lime-street station, at an early hour yesterday in a very shocking manner. He was employed about a ' cess" of iron near the line, when a great portion of the ponderous mass fell, partially burying the unfor tunate man. As soon as possible the sufferer was con veyed to the Northern Hospital, where every attention was paid to him, but unhappily his injuries were of so serious a nature, including fracture of the skull, that surgical skill was of no avail. THE NEW GAOL.—The new borough gaol, at Walton, is fast progressing. The walls are complete, and give an idea of the vastness of the edifice, within which it is considered necessary to confine and employ the cri minal portion of the - population of this great town. We believe there will be eight hundred cells, and the chapel now erecting will be sufficiently spacious to accorn mcd its. more than that number. Kirkdale gaol has, hitherto, been regarded as a large prison, but the new borough gaol will render it an insignificant building, at !east without. . THE COUNTY COURT.—YeSterday the a djourned sit tings at this court commenced before Edward James, Esq., who again sat as locum tenets: for Mr:Ranishay. Up wards of two hundred plaints were entered for hearing yesterday, and several hundred more still remain to be heard. The only case of interest tried yesterday was one which we have reported elsewhere. At half-past seven his honour adjourned the court until this morning. After the present sitting the next court is fixed to commence on Monday , the 19th of May, and the last day for enter ing plaints WOW sitting is on the sth of tho isialovonth, TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS. Yesterday, a special meeting of the Council was held at the Town•hall, to take into consideration and determine upon :-Ist. The Liverpool Dock Bill (alteration of management, &c.,) as altered by the Committee of the House of Commons, and the course to be pursued, with reference to that bill, in its subsequent stages.-2nd. The Mayor's communications. JOHN BENT, Esq., the Mayor, presided, and there was a very full attendance. A copy of the new bill lay before each member. Mr. Thomsosr, before the commencement of proceed ings, moved that the Council should be adjourned for two days, to afford time for a town's meeting on the subject ; but the motion was not seconded, and fell to the ground. Mr. HORNBY then rose. He said, as one of the com mittee sent to oppose this bill in parliament, perhaps it might be expected that he should bring forward some re solution in accordance with the views of the deputation. He believed that in the resolution which it was his in tention to propose, he expressed their unanimous opinion. He was quite aware there was little or no difference in that Council with respect to the alteration in the constitution of the Dock Committee which was proposed in the bill. He believed that, with one or two exceptions, they unanimously preferred the present constitution of the Dock Committee to that suggested. For his part he was fully persuaded that if any alteration had to take place in the trust, the prosperity of that trust would be better con sulted by giving to the Council even a larger power than they now possess over that estate. (Hear, and applause.) But thiswasnet what they had now to decide. This question had been under the consideration of a higher tribunal,and a committee of the House of Commons had already given its sanction to the bill, copies of which lay before the Council; and the only question was, whether they should continue their opposition to the bill in its remaining stages through parliament. Now this was a question which in volved a considerable outlay of the public money under their management, not only of the funds of that Corpora tion but of the dock estate ;• and, therefore, it behoved them to go into the consideration• of it calmly and dispas sionately. What was the alteration proposed to be made in the trust ? Instead of 13 members of the Dock Com mittee being appointed by the Council and 8 by the dock ratepayers, it was proposed that each-of these constituencies should send twelve members into the Dock Committee. Instead of the chairman of that committee being chosen by the council, ho was in future to be-elected by the com mittee itself, but out of the members sent down from that room. The veto remained precisely thesarne as at present (hear, hear) ; and with the exception of the change in the committee to which he had referred, the trust of the council remained in every respect untouched. Now he must say, that if the committee of the House of Com mons had come to the determination of passing the preamble of this bill, be thought it impossible that they could have made a slighter alteration, or one less pre judicial, in the constitution of the Dock Committee, than that which they had made ; and he must aske should they t be exercising a sound discretion—should they be acting the part of wise and prudent men, if they- sanctioned proceeding with an opposition—a doubtful apposition—to this bill, and the outlay of a very large amount of the public money, for the purpose of opposing. so slight a change ? (Hear, hear). In his opinion this change was one, practically speaking, which would be scarcely felt. They should still obtain a majority upon the committee, inasmuch as the chairman must always he chosen from the members sent down by the Council, and he would. have not anly the casting vote, but from his position must exercise a greater influence over the com mittee than any other member. (Hear, hear). But there was another more important question—had they a rational prospect of defeating by opposing the ? (Hear.) He believed it was admitted on all hands that, an the fur ther progress of that bill through the House of Commons, there was n 3 hope whatever; and he asked, was it not probable that, when a bill of that nature was submitted to the House of Lords, th y would consider it as one of a very moderate character, and were not likely to throw it out. Now, noon this subject the deputation had taken the written opinion of the various counsel employed by the Corporation and by the Dock Committee, as to what chance they would have in further opposing the bill—and lawyers, he might observe, who were as eminent and experienced in parliamentary practice as were to be found; and they, without exception, had strongly recommended them to abstain from all further opposition to the bill. (Hear, hear.) Now, he (Mr. Hornby) would ask whether. in the face of the statement which he had just given, they should exercise a sound discretion in increasing the enormous expense which they would have to be at in offering further opposition. For his own part, no one could resent more deeply the in dignity which had been offered to the town , b oth fro m the manner in which the bill had been got up, and from the nature of the evidence offered in its support ; but, at the same time, he thought that the Council would gi ve the best answer to the charges made against them ef being incompetent to ,manage the Deck Estate by acti ng on this occasion with discretion, and with that view be should propose the following resolution :-- 4 The 1 Liverpool Dock Bill, as altered in the Committee of the House of Commons, having been considered, resolved, that considering the slight practical amount of alteration thereby made in the existing law, in relation to the constitution of the committee for the affairs of the estate of the trustees of the Liverpool Docks. and that the trustees will continue to have, by the exercise of the veto, the same control over the proceedings of the Dock Committee which they now possess, it is not desi rable to offer further opposition to the bill ; but that the Finance Committee be instructed to watch its further progress, in order to see that no alteration be made therein affecting the rights of the trustee:,-and of the Corporation." Mr. Alderman JonN HOLMES seconded the motion. Mr. HALL asked if the motion was intended to preclude any alteration in the clauses of the bill, and The Tows CLERIC answered in the negative. He said, that in going carefully over the bill, some verbal altera tions would be necessary. The following phrase was subsequently, added to the resolution :—" And for making such alterations in the clauses as are found to be desirable and necessary." Mr. FaEME rose to move an amendment, which he did in a lengthy speech. He characterised the bill as a "bill of pains and penalties." He had all his life, he said, been a Reformer, but he was always opposed to constitu tional changes, except to achieve some positive good or correct some acknowledged abuse, and taking this view of the case, he asked what chare.e could be brought against the Corporation in their management of the dock estate? (Hear.) If they looked at the progress of the docks and the way in which they had been managed hitherto, they might congratulate themselves that there had been no instance of injustice or of jobbery ; no charge could be brought of malversation of any kind against the members of the Dock. Committee who had bean sent there by the Corporation ; and if no charge could be brought against them, upon what ground was this change to be made ? The only charge was, that the Council did join with the parishioners of Liverpool, with their aimost univer sally expressed wish, to get a clause in an act of parliament subjecting the dock estate to parochial rates. Now, this was merely a question proposed to be submitted to parliament ; whatever the Corporation had done was done fairly before the public, and was a fair question for. debate ; and he (Mr. Freme) was there to assert his opinion that there was no class of property but had. its duties to perform to the sick, the aged, and the necessi tous poor. (Applause). But that call had now died away to a whisper, and he believed that all parties were willing that the question, should be held in abeyance Other charges, however. had been whispered, though not expressed,—that that Council, by its constitution, had become an unfit body to manage this great mercantile estate • but he thought such an accusation came with very bad grace from gentlemen whose names.were so highly honoured as having been the great promoters of municipial reform. (Hear, and applause,)—that they had been the first to infringe it and to narrow its functions. They had always been taught in language that sounded like household words, that " the voice of the people was the voice of God ;" that the welfare of the people was the supreme law ;—(laughter)—and the de parture n these our e i from nature.ha suchsentimentsierand laughter.) seemed u almost n anoutrage t they might appeal to the past if the Council had not been stimulated by a strong desire for the economical manage ment of the Dock Estate ; and he asked if the gentle men sent from that Council to the Dock Committee, in the most unfavourable view, would not bear comparison with those sent by the dock ratepayers ? They were gentlemen who had fixed property in the town, who could not run away at a moment's notice, whose interests were identified with the prosperity of the place, and there fore we had the greatest:security that they would do their duty for the general benefit of the community. Although they might feel, and did feel,, the absence of some gentlemen who shed a lustre in the Council Chamber, there was a great moral to be learned from that exclusion which ought not to have been followed with a bill like that. The bill was not in the name of the Town-clerk nor of the Dock-solicitor, but in that of aCKerae - P1: ties ; and it was galling and humiliating to the Council in the highest degree. Although they regretted that they had not in that room now the impassioned eloquence of a Rathbone, still that gentleman and others had, on, a late occasion, flown in the face of public opinion, and the public had taken the only means which they had of show ing their disapprobation, that of choosing other gentlemen in their stead. But was this a ground that they should have such a bill as this, which implied a malversation of trust, and why the Commons house of Parliament should be called upon to interfere with the charter of municipal reform, and denude the representatives of our bur gesses of an important trust ? He thought that in prac tice the change enforced in the bill would be a bad ar rangement ; the members being so equal in number upon the Dock Committee, the Council would often be called upon for its veto, and this would destroy that cordiality and harmony which should exist between each depart ment of the Corporation. Upon these grounds he thought that they had no right to surrender. If they were called upon to yield to destiny or a power which they could not control, they must submit ; but if they yielded to less than that, he thought they should betray their trust. (Applause.) Let them be able to apply to them selves the couplet— " Good men struggling with the storms of fate, And greatly falling with the falling state." He begged to move, as an amendment, that a petition should be pruen•ed from the Council to the House of Commons, to which the Corporation seal should be attached, against the third reading of the bill. Mr. Fv.rrstnotrott seconded the motion. Mr. ROBINSON said, although they were not in the same favourable position as they were in when the depu tation went up to London, still he would have them bear in mind that they had gone up as defendants ; and after the plaintiffs had gone into their evidence—which was the most, poor, weak, and imbecile, certainly that had ever been submitted—the legal advisers of the Corporation had thought it better not to bring their evidence forward. Now, whit did the evidence amount to ? That what was asked was simply returning to the structure of the bill on which it was intended to frame the constitution of the Dock Trust in 1835 ; a mere milk-and-water arrangement. The committee had thought it so trifling, that the people of Liverpool would accept it by way of putting an end to the divisions of the place ; and the committee, he dared to say, thought that their suggestions would meet the unanimous approval of all parties. He considered that the American Chamber of Commerce, the ex-aldermen and councillors had sus tained a signal and complete defeat ; that the Council had lost nothing, for they had retained the power which they possessed, to veto the proceedi, gs and otherwise control the Dock Estate. Then it must be borne in mind that since the present constitution of the Dock Committee had been adopted, the dock business had been greatly ex tended, and it might be desirable to lighten the labonr of members by enlarging the hoard. He could see no harm in the admission of three or four extra ratepayers; for he was sure when members took their seat at the committee, they did not consider whether they were sent there by the Council or the ratepayers, but united in what they thought desirable for the estate. He thought that the Council would be acting wisely in adopting the new arrangement. Mr. HALL would like to call the attention of the Council to the position in which they would be if they proceeded with the opposition. The alterations in the trust suggested by the committee of the House of Commons were, as nearly as possible, similar to those whiclr had emanated from the Finance Committee. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Therefore, unless they were prepared to ignore those proceedings of the Finance Committee, and state that they had acted without any authority whatever, he thought that they should come before Parliament with a bad grace. He thought that the proposed arrangement would create dissentions rather than produce concord. It was an insult to the town of Liverpool, and he was sorry that if should have emanated from such a source. Mr. A. F. JONES considered the hill a very impudent attack upon the rights of the town, and that there was no justification for it.• It should have his most strenuous opposition. (Applause.) Mr. Jones twitted Mr. Samuel Holme with having given way in his oppo. sition, after the assurance which he had given at a late meeting, that he should nail his colours to the mast. Mr. kraus:it at some length supported the amendment.. He commented upon Mr. Nicol's statement in Loudon,. that "'he did not know Mr. Greaser)," who had done so much•to benefit the trade of the port. It was a disgrace to him (Mr. Fisher said) to utter - words which he could scarcely think to be true. Mr. Fisher then proceeded to explain the reasons that he had voted for Mr. Henderson in preference to Mr. Nicol, as chairman of the Dock Committee ; and stated that he had himself suffered, in a pecuniary way, fram the deputy chairmanship of Mr. Nicol. Mr. FERGUSON thought that they had reason to blame themselves for the false position in which they were placed. Why was not the bill defeated upon its second reading He had no hesitation in saying that if the deputation from the Council had been asactive as the otherparty,they would have succeeded as well. What would be theresult i f they now adopted the policy recommended by Mr. Hornby ? They should bring.upon themselves the contempt of their con stituents, and , they should lose also the confidence of the bondholders, who had lent their money upon the faith of the Ccuncil, not of the dock ratepayers. He hoped that each member, on goingto the vote, would think what his constituents might say. It was a serious thing to vote away the rights of the burgesses, and he, for his part, would never consent to it. Mr. BENNETT supported the amendment, and asked the Town-clerk-if it would involve much expenditure ? The TOWN•CLERK said Mr. Freme's amendmen t did not authorise them to follow the bill into the House of Lords. Mr. BIGITAM said it would be followed up by other amendments. It was merely put forward as a , trial of strength. In answer to a question from Mr. CHALMER, The TOWN-CLERIC gave it as his opinion that it would not be necessary to take the bill that day and Consider it clause by clause. _ _ Mr. THOPISON asked what were the instructions given by the Finance Committee to the Parliamentary Commit tee ? (The resolution appoining them was read, and they had been instructed, it appeared, to offer the most strenuous opposition to the bill.) Mr. Thomson quoted from the speeches of Mr. Hornby and Mr. Holtne at the late meeting of the Council, and said he was sorry that they did not adhere to the sentiments which they then uttered. Five members of parliament consti tuted the committee of the House of Commons, and they had declared by a majority. of one only, the preamble of the bill of the American Chamber of Commerce to be carried. lie asked how many counsel had been employed altogether ? [The TOWN-CLERK said four on behalf of the corporation,—Seven altogether.] Now (con tinued Mr Thompson) there was no charge against the trustees. The reductions of dock rates had been as follows :---1836, 381 per cent. ; 1844. 38 per cent. on East India. rates ; and in 1848 £40,000. Did they call that bad management on the part of the trustees ? He should say it' was first-rate. Everything was done for the benefit of merchants, and yet they did not know what they wanted. (Laughter.) He thought that the fight would never have taken place for the ad vantage of having four additional ratepayers on the com mittee • but the ultimate design was to get rid of the town dues. (Hear, hear.) He thought that the rate payers should have a public meeting in reference to the bill. Tt was no use in going to the House of Lords, if they were to be backed in that:room merely, by- a majority of five or six. Mr. GztEGSON was reluctant to occupy the time of the Council, but wished to make a few remarks, it was stated that the parties in London were so satisfied with the evidence for the bill, that it was not deemed necessary to call for the counter evidence ; and three members out of a committee of five decided that the preamble had been proved. Now, he thought, that in common law, under such circumstances, they, would have good grounds i n going for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict of the jury was contrary to the evidence. (Hear, hear, and applause.) He thought that if the constitution of the Dock Committee were altered, it would materially affect the interests of the bondholders, for there would then be upon the committee from nineteen to twenty merchants, whose. interest would be solely to lower, the rates, and to keep them as low as possible. (Hear, hear.) If they once destroyed the confidence of the bondholders, the eXect upon the docks would be ruinous. Only imagine fora moment that the dock bondholders should take the alarm, that no money could be raised, and where would be the position of the docks? (Hear.) They could not ask.the American Chamber of Commerce to supply the money,; it must come from the public and th e con fid ence which they had in the> trustees. They should consider that at the present time they had an enormous debt upon the docks. The debt at the present time was £4,6001,000, and by the ,time that the new works were completed, it would amount to £5,300,000. They should also remember that £2,000.000 had been spent upon the Birkenhead Docks. These ware debts upon the port, and could not properly be looked upon as a separate interest, for they must draw their revenues from the same source • and thus they should have a debt in a short time of £7,00,000. (Hear.) Ho considered, that to meet the expense of working the. docks, and to meet the interest of that, we should require Nearly a double amount of chipping to what we have. And could any one suppose, that in any moderate time, the shipping would extend to that amount ? They must be very sanguine if they, did so. If the rates should, by any means, be lowered so as to endanger at all the payment of interest to the bondholders, he thought it would be most ruinous ;, and it would be almost right in the Council, to protect the bondholders, to have a clause put in the bill that a certain surplus amount should be kept year by year for the payment of the bonded debt. If there was a sinking fund of £40,000 a year, it would take 100 years to pay off that debt. It had been stated that the docks were the property of the public. That could not be so while the bondholders had such an enormous claim upon them., He should support the amendment, for he thought they had fair grounds for going to Parliament. (Applause.) Mr. S. HOLME, in an eloquent speech, defended himself from the imputations which had been cast upon nim. He was fully of opinion that no ease had been made out for depriving the Council of their veto upen the Dock Com mittee proceedings ; and, with one exceptional instance, perhaps there never was an estate which had been better managed than the Dock Trust by the members sent down from the Council. Their, conduct had been unexception able ; and he tlfought it desirable, that in a body engaged in the carrying out of great public works, there should be a sprinkling of practical men whose judgements would be of importance. But the question which the Council were now called upon to consider resolved itself into one of prudence ; and having been in the midst of the fight, and having nailed his colours to. the mast, which gentlemen present could testify that he did during the whole course of the fight, he had been most unwillingly and against conviction compelled to bow to a superior power. He had seen how different their position was in London to what it was in Liverpool ; and he felt satisfied that everything was done which the deputation could do. They had been defeated by an adverse vote of a committee of the House of Commons ; and he was sure that if the bill went to a third reading, many liberal members would throw their 'liberal professions to the wind, and take that opportunity, at the expense of Liverpool, of benefiting the manufacturing districts. Mr. Holme then argued that the bill was not so objectionable or hurtful as it might appear, and the American Chamber of Commerce were disappointed with their success. Their object was to wrest the entire controul of the docks out of the hands of the Council, and as they had not succeeded in doing so, the trustees had so far achieved a triumph. He afterwards replied to Mr. Freme and Mr. Fisher. He did not wish to protract the proceedings. The depu tation had fought to the very last, but the ship had gone down, and, of course, her colours with her. (Cries of " No, no.") As far as their fight in the House of Commons was concerned, they might depend upon it that such was the case. Whether, with all which they had heard of economy, it would be prudent in them to go on any further, teeing lawyers to the tune of 120 guineas a day, (for they would have the expenses of the adverse party also to pay,) and whether they might not peril the power which they already pos sessed, by taking proceedings in the House of Lords, he would not give an opinion ; but he knew it was the opinion of eminent lawyers that, their opposition would damage and not better them. Mr. BIGLIANI next spoke. He attributed the adverse decision of the House of Commons to the compromise which the Finance Committee had offered. He asked if there was any trustee in that room could take the , responsibility of handing over the dock estate, and all its rights and interests, into the hands of New York mer chants ? If they went to the House of Lords, it was a fact that there were from forty to fifty of the first merchants in Liverpool prepared to give evidence in their favour. Mr. Avisoss showed that it would be quite useless to petition the limo of Commons on the third reading of April 2, OU it 0 a private bill, unless they also took other step s ec 0 prejudice them in the upper house if they ded 10 going there. peeeb' Mr. J. A. TOBIN, in a lengthy and very able g •.• tea then addressed the Council. How could they bed eLe j o when their opponents had lost th a t only which they fi bit desirous to obtain, the removal of the veto? vi tst i must they attribute the change which the parliamf ll o o committee had agreed to. It was neither the e vide the offered by the American Chamber of Commerce• tye compromise suggested (without prejudice) bY.,,,61 Finance Committee, nor the allegation that the o'so had abused its trust. What th en h a d led the cowl y to the resolution equalising the number of memb e r' o< did not hesitate to say that it was the recommee° a ;;; ( l ttl Mr. Huskisson in 1825. Mr. Tobin then Prec ee ,_,Lid be shew that on the principle th a t re p resen tation tent" coeval with taxation, the proj ec t h a d often been toe tained of increasing the number epaye of t rs'ul" ra Dock Committee, and that in fact a special COraCT w 'A re. Council who had considered the subj ec t in 183 6 Pa' fit ported in favour of exactly such an arrangement now embodied in the bill. nlgla Alderman PARKER, in supporting the motion , a very humorous speech. aoa Mr. HODSON spoke in favour of the amendment' the said that all our leading merchants were oppose , ' cie gi proposed change, and those only in favour of it wh ° agents, and dealt merely with goods in Iran:Mi. r tioo , Mr. TYRER said that was a most extravagant We' d • hth s At a very large meeting of shipowners, seven-elg them had voted for aresolution in favour of the altere d the Then the China and East Indian, the Canadian a n beg C African associations were all with the A m erican ,h a ,,T e tt/ of Commerce in the matter. Th e C oun cil ha d 11 "htit complain of their defeat ; and he (Mr. Tyrer) thong (' tile would be better to put up with it, b eca use he h a authority of gentlemen whom he had heard szl' a io should the bill not pass, they would go the nexo for another bill. (" Oh, oh.") Alderman COOPER was in favour of the motion. the Ald. BRAMLEY-MOORS enforced, with fresh facto'' 900 view taken by Mr. Tobin. The dock ratepaYer a ftlif eight members to the committee when the tonnage 001201 port was only 1,200,000 tons;: and now that the snl iou lcl was 3,600,000, it was not unreasonable that they bit send twelve members. He concluded by stating 9fl belief that he should best be promoting the in° tilt of Liverpool and of the dock estate by supporting ef e motion of Mr. Hornby, for he belie ve d if thi s bill 1 : 1 , 0 0 passed, it would set at rest a qu e sti on which lisagor rite to a deal of acrimonious feelin g , (d oc k ra ting,) - which they would probably never hear of again. ~„e s t Mr. FERNTHOUGH spoke in fa v o ur o f th e amenu . 'ta , In-concluding he said he thought th ere was no OPPv ie g. nity like the present to deno unce a ' wan t o f moral I etig titude and right. He thou g ht th a t w h en a manb of traitor 0 his country or his to wn th a t man or 0 1 menshould be denounced ; and the real origin o f thl,s cer arose from a feeling of revenge, f rom th e exc lusion e l bl ? tain individuals from the Council Chamber. And ' l 4O because they had set at defiance th e public 1 " 0 01 and would not reflect the views- entertaine d ) of doors. He (Mr.. Fernihougb) regretted a s a liher a ,,,bli he had followed men by whom he had b e e n so inis e :fol deceived,—men who had used the term Liheralio'oe their own personal ambition. He re gre tt e d to se e hjel whose grays head should be a crown of , giory, but I / was to him only a covering of disgrace. Ald. BRAMLEY-MOORS : Shame, shame ! . ti gigt The MAYOR (indignantly int erru pti ng ) : You ar e strong language; I cannot allow you to proceed. d like for what oo , n t . i — m W ay ha h t a h v a e v s e ai l d said wrong.? I s ite hou p ; ohos tit. to Mr. apologise F ERlq o The MATort.—No, I have said sufficient when told you that you were out of or d er . „ 1 Mr. FERNIDOUGIL—Then, unless I am told li h i e j t t lr have transgressed in, I cannot pro cee d. (M r . Ferni then sat down.) Alderman DOVER then rose, and in severe terms „ demned the deputation for havin g h a d a leaning "(11 0 matter, in not offering more energetic opposition ° A d, bill. He was not going to use th e vu l gar parlan c i a l ola, say that the Council had' been " sold ;" b u t tbialle,,, say, whether he should offend or n o t, th a t the bat t " not been fought as a battle ought to be fought. le d 0 0 After some further discussion M r . llornby rePl ,u-,llb/a the Council divided. when the ame n d men t was o f , majority of 29'to 28. The followin g is an analysi s , gel' division :—Far' the amendment : Councillors S. pegs lor, J. Thomson, J. Bighorn, J. Woodruff, T L. Pr y O• J. Atkinson. W. Nicholson, J. B r is c o e , T. G_e d !, r ,W, 11 Holden, J. Ferguson, J. C. Fe rn ih oug h, J.' - ' 6 4. 5. Fleming, A. F. Jones, R. C. Gardner, J. Johnson. Freme, J. Nicholson, A. H en d erson , E. C. Ilin d u i L'ill! Fisher, T. Lloyd, W. Gregson ; Ald erm en w• W. Preston, T. Dover, E. Molyneux : total, 28. le. Councillors IL Aged, T. Chalmer J Sen., T. Littleda, Tyrer, H. Hornby, T. Avison, J . Gladstone , . I ,.,Viol g it Toulmin, W. P. Jeffreys, T. Wagstaff, W. A. J. A. Tobin, B. Hall, J. A. Picton, J. B. LloY°o Da egg' Wood, W. J. Horsfall, S. Holme ; Aldermen E• bio son' dale, J. Holmes, J, Lawrence, J. Parker, T. a ° ,,,, r eert J. Cooper. J. N. Wood, J. Bramley-Moore, J. T. Chilton. The Mayor : total, 29. cii T a n d j e o o u r r i n g e in d a a l f m te o r t a io s n it w ti a n s g t o h f en th a r g e r e ee h d ou ; r t s o aanndd atle half. fotr The Bankruptcy Courts were closed yesterdaY ape '- day. They will re-open to-morrow. 0 04 More than four thousand persons left London on Friday by the cheap-excursion trains. ?Ist' Bartholomew Harrington, who was se n t enc ed to f t portation for life, at the last Plyrnou , h assizes, fa ./ manslau g hter of Willia m A m b rose , h as ma d e a f u ll ,cO. fession. He wasprosent but did not st r ik e ;:he fatal-7, 0 , 4 re The screw steam-ship Arno, Capt. Harem, areis e s - IV on Sunday morning, from Marseilles and Gibralta r ,' plea passage from the former port was accomplished in b e lt days and a half, and from Gibraltar in five a nd a 0 Sec. This beautiful vessel has made the shortest' Pa a°l4 'ol 6° achieved out and home. r u i sfe ci INCIDENT& OY THE CENSUS.—The to[h.oW-Ilg , 13 9 0 of womanly assumption was given in one of the 7 ts as: returns not a hundred miles from College-street, P°0000; " Jane wife, head of the family, ma ngling c toaie John2,_husband,. turns my mangle. ,_...pee , oi Times. CHEAP TELPS.—The return of the festive sesslrr Easter and the delightful weather combine to reet r oall fitable the arrangements of the different railway ee' ho rarill for the cheap excursions of the middle and 19 %01 classes of the manufacturing districts. On the a' g itir' s of Good Friday, an immense number of persons: r o joa, ° b , in this town, availed themselves of the a.ceem sa 60° d i offered by the Lancashire and Yorkshire to 1464 a 111.", port and Manchester; still greater numbers ca. n ',.;ter°7 lwnigalt ,cwgsiohinssiiri e et u sd r e a af h e ac c , lrl i o d , a s n e as fi n d t t dh , the latter town and its vicinity on Saturday one Y - 1,8 la"' Ail t tb ° to refrzsh themselves with the sea breezes. ~,,:, to nufacturing towns have contributed more or l' — I' general stream of pleasure-seekers. h Ses si 10 ATTEMPT TO BRIBE A PROSECUTOR.--At the it Jo t, last week the Recorder sentenced two men 0 1 1. e a till e t and Christopher O'Hare to eight months' imPr," l :, der with hard labour, for attempting to bribe a clot' - ' O O l6 l/ from Ireland, named Conley, not to prosecute an tunate girl named Smith, who had robbed him °_,L to bir o sovereigns, no part of which bad been restoreu t to g l l O The prisoners offered the prosecutor £8 or X 9 , 13 ,°d of:d his evidence, and they went together to a frier t° ro ' l ', prosecutor'sto•deposit the money, but he refuse t he Pr o s ; anything to do with it. A sovereign was paid t° r isollel b . a tbtdtsi n eoiheeaexernn a cotht c ouah r c aunst i r d t, obeseeewhpnenelafl,dtle special idafori eelirnwplefii iwhich,intht. interposition hpboeus most t io f o o snt r owillaPtroavPidPeaenrsce, reightsal secutor, which he afterwards returned to the a r ; „a to ' and, failing to obtain any more money, he apP"" 106 k police. Itig l el THE FALLING OF A BELL.—On Sunday even , heart-rending circuin i a; 0 6 nothil WI ' t s h this Churc h,. churc church a m s e openedil iLimekiln-lane. an bye. tb .l ; /# lo' d A i t o lh c ba e at s n e in June last. The architect vit's sP ii4 St. At the north end of the church is 6 4 8 ' bell l i o ch f , a a b t ou an t aalttoitnudweeiogfhtaboußtenfoearttt Ywregbel:: "bßAow t hartracsetssuhitbr°PeueelPerdaeiwt;lSl recollect e d hil na s net suspended is the ent r a n c e for the coilg,, . 0 0 6 tion, and below this a cellar. On the level with the o t tbt. entrance t n ra ea n r c l e y d s o o o , r is of th w e h g ic r h oun a d sh fi or o t or ei o g f ht th o e f s c t li e u p r s c i h e , ad c r , o ,:V ci i gallery. Above this, in the spire was another fiV r a be l j constituted the remaining portion of the steeple v iol loft. The person ringing the bell, whilst doing sZ e rlr o , stand on the stairs immediately leading to the g o f ~,, t i the church. It appears, from the statenleT. s ecs,rot Knaggs, the sexton, that representations of the l" 0 fee j , of the bell have repeatedly been made, and thee ti jal;;;Jo' than five accidents have occurred to it, by rease n o 'd fl; t a vious cases, of the tongue having given waY, $ p le fI 0 1 out of it. The bell was suspended in the stf, r tel o r, two cross-beams, to which it was affixed. a sc"; 1 of an iron bar, at the end of which as' Ape p, - or of something rather less than three inches " - w aS ~'O l 6 . thus, passing through the beam or beams , , h 0 0. " 0' tened by a net on the other side, so that ve t be,o length of the screw forming the support could 11° „ast,00 most, more than an inch. At a few minutes r o old o'clock on Sunday night, as James Knaggs, the s .. ti r e - g r- 0' g rwh t ho h ai e fethrt b eh e mie l n l ets s enc u rrdv m eoewu m nseg o dca n rv i a n ebs g ehwt t ,wa h ey ' ee e a, re e nrn el e.: e c t oo foi p i: et ahhaeat stair people irth christeningea landingc eei d r wee a hri s si:t z ind e l I : ice: l n: et :o 6 1 . : c l e A l e ai m t ar tr t n ei l i e yd s e b d t a i e m w i f n oa e ry t e h o for theusual evening service. Several persons ,1 1 7, the either one minute before or after the time it did' o r 0 : Id done to the church, which• sequences must inevitably have been fatal to one 0 Ole human lives ; arit was; the only injury done Wa s ., JO • hurt to the boy who had been ringing, and th:L, ' 'd abl e ' LIVERPOOL : TUESDAY, APRIL 22; 1851 ' 00 11 ! PRINTED AND PUBLISHER EVERY 'EUESDA. t 'of By JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53,GYOVe gtree1, LEONARD ADDISON, of 14, Great Orford -s ti r _a ero No. 4, ST. GEORGE'S CRESCENT,. LIVERY.'" -0 t ,OOO pl eil Orders for Advertisements received by Messrs. vie etalt, Co., Warwick-square; Barker and Whiter J oeo Deacon, Walbrook ; Reynell,Chancery-lane ; C,Pa.„„hil e ijj",'"f Birchin-lane ; Joseph Tlionias, 1, Finch-lane, u o ' CVO den Hammond, 27, Lombard-street; Alitchell,lkot, ,101, court, Fleet-street; Lewis and Lowe, 3, Castle-,cv ne jaM4 hill; at the London Commercial Collfee-housctnter at the Jerusalem Coffee-house, Cornhill; u'tlico o ; ,l o 4l. house, Paternoster - row; North and South AlD`gaLl i et e f house, Threadneedle-street ; Parsons, 9, Av e - ,"•„ •,_oCr d i London; Johnston and'Co., Eden Quay, pub triP Exchange-street, and C. H. Lewis Market-streeo, ter Haddock, and J. and W. Bocith, Bookselleft ton g ; Clarke, Pilot-o ffi ce, Preston; and Wril i aticl , Herald-office, Birmingham; Harthill aid F•gi• Prince's-square, Buchaaan-street, Glasgow. 1- ,, ‘ BIRKENHEAD: TODHUNTER, Chester-street s . 0 0 PINKNEY, Argyle-street; OSRORNE, Chester -P • GaIFFITH, Hantilton-street. Tr, ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION. IN APYANet........ M. I OW Citapite 0*