The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-05-06 00:00:00

Mr. EVANS thought they had better close the discussion and proceed to business. _ _ Mr. LLOYD then shaped his amendment in nearly the fol lowing terms :—That the proceedings of the Finance Com mittee be confirmed, so far as authorising them to give such temporary assistance to the surveyor in his office as they may deem necessary, and that it be an intimation or instruction to them to inquire as to the efficient performance of the duties of all the clerks there employed. This amendment was agreed 'to:and the proceedings were confirmed. WATCLI COMMITTEE The proceedings of the Watch Committee having been read, . _ MI". JAMES LAWRENCE moved their confirmation. Mr. Alder Man EARLE wished to know why a man of the name of Simmonds had been appointed to the police force? His attention had been directed to a paragraph in one of the papers, in which certain statements had been made that led him to think the appointment of Simmonds a bad one. Mr. JOHN SMITH.—Read the paragraph. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Sir, I'll do as I like. Mr. JAMES LAWRENCE asked whether he should answer the question ? The MAYOR thought the cou] notice of paragraphs in the paps Mr. J. LAWRENCE said the matter, arid that he was quite read the question if the council desired ncil were not bound to take as nothing secret in the nd prepared to answer Mr. Alderman EARLE said it appeared that Simmonds had taken an important part in the Manchester case of Hearne v. Stowell, which was about some poor, crazy crea- ture who had been found crawling in the streets. After the trial, Manchester became too warm for him, and he came over to Liverpool, where he made application to the police committee, but was unable to obtain an appointment in the force. He had been originally in the Liverpool police force, but being remonstrated with by the chairman, or committee, for impropriety of conduct, he became extremely saucy. It was thereupon recommended that he should resign, in order that he might not be kicked out of the force, and he accordingly took the advice and resigned. He 'had been recently asked, in presence of the committee, how he had left his wife and family in Manchester, and what he allowed them to live upon, upon which he, who had been backed by a whole host of the clergy of the established church, said that he allowed them 2s. 6d. a-week. He was then cautioned as to his answer, because it appeared that the allowance was only 2s. a-week ; but he still persisted, and said at last that 2s. a-week was all that the magistrates had ordered him to pay. Here, then, was a man, with 18s. a-week, who only al lowed his family 2s. a-week ! And was this the man to be appointed an officer in the police force of Liverpool? If these statements were not correct, some gentlemen, he dared say, would tell him so. Mr. PARKER.—They are not correct. Mr. EARLE.—I am glad to hear it, because I only asked for information. Mr. H. LAWRENCE.---DOeS the name of this individual occur in the proceedings which have been just read? Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—Yes ; as making the application to be appointed. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—i think there ought not to be any screening of such conduct as this, because he was subse quently appointed to the force. There is an excellent reso lution of the Watch Committee, which says, that no man shall be appointed under them unless he has a recommenda tion from his last employer, or from some one who has a knowledge of his character; but, in the present case, this was dispensed with. Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—No, no. Mr. EARLE.—That's the only flat contradiction I have received. (Laughter.) _ _ Mr. PROCTER.—As the man's name is not mentioned in the proceedings I beg to call Mr. Earle to order. Mr. EARLE (who read from a newspaper he held in his hand).—He comes recommended by the Rev. Hugh Stowell, the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, the Rev. Fielding Ould, the Rev. William Falloon, the Rev. Dr. Tattersball, the Rev. Thomas Nolan, and a whole host of others. (Great laughter from the Radicals.) . The MAYOR.—As his name is not in the proceedings, we are only consuming time, because the subject is not before the council. Mr. EARLE.—J think I have said enough to induce the council to inquire how this individual, who allows his family 2s. a-week and receive 18s., came into the police force ? Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—Am I at liberty to reply ? The MArou.—l think you have no need to vindicate the conduct of the committee. Mr. EARLE.—My end is answered. I have brought the matter before the public. The MAYOR.—Yes, you have run the gauntlet; but I should not have allowed you to do so if I had known your object. _ Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—The mania now discharging his duty very much to the satisfaction of the head constable, and his appointment has been a very credible one. (Hear, hear.) _ _ Mr. COPELAND. — The head constable told me he was going on in a very satisfactory manner. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HODGSON.—The appointment was made after due consideration. Mr. EARLS laughter.) Mr. MELLOR.—As a member of the Watch Committee, I felt it my duty to oppose the appointment of this man. He was taken— —Oh, I am mote than pleased. (Ironical Mr. A. SMITH, jun. contended, that as Mr. Alderman Earle had been stopped by the Mayor, Mr. Mellor should be stopped also. . . MI% PARKER said that if Mr. Mellor was heard he should claim the same right. The MAYOR said he was ignorant of the circumstances or he should not have allowed Mr. Earle to have gone on ; and having discovered what they were he should stop Mr. Mel lor. The time, however, would come when they could make auch remarks as they might think fit. Mr. AlKlN.—Wlien the proceedings of a committee are read, is it not competent for any member of the council to ask questions upon them ? The MAYOR.—Yes, certainly. Mr. AlErN.—Then Mr. Earle is them ng a question upon Simmonds, does not Mr. PROCTER. — But the man's nam appear upon the committee's proceedings Mr. Alderman EARLE.—WeII, I will bring the matter be fore the council in a regular way it it is necessary. The MAYOR.—Your proper course will be to bring the ap pointment before the committee, and if I had known the cir. cmnstances before I should have stopped you. ;lad you were not sharp Mr: Mai Mr. Alderman EARLI enough to discover them befoi Mr. AIKIN.—If an appointment is male by the Watch Committee, is it not competent to bring it before the council ? : Mr. BusrtELL,—By special motion. Mr. J. LAWRENCE.-It seems to be forgotten that the ap pointments made by the committee are final, and that the council have nothing to do with them. Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE.-I understand the committee have the power to appoint without any• reference to the council_ The TOWN-CLERK.—The Watch committee is placed by the municipal corporations' act on a different footing from any other committee. The corporation act enacts that there shall be a Watch committee, and for the council to till up ihe members of that committee, and then it provides for the iluties of the committee in the appointment of constables and other officers. It is different from the appointment of any other committee ; for instance, it is different from the ap pointment of the Finance Committee, which is understood to be the highest committee we have. The Finance Com mittee is appointed under the 70th section, but the appoint ment of the Watch Committee is obligatory on the council. Their duties are provided for by the act, the consequence of which is. that the Watch Committee have the appointment of all officers under their charge, and the only control the council have over the Watch Committee is to refuse the sup plies if they think they are improperly required, Mr. A. SMITH.—I beg to move that we prOpeed to the consideration of the next subject 00 . the paper. Mr. PARKER.--Mr. Earle 'has made a charge against the committee, and I rise to'vindicate my own character as one of the memberS'of that committee. Thh Itlayon..—You had better not mind him Zr. MiLLon.—l rise to say a few words. l4r. PAB.KER.—I shall notsit down if Mr. lovied to proceed. Mr. MELLOR.—I think the mayor will admit that have , a right to make some, reigiacks upon the proceepie: of the watch committee. VAR*Eti.—And he will 4,d, it ako that I have a right t? make some remarks; ammember of it, 'The kfaut certainly, fir. P4Migltt—T merely rise— Mr, PRomß,—Has the gentleman any amendment to Mliar is al- propose Mr. PARKER.—No ; I merely wish to vindicato myself as having had to do with the appointment of Simmonds. Mr. J. SMITH.—Let the mayor decide at once whether Mr. Parker is in order. The MAYOR.—He may proceed. Mr. PARKER.—I think that if Mr. Earle had come to the them. But if they were to go into what might be termed political services, he thought the Council should give to some of them advice as to how they were to act, for if they only took a retrospective view of past proceedings, he should be glad to learn where that individual was who had not, in the first instance, discharged the full measure of his political ser vice before he gained an appointment ? He (Mr. Gladstone) did not complain of that—he did not think it was unfair ;if the man was competent it was quite correct; but if they (the conservatives) were to be found fault with for such things, let the Council go boldly into the subject and examine into past appointments. _ Mr. PROCTOR said he would state one circumstance con nected with the appointment of Simmonds, which he thought would have some weight with the council. It was the fsct that he had been employed at one of the public institutions of the town, namely, the Northern Hospital, since the trial of " Hearne v. Stowell," where no political feeling was allowed, and he bore a highly respectable character there. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—The public will judge. The proceedings were then confirmed. THE MARKETS' COMMITTEE. The proceedings of the Markets' Committee were next read and confirmed. TOWN-HALL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEI The proceedings of the Town-hall Establishment Com mittee, comprising the appointment of Edward Smith, as porter at the Sessions'-house, in lieu of J. Napier, dismissed, were also read and confirmed. EDUCATION COMMITTEE The proceedings of the Education Committee were next read. They stated that Miss Ellis, one of the mistresses of the South School, had been reprimanded for having been guilty of insubordination, and allowed to remain in the school on trial; and that Charles Taafe, the second master of the North School, had been dismissed for having been also guilty of insubordination. The number in the schools at present was stated to be as follows :—North, 444 ; South, 467. Mr. SANDBACH, in the absence of the chairman of the Education Committee, moved the confirmation of the pro- ceedings, Mr. YATES moved, as an amendment, that Mr. Taafe be not dismissed; and, in support of his motion, read .a memo rial which he had been requested by Mr. Taafe to present to the council. It stated that Mr. Taafe had been six years in the school, and that he had been dismissed for refusing to carry into effect certain orders of Mr. Stone, which he be lieved had never emanated from the' committee, and for having answered certain questions put to him by Mr. Yates. It further stated that the orders of Mr. Stone were to order all the boys to learn the Church Catechism, and to go to church on Sundays, and to drive the apprentices who refused to teach the Church Catechism out of the school by force and violence. In the memorial a copy of the in formation given by Mr. Taafe to Mr. Yates was enclosed. It stated that Mr. Stone had denied that he wanted the Ro man Catholic children to be taught the Church Catechism, but that he simply wished them to be present in the class when it was taught. All the rest he tacitly admitted to be correct. Mr. Taafe was of opinion that he would have been guilty of an assault if he had turned out the apprentices by force, and that Mr. - Yates had a perfect right to go to the school and to make inquiries on the subject of the education afforded. lie, therefore, humbly hoped that the council would take his case into consideration and reverse the de cision of the committee. In another letter to Mr. Yates, Mr. Taafe informed him that Mr. Stone's first visit to the school was only on the 23d of February, although his appoint ment had taken place in January or early in February. Mr. Yates, after having read these several documents, which were of some length, and included a testimonial from Mr. Nelson, the late master, as to Mr. Taafe's good conduct, ,said that the subject was a most important one. Mr. Taafe had been turned away on two grounds—first, because he refused to turn the apprentices out of the school as well as refused to compel them to teach the Church Catechism or to learn it ; and, secondly, because he had given him (Mr. Yates) the information he had submitted to a previous council, but which the council did not hear upon that occasion. He maintained that Mr, Taafe had done nothing but what he was bound to do as a man of integrity and a servant of the corporation—that he had simply answered the questions put to him, and that the " head and front of his offence" was, that he had written a letter to him (Mr. Yates) giving him the required information. Mr. HoncsoN begged that Mr. Yates would state the questions which he had put to Mr. Taafe. Mr. YATES said that he would endeavour to recollect them, as they had never been reduced to writing. A letter from Mr. Stone, dated the 10th of March, had been submitted to the council; and he referred to this letter on the present oc casion in order to show that he felt bound to go to the school, and to make the inquiries. He thought it was the duty of the Education Committee to make the inquiries themselves. On the 10th of March Mr. Stone stated that the schools could not be properly conducted so long as the apprentices were permitted to absent themselves during the time of religious instruction : and on the 25th of March there was a statement brought before the public in the Liverpool Mercury, showing that the Roman Catholic apprentices had been ordered by Mr. Stone to teach the Protestant Catechism and to go to church. These things ought to beveled the Education Com mittee to make the inquiries. On the 6th of April the same statement had been repeated in the council ; and thus there were three occasions upon which a direct variation of the rules of the council had been charged on Mr. Stone. The Education Committee ought not to have lost an hour in making inquiries which were so important ; but as they had not done so, he (Mr. Yates) had made the inquiries himself. He went to the North and South Schools. At the North School he was met by Mr. Taafe. He told that individual his name, and that he had come to make inquiries from him, and he said—" I think it is your duty to answer those inquiries as I am a member of the council." Mr. Taafe then answered all the inquiries, as it seemed to him, very candidly. He asked whether Mr. Stone had or dered the Roman Catholic apprentices to teach the Church of England Catechism and to go to church on Sundays ; and another was with respect to the attendance of Mr. Stone at the North School. Mr. Taafe stated, in reply, that Mr. Stone came regularly to the school on Monday, the day the commit tee met there, but that in general he did not come above a quarter of an hour for each day during the rest of the week. He (Mr. Yates) thought this was information which ought to be submitted to the council, and accordingly he brought Mr. Taafe's letter on the Bth of April. He thought he should hardly be credited when he said that there was not a single minute brought before the council as to any inquiry insti tuted on the subject of Mr. Stone's conduct, up to the pre sent moment, by the committee. He maintained that it was the duty of the Education Committee to have investigated most narrowly into charges which affected so deeply the reli gious liberties of the apprentices who have been bound to the corporation. He now called upon the committee to in vestigate fully into the charges brought against Mr. Stone. If they refused so to do, he should move for a committee upon the subject. He had sent a letter to the Education Committee, in which he suggested the propriety of their examining the five apprentices and three of their parents, whose names he had given them. He now asked the committee whether they had asked anybody as to the conduct of Mr. Stone — conduct which, he maintained, was in direct contradiction to the rules of the council? He entreated the council to direct their attention to a subject so important. He asked them to say whether Mr. Taafe could have acted otherwise than he had done ? and he put the question with the more concern because lie (Mr. Yates) had been the innocent cause of the man's dismissal. Mr. HODGSON. —No. Mr. YATES.—The words set'forth in the proceedings are, that he has been guilty of insubordination, "particularly in consequence of sending the letter to Mr. Yates." Mr. HODGSON. — No. Mr. YATES.—Let the passage m be read. Mr. RADCLIFFE having read the paragraph, Mr. YATES, continued to say that there was great vague ness in the Charge of insubordination. He never would be content, and the public never would 'be content, when char ges we're brought against a man so vaguely and dismissal followed ; and lie thought the conneil would not confirm the proceedings under such circumstances. Since 1829, Mr. Taafe had supported his mother and four of his brothers and sisters, and he was at present, supporting his mother i a sister, and a brutber, the 'Atter of whom was dangerously ill of consumption. The case was one, therefore,ofpeculiar hard ship, against a man of exemplary diligence, irreproachable conduct, good manners, mad great ability as a teacher. If there was one roan morethan another who deserved the sym pathy of the council it was the man who dared to be just, although be thereby brought down upon himself the frowns of his superiors. He thought if ever there was a case which called for their sympathy the present was that one, and he appealed to the sense of justice and humanity upon the part of the council to act uprightly in the matter. Mr. EARLE said he had great pleasure in rising. tp second the amendment proposed by Mr. Yates, but wonl4 net make any observations at that stage of the discussion, ag he had been informed by the Town-clerk that he.niight reserve him self until after other gentlemen had'iiiolten. Mr. Honcsoa;. — l, appeal `to, tie Mayor whether you can speak Again upon Vie question., Mr. EAti:Lx.--1 11 do so when I choose. (A laugh.) The 'DOWN-CLERK said the Mayor must determine this point. According to the rule of the House of Commons, a member seconding a motion might reserve to himself the power of making his observations at a later period. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Aiid it has been acted upon here. Mr. Alderman TDRNER.—Before the discussion proceeds I should like to be informed whether every member of the council has not a right to attend either of the schools,, Midi() ask any questions they may think proper ?--becatise„ if tliey have that power, the resolution of the EduCeticin . Committee is an infringement of that right: Vow can we attempt to discharge oor duty, if el'esialution of the kind is to be put upon the Wake', duty , we are told, in direct terms, that we haadinti Tight' so to do? Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE.—You have every right, certainly, to attend them. Mr. BOLTON.—Perhaps the Town-clerk will declare it authoritatively. The TOWN..CLERX.—In answer to that question—whether every member of the council, not a member of the Education Committee, has a right to be a visitor of the schools—l must only give the answer I gave on a former ()Cession, according to the best of my recollection, in the case of Mr. Isaac Ualmes. I then declared that a member of the council, who was not a member of the Education Committee, had no right to visit the'Schobls. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Boi,ToNAHas he not a right to ask tiktiestiouslfor his information and guidance? The TOWN-CLERK. --My opinion is that he has no other right than that Which belongs to any gsntleroan in the town. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Alderman EAnt.z.,-Then, how are we to judge if these gentlemen have reported nothing as to the investiga tion going forward respecting Mr. Stone? The Towsr-CLERK.—I know not that I am bound to answer that question, but you know that every committee of the council-is subject to the control and correction of the council in every respect. Mr. BRIGRT.—The Town-clerk labours under a misap prehension with regard to Mr. Holmes, who wanted to be present in the committee, and not to go to the schools. The TOWN-CLERK.—It was so with respect to the Watch Committee ; not with respect to the Education Committee. Mr. EARLE.—Has a burgess a right to go to the schools and ask those questions? The Towsr-CLanxa—Certainly not. (Hear.) Mr. EARLS.—''hen we are kept 1u glorious ignorance. (4 laugh.) • ' " Mr. PLATT was of opinion that Mr. Taafe had been un justly dismisied. Mr. BOLTON did not rise to speak on the question, but to protest against the opinion just given by the Town-clerk. He maintained it was the right of every councillor to visit the schools, and he thought it the duty of the masters to give such information to the cenneillors going there as might be asked for in a cirii manner, He certainly would bring the question fully'before the council on an early day. Mr. HODGSON said he was of opinion they might dispose of the present question without a great deal of discussion. Mr. Yates had entered into it with much good feeling ; but it should be recollected that the management of the schools had been entrusted to a committee, who were responsible for the carrying of them forward in a proper manner. The pre sent was not a question of feeling, with regard to whether Mr. Taafe took care of his mother or his sister, neithei 4 was it a question of moral conduct, that gh moral conduct might be involved in cases of the kind; . hut it'was a question of fit ness, for which the corninitiee'were to be responsible. Mr. Yates had atieMpted to damage the character of Mr. Stone, by bringing forward vague reports against him. He had at tempted to cast a slur upon the conduct of the head master who had been appointed by the council, and who had been approved of, so far as he had gone, by the committee of ma nagement ; and he thought Mr. Yates had been train.- +0 make good hi s case by travelling out of his wa r y, and, by nlak ina attack upon an individual whose con d u c t ' was not be fore the council. (Hear hear .} What was the fact with regard to Mr.Taafe ? Thati lie had repeatedly told Mr. Stone he v .',9! 1 .4 1 • e l ?eY A* twisters, but that he would not obey him! watch committee, which consists of five-and-twenty MeMbers, 1 they would have given him every setis . factide;atid that such a course would have been much' More ie order than to come 1 here and pnt'questions 'Which it would take three hours to iiiieUgs 'properly. I maintain that the appointment of Sim :bonds was a good one that the recommendation he brought with him was high in the extreme ; and that he had a cha racter sufficiently high for any situation in the gift of the committee. I think the slur Mr, Earle has thrown on the ministers of the gospel was not at all in character with him as a member of the Church of England. (Hear, hear.) Mr. EARLE.—He allows his wife 2s. a week. Mr. PARKER.—And I understand it is more than she deserves. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MELLOR contended that tlw appointment was irregu lar. It was contrary to the Standing orders passed in January last, and he requested that the Deputy Town-clerk' might reiti the report of the sub-committee as to the mode of to ng on men, which was passed on the 15th of January. I Mr. PARKER said, this would re-open the whole question. The MAYOR asked whether Mr. Mellor had reason to think that the standing orders bad been departed from? Mr. Mtm.on. replied in the affirmative. " Mr. RADCLIFFE then read one of the standing orders, which was' to the effect that no testimonial be admitted except from the last employer or some respectable individual baying a personal knowledge of the applicant. " 4 r. J.' LANynt,iitp said that other testimonials respecting the man's chdracter had been before the committee, inde ppndently of the one signed by the clergy. Mr. 'MELLOR said, he had been one of the committee who had recommended the adoption of the rule just read. The reason e of its adoption wa s t o p reven t testimonials from being sig d by constituencie s , w hi c h was a ver y improper thing. N n o one Would deny that the rule was sound in principle. Within a few months after theadoption . of the rule, a memo rial, signed by not less than d thirty individuals, was brought to the Watch Committee, () a u n t a b d y that committee referred to the daily board. He c e t d ha that no such memorial should have been received, ande necessary ought to have been declared irregular. He felt it nee . t r e y st t i o me s n ta ta te ls , i o o wev t e i r e , that there were three or four separate parties who bad signed the general one. It would hdve m bee i n perfectly regular to send the separate testimonials to the su b-committee ; but it was equally irregular to send them the general memorial which had been signed by the ministers of the Church of England, because a memorial so signed was calculated to influence men's judgments, and to induce them to make an appointment which they wo u ld n ot ha ve done in the a bsence 0 1 s u ch general testimony. Upon those g r oun d s had movcci itrcommittee that the appointraent be. not con firmed; and as Mr. Earle had now brought the matter before the council, he had no hesitation in repeating his statement before the Watch Committee, that the appointment of the titan was irregular. Mr. J. LAWRENCE wished, after the speech which had just'been made, to leave the matter in the hands of the coon eil, Mr. Mellor having admitted that there were three Olie of those Principal memorials from single (lea h r a .) d, The `'Fll t ag 064 1 the Mati'slast employer. riafties who signed the general mernor () l th _imoreover, an One t" em had written a individual knowledge of him. note to him (Mr. L.) saying tbat he had known him fo r a number of years, and that he bore a most excellent character. Mr. EARLE.—Two shillings a-week. (A laugh.) Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—If you had been in the same situa tion perhaps you would have thoug ht 2s. a-week a great deal too much. (Hear.) Mr. Lawrence then proceeded to con tend that the appointment was one whichthe 93mmittee•had been quite justified in making. TltottNitit,L contended that the Watch Committee might not , to have made the appointment. Mr. GLAns'roNE said, that it appeared to him the whole charge brought against this individual was that he had taken a c onspicuous part in the trial of " Hearne v. Stowell, but " surely as long as a man did his duty and had no stain on uncil his character, neither the Watch Committee nor the Co were justified in making such an enquiry as that now before Could discipline be carried on Under these circumstances ? Mr. BOLTON.—It is my opinion that the conduct pursued (Hear, hear.) He said that he should see the orders of the by the committee in those schools is tyrannical and unjust.— committee; but a most essential part of the instructions of (Great uproar.) the committee was, to teach the children obedience to their Mr. GLADSTONE.—That is not the question. superiors, because if subordination e ere not t o b e es t a bli s h e d, Mr. BoL T oN.—I re p eat t h at i t i s tyrann i ca l an d unjust. nothing in the shape of benefit could be inculcated. He The MAYOR.—You mean, of course, with respect to the next refused to carry out the orders of the committee with dismissal of Mr. Taafe? regard to the apprentices, from fear, as he said, of commit- Mr. BOLTON.—I am speaking of the rules by which the ting an assault ; but this was a fiction of his own. It was schools are regulated ; they are tyrannical and unjust, in an attempt to put a colouring on that which was not fair asmuch as they exclude the Catholics. (Much uproar.) nor honest, and could not be allowed to have any weight with The MAYOR.—But that is not the question before the a man who was to teach, not merely obedience, but truth council now. in every respect. He (Mr. Hodgson) a ll ege d th at Mr. Taafe Mr. BOLTON.—I say the conduct of the committee in the had thus shown himself unfit forhis situation. In the first place, management of these schools reminds me of a period of his he refused to turn out the refractory apprentices who would tory, in the year 1780, when some fanatical spirit—. (Im neither teach as they had been directed, nor transfer their in- mense uproar and continued cries of " Order." dentures. Then, with respect to Mr. Taafe giving a account The MAYOR.—But Mr. Bolton, that is not the question. to Mr. Yates of the attendance of Mr. Stone at the school, Mr. LLOYD.—Does the passage of history refer to Mr. did Mr. Yates so little understand the proper discipline to be Taafe ? If it does not; Mr. Bolton is not in order. (Great observed that he should go to the second master in the school laughter.) and ask him to become a spy upon his supe r i or . (L aug ht e r.) Mr. BOLTON.—It is the same feeling of bigotry and in- Was that Mr. Yates's discipline? He thought if Mr. Yates tolerance that led you to expel the Catholics. (Cries of happened to be upon the committee, they would teach him " Order.") that they held different views upon the subject. (Renewed Mr. BIRKETT.—If we sit here as bigots the town is of our laughter and cheers.) Mr. Yates had next spoken of the way of thinking. (Cheers.) violence offered with respect to the teachers in religious in- Mr. BOLTON.—If lam not allowed to go on— struction, and he had said that it had been deemed contrary The MAYOR.—Go on as to the dismissal. to the orders of the council, and that it had been a tte m pted to Mr. BOLTON.—Exactly. I shall not proceed with the enforce on the Roman Catholics the going to church. But he passage from history if I am not allowed. I canot help had failed to draw a distinction between teachers in the school thinking that Mr. Taafe's offence was a very venial one, and and the taught. (Hear.) The committee never held that that he ought only to have been reprimanded, and his mistake they would have as teachers in the school, p eo ple w h o wou ld i n the rules of the schools pointed out to him. I think the refuse to give instruction in the Church Catechism. The 'committee have acted in that respect extremely harsh ; and teachers must teach that which had been appointed to be I c a ll on the council not to confirm proceedings which, in taught, because there was no way of enforcing the plan on my opinion, are very arbitrary and unjust. which the schools were to be conducted, except by making Mr. GLADSTONE.—I am sorry to bring myself again be the teachers teach the Church Catechism. The teachers were, fore the notice of the council ; but lamby no means satis however, told that if they could not comply with those re- fled. When I found fault with Mr. Bolton's remarks, quisitions their indentures would be cancelled ; but they which he afterwards seemed to retract, and called me a" ty stood in the anomalous position of being nobodies in , the rannical bigot," he made use of a most unwarrantableexpres schools, when they were told that unless they adopted the sion, for he told me " I might sit down" " under it." lam plan pointed out they could not be there at all. There was not of a quarrelsome disposition ; I wish to live in peace with no question contrary to common sense in saying that the all men, but that is an expression I will not permit any man council could not expect to go on with people under them in to use towards me. (Cheers.) I will be insulted by no man. such a situation, and so refractory as the apprentices seemed (renewed cheers') I have a character to protect ;it is at to be. He would not say anything with regard to Mr. Taafe's tacked in this instance ; and I will not allow Mr. Bolton or moralcharacter. He wouldnotdo what Mr. Yates had, impugn any other man to make use of expressions which are not to theconduct of men perfectly unimpeachable on the committee, be tolerated. (Great Cheering.) but lie would say that Mr. Taafe's mode of going to Mr. Mr. BOLTON.—I retracted what I said in the firstinstance, Yates, and reforming his letter and breakfasting with him, and I regret having made use of such expressions as Mr. and giving him private information, rendered him unfit to Gladstone complains of ; but, I repeat, I was speaking of the hold any situation in the schools as a teacher, although it conduct of the committee ; and I cannot help thinking still might be no breach of what Mr. Yates would consider that the committee have not acted according to the strict prin " moral conduct." (Laughter and cheers.) He should like ciples of justice and impartiality ; nor do I think the rules to know how Mr. Yates would himself act under similar cir- which they have adopted, in conformity with the rules that cumstances ?If the gentleman were going to choose a servant ought to have actuated th e i r con d uct . would he be likely to engage an eavesdropper, who would tell Mr. TouemiN.— I think we ought to have an unqualified privately what had been passing in his house ?—(hear, hear) retractation ; but that is not an unqualified one. —or, rather, would he not say to such a servant, "If you Mr. JORDAN.—It is quite enough. (Oh.) find anything wrong you had better conic to myself and tell Mr. Aldrn. BARCLAY.—What is the offensive expression ? it ?" (Hear, hear.) Why had not Mr. Taafe done this ? The MAYOR.—A tyrannical bigot. Why did he not come to the committee and tell what he Mr. AldermanßancLAy.-1 - do not yet exactly understand considered to be wrong ? (Hear.) But, 110 ' lie went and what Mr. Bolton is accused o f. A s to t h e act d one b y t h e reduced his private information to writing; and whether Mr. committee, Ido myself consider it to be a very tyrannical act. Yates wrote a letter for him to copy or not it was difficult to Mr. Alderman EARLE—Hear, hear, And very unjust. say, but, at all events, Mr. Taafe had made but a sorry figure Mr. Alderman BARCLAY.—That is my opinion, and I at composition, and had rendered himself totally unfit for shall he prepared to maintain it upon another occasion. the situation by his conduct. The committee were deter- Mr. MELLOR.—I did not understand the words spoken to mined to subdue any spirit of similar insubordination which he personally offensive to Mr. Gladstone. I understand Mr. might evince itself in either of the schools; and, notwith- Bolton to be speaking of the system. (" No, no.") standing all the spirit of faction abroad, and all the attempts The MAYOR.—It was decidedly against either the com made to ex ite discontent, he was happy to say that the mittee or Mr. Gladstone. schools were increasing from day to day. (Cheers.) They Mr. M'ELLon.—I understood Mr. Bolton to say that the were taking in more and more children every week. Both the ssstein was tyrannical, unjust, and bigotted. (Renewed cries schools would be filled much sooner than he had expected, of " No, no.") That was the meaning of it. and in a short time, he trusted they would be an example The MAYOR.—It was decidedly, in my opinion, against worthy to be followed by the country at large. But mean- the committee or Mr. Gladstone. while he called upon the council to give their cordial support Mr. MELLOR.—I beg to add that I confirm Mr. Bolton's to put down the spirit of trifling and vexation which was opinion with respect to the system. I think the system being constantly evinced, and taking up the time of the council. The MAYOR.—You may explain what fell from Mr. He called upon the council to give their support to the Bolton, but you are not at liberty to go into the general schools for only a short time longer, when the progress of question. improvement would, he was satisfied, be such as to render Mr. AIKIN.—I sat next to Mr. Bolton, and after he had entire satisfaction. He believed Mr. Yates to be acting in made use of the expression, I heard him say that he did not accordance with the feelings of his party, and he admitted intend it to apply to any member of the committee, but to his candour, but he dissented from his judgment in lobo on their acts. He said he did not mean to apply it offensively the present occasion. He hoped the proceedings of the corn- to any member. mittee would be confirmed by such a majority as would show Mr, G. H. LAWRENCE.—Mr. Gladstone is satisfied with the gentlemen opposite that although they might amuse them- respect to the withdrawal of the charge of " bigotry and selves by bringing statements of this kind forward, such state- intolerance," but he complains that when be said—" I will ments were altogether out of place. (Hear, hear.) When not put up with language such as that," Mr. Bolton said, the radicals had been in power in the council, it was well "If you won't put up, you may sit down under it." known that they had used their power. The conservatives Mr. GLADSTONE.—Y es, Mr. Bolton said I might sit down had certainly protested against their proceedings on the sub- tinder it. I should like to know whether that language is ject of education, but what had been the conduct of the con- not personal ? (Hear, hear.) servatives at that time? They said they dissented, but then Mr. BOLTON.--I afterwards said that what I said referred they never became disturbers of the common peace. (Hear, to the system. hear.) And all he would now say was this—the conservatives Mr. Leovn.—The first impression among the members have got the power—that power they will exercise ; and the near me was, that Mr. Bolton was referring to individuals ; radicals may enjoy the vox et praterea nihil, as all that but lie says he applied it to the committee generally. He belongs to them in their fallen position. (Hear, hear.) shoved it from the persons, and then spoke of it in relation Mr. PRIESTLEY contended that Mr. Taafe had not done to the system. wrong in answering Mr. Yates' questions, because he was Mr. JORDAN.—And lie had a right to do so. In the House under the impression Mr. Yates had a right to ask them, as of Commons every member has a right to explain. one of the councillors. The MAYOR.—I consider that Mr. Bolton has retracted Mr. A. SMITH said there existed some misconception as the charge against the committee and Mr. Gladstone. to the cause of the dismissal of Mr. Taafe. Mr. Yates Mr. BOLTON.—I spoke of the system. seemed to think it was because be bad written a letter to The MAYOR.—Not in the first instance. (Hear, hear.) him ; but this was not the fact. (Hear.) He had been Mr. BOLTON.—I was speaking of the system, which I con dismissed for insubordination, in having brought charges sidered unjust and bad. against Mr. Stone, which were not founded on fact. (Hear, The MAYOR.—Your remarks were applicable either to hear.) The committee had investigated these charges, and Mr. Gladstone or to the committee. found that every one was incorrect. In the first place, the Mr. BOLTON.—I did not mean to apply them personally Roman Catholic children had not been compelled to learn the to Mr. Gladstone. church catechism, or to go to church. In the next, the ap- Mr. TOULMIN.—He has only withdrawn the expression so prentices had refused to do what Mr. Stone had ordered them, far as Mr, Gladstone personally is concerned. and Mr. Taafe refused to turn them out when Mr. Stone h a d The MAYOR.—I understand it to be withdrawn w ith re_ desired him to do so. Then Mr. Stone had been accused of spect to the committee also. not having attended the North School when first appointed, Mr. BUSDELL.—I think he has withdrawn it as fully as but the fact was that he had been compelled to pass the he could. greater part of his time at the South School, there being no Mr. Alderman EARLE.—It is great presumption on the other master there, and of course he was unable to be in two part of any gentleman present to make any further observe places at the same time. In short , every charge against him tion after the mayor has decided that it has been retracted. had undergone investigation, and was found to be incorrect. Mr. GLADSTONE.—I understood the first charge to be (Hear, hear.) withdrawn. After Mr. Bolton had explained the first charge, Mr. YATES asked Mr. Smith if he would be so good as to the second which he made was personal to myself, for di.- say whether the committee had examined the five apprea- recting himself to me and looking at me, he said—" You may tices or the three fathers whom he had named ? sit down under it." That was an attack upon me. I un- Mr. Alderman EVANs expressed a hope that Mr. Glad- derstood that was to be withdrawn, .and I now must know stone would fulfil the engagement he had given some few whether it is so or not. weeks ago, and inquire whether the Roman Catholic child_ Mr. BOLTON.—It was merely a little pettish observation ren, who had been in the school heretofore, had returned, of my own, brought on by the petulant manner of Mr. Glad- There were only twenty-five who could be called Catholics stone himself. at the South School; and when they heard of the schools Mr. GeAnsTorre.—Petulant ! What do you expect us to being filled again, he would ask Mr. Gladstone to pursue his be made of? (Hear, hear.) inquiry, and to ask what had become of the Catholi c child- Mr. Alderman EvANs.—lt would be more in accord ance ren, and whether other schools had been denuded of thei r with the charity, w hi c h we hope ought to cYist in, Mr. H o d g . scholar. to fill up the void in the corporation schools? son's mind, if he would facilitate the arrangement. Mr. PLATT said the number of Roman Catholic children The MAYOR.—II is now terminated. at the North School amounted to fifty-four. Mr. EVANS.—With regard to what fell from Mr. Bolton, Mr. Alderman EvANs.—What has become of the others? lam not surprised that gentlemen too k offence at it ; but Mr. GLADSTONE, in reply to what Mr. Alder man E vans when withdrawn and apologised for quite sufficiently, lam had said, would remark that lie was not aware of h av i ng s ur p r i se d th at M r . Hodgson should endeavour to prolong given any pledge. He had asked a question, and he would the subject. I conceive it is amply and honourably adjusted. ask the question again, when the system had been tried, but Mr. HODGSON.—If Mr. Gladstone is satisfied, I shall not the system was not yet matured. (Hear, hear.) He had proceed with the vote of censure. asked what had become of the catholic children, formerly in Mr. GLADSTONE.—I am satisfied if lam right in thinking the corporation schools; and he had since had the pleasure that it has been entirely withdrawn. of seeing a small sprinkling of them return. Whether the Mr. BusHEi.L.—l don't see how the withdrawal can be number would increase, of course it was impossible for him more effectual. (Hear.) to pronounce an opinion ; but he adhered to the opinion he Mr. RowrisoN said he should oppose the confirmation of then expressed that, if the schools were not made ava il a bl e the proceedings in consequenc e o f w hat Mr. Yates had said for all classes, he for one, would propose some change in with respect to Mr. Taafe considering himself at liberty to them,. but he would not say what the change would be. give information to a member of council. Mr. PLATT, in answer to a question, said the number of Mr. EARLE said his party had always been attacked when Catholic children at the South School was 25. they introduced the present very "factious opposition ;" Mr. BUSHELL was only afraid that the expectation of the but he hoped so long as injustice prevailed, that there would gentlemen opposite, of a change in the views of a most influ- be plenty in the council to raise their voices against it. At ential member of his (Mr. Bushell's) side of the house, all events, so long as he was in the council he would apply as would operate rather as an inducement to continue the agi- . strong a blister as it was in his power to do. (Hear, hear, tatioa of this question than to allay it. That was his fear, and a laugh.) There was the utmost honour, candour, and however benevolent the motive which prompted such an opi- religion about Mr. Hodgson and yet his sting was generally nion, or which dictated conduct based upon such opinion. of the severest kind. He (Mr. Earle) was not speaking then It might, he greatly feared, operate as a premium upon agi- of what bad taken place in the council, but of what had oc tation instead of a check to it. Them seemed to be some curred in a building close by a short time since. (Oh !) misapprehension with regard to the record of the committee's Mr. HonesoN.—l appeal to the mayor whether this ought proceedings : the committee merely referred to Mr. Taafe's to be allowed. . letter as evidence to bear out the fact of insubordination, The MAY OR.—I think Mr. Earle ought not to proceed. and it was the very best evidence that could be given, inas much as it proceeded from Mr. EARLE.—I am sorry for it, sir ; but it's out. (Great Mr. Taafe him s elf. Th e l etter , laughter.) He agreed with what Mr. Evans had said in re proceeding from himself, was evidence of his insubordina- ference to what had fallen from Mr. Bolton, but when one wit -6011.1 and he (Mr. Bushell) i would ask the committe e h ow nessed injustice, it was enough to make the blood and bile discipline could be preserved in a large body, such as th e rise in him, and it was excusable if a little slip were made, arteY for instance, if every man insisted upon receivin g hi s though it might not be in accordance with the rules of po , orders and instructions directly from the commender-in-chief? fished society. The reason Mr. Taafe had been dismissed Each officer was there responsible to the one above him, and he was, because he was a superior man to Mr. Stone, and be was merely the machine to put his orders in execution. Wh en cause they wanted to bring all the masters down to the level Mr. Taafe said he would not obey Mr. Stone, insubordina. of the latter. This was the whole secret ; and more tyran tion commenced, and it might have descended through the , nical, bigotted, and unjust conduct he had never heard of in whole system if it were not stopped. The cmuMitteetthere- . his life. It was such a system of religious bigotry as had fore, could do nothing else than what they had 2 - and, how- never been known in th e land before. ever he (Mr. Bushell) might sympathise with Mr., Taafe on Mr. GLADSTONE said that some reference had been made the situation in which he was pieced, the committee, be in the course of the debate to the page of history. Now, contended, could not have acted, otherwise towards him. if those who succeeded them should ever be tempted to ex ile thought the wonder vvas, not that there was not a large amine the records of their proceedings in the council, he body of Rog au Catholics in the schools, but that there was thought that the conduct of Mr. Alderman Earle since he one Remelt, Cet4Olieil thetn• That there should have b een entered the council, would p ro d uc e some risibility, if no t s o many as twenty-five in one school was matter of surprise. something more. Everybody would recollect what had taken l i n Conclusion, he thought that none of the present attacks place when he (Mr. Alderman. Earle) attempted to criticise ought to receive any sanction from the council until the sys- Mr, Stone's letter. That circumstance reminded him (Mr. tem had first received a fair trial. Gladstone), of a preacher who was accused of reading other Mr. AIKIN asked when the time was to arrive when the persons' sermons. By reading them wretchedly, he made them system would be considered to have had a fair trial .? He his own ; and Mr. Earle would have the council infer from cared not about the military law of the last speaker or the that circumstance that Mr. Stone was incompetent for the uncivil law of the town-clerk ; but he thought the common- duties of a master of the schools. To-day the council had sense law was, that the council should make particular and heard of Mr. Taafe. Mr. Earle had referred to what he personal inquiry into, the naode of conducting the schools. (Mr. Gladstone) said at the last council of Mr. Taafe : and He was satisfied that tie, man could lay his hand on his heart whatever grounds he might have for forming an opinion and say that Mr. Taafe had been properly and honestly dis- of Mr. Taafe, he had refrained from saying more on the missed. occasion Mr. Earle referred to because he had no wish Mr. Waxen thought that the private affairs of individuals to do what might be injurious to Mr. Taafe. That was would soon go to wreck if the conduct of Taafe, which his feeling when he heard Mr. Taafe's fitness for a master seemed to have been approved o f by Mr. Aikin, were gener- so highly eulogised. His own opinion of Mr. Taafe was ally adopted. Ile maintained that the man had been guilty that he had been in that school six years too long, and of gross insubordination. Hefted refused to do whet Mr. S tone that in some respects he was incompetent as Mr . Alderman Earle incompetent for the duty. told him, and he had made statements wholly untrue of the x If any g entleman doubted head master ; lie had put them into the hands of Mr. Yates ; see those statements had gone to the public ; and was it likely, Mr. Alderman to Aldedrom, an EARL.v..---Very much indeed. under those circumstances, that Mr. Stone and Mr. Taafe Mr. GLADSTONE,--Then be would refer them to docu could ever draw together? Was it likely that the children ments in possession of the Education Committee, from could learn obedience from such insubordinate conduct which Mr. Yates. must have seen that Mr. Taafe was no on the part of one of their masters ? (Hear, hear.) Th a t great adept at composition or Spelling either. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Gladstone) did not make this charge without having had happened to Mr. Taafe no'w which he (Mr. B.) told some 'ned something to justify it. (Hear, hear.) He had of the parties who lent themselves to the present factious op- a position would assuredly happen. He called it " factious heard great contendin g parties, of having' reen rt a a c i cused,bec t a w u a se it' was only stronglynatu urk r s a s l ie t r o mil f e ee h l aandd in opposition," because the council had to go over the same ' where . there were subject every day they assembled. (Hear, hear.) It was t m n a a n t y co p u e n n c p : i l e the case of a small minority against a large majority , and n nn ter i n a p a tu an %s m r p e t m un a made in reply, but thing gore he d that majority carrying out the Wi&ll2.S of the inhabitants. ones he might have on temptuous character e contended (Hear, hear.) The radicals stood as 1.3. to 35 in the council. made none of a c the Education C o • mittee, with After alluding to the large majority by which Mr. Brassey that the proceedings of not have been otherwise than they re had been returned for St. Anne's Ward, on this very ques- gard to Mr. Taafe, could m at a t d a e ck w h it possible for tion, Mr. I3irkett col:3000 by again denouncing the con- had been. How was Mr. Stone and Mr. (Hear, duct of til 'leinerity. Taafe to work together? hear.) It would have been Mr. PARKER expressed his belief that M r . Aiki n w o u ld be much better for M Taafe to have gor. ne away with a good the •f to stand up for order, decorum, and subordination grace, rather than have been the means of causing all this in every department with which he stood connected. If any ferment and turmoil. of his servants showed anything like the insubordination Mr. MELLOR thought the motion of Mr. Yates deserving evinced by Mrs Tea*, or if any of the officers under the of every consideration,. said expressed a hope that Mr. Glad- Dock committee were to be g u il ty o f i t, t h e con s e q uence stone would bring the present turmoil to a conclusion by pro would he instant dismissal. (Hear, hear.) In the hope of posing some plan for the management of the schools which putting a stop to the present system of opposition, he moved, would allay unpleasant feelings. as a second amendment, a vote of confidence in the Education Mr. SAN,EBACH r eplied. He was very sorry for Mr. Taafe Committee. becauie he did not believe that his insubordination originated Mr. Toe 'Aux seconded the amendment. with himself. Mr. BuLLEv believed the proceedings of the committee 'Mr. YATES said he would have to vindicate Mr. Taafe's were as illegal as they were unjust and unrighteous,,, an i 'en- conduct if Mr. Sandbacla continued th ese o b servations. tered his protest against them. Mr. SANDBACR said it was the conduct of Mr. Yates him- Mr. BOLTON contended that when the party, with which self, he was impugning more than that of Mr. Taafe. In the he stood connected were in power, they invariably acted course of the investigation before the committee, Mr. Taafe upon the principle of do u!,Ao others as' you would wish was asked why he had not made some communication to the others to do unto you. He referred to the late debate in coninaittee if he thought matters wrong, and his reply was the House of Commons, and said that the government we re That M r. Y ates t o ld him it was unnecessary f or hi m to make going to send Out Catholic clergy to give instruction to tbg. anY communication to the:committee. (Hear hear.) Catholic soldiers in India: He wished to contrast the liberal Mr. YATES denied that he had told him anything of the conduct of the government in this respect with 'khe puny kind. and petty conduct of a few tyr annical bigots. hi Liverpool , • Mr. SANDBAcx said that Taafe's words had been taken He' was strongly reminded of a period ilik,history e ,„ down at the moment. Whether Mr. Yates had acted in the Mr. GLADSTONE.—I rise to ord9;, Mr,. Mayor. I, for o ne , matter as a counc ill or ought to have d one . h e would leave will not submit to be called a tgapoical bigot bY any man, the members to judge. He (Mr. S.) thought he had not. If that language is addressed to me as a. member of the (Hear.) He did not like to characterize Mr. Yates's conduct Education Cominitte, as l S the mayor whether it is, or is in the manner which be thought it deserved.. He had his be called a tyrannical b i gotan d distinct was not, to be retracted?, Ain to own opinion of it ; SO that opinion that he Education Committee I acted m the because, aka member of the Educe _ t (H do should be sorry to have . manner in which Mr. what conscientiously believe to he rtgh • ear, h ear.) Yates had. (Hear.) ts that language to be applied to me? I shall not ask the Mr. Y ATES again denied that he bad expressed to Taafe question again. to individuals, b the words. attributed to him by that individual. Mr. BOLTON.—I did not apply it tO The council then divided upon the amendment proposed ' Oh l"by the committee as a body. (Cries of . ) Mr. Yates, when there appeared : Mr. HODGSON.—If that language is not immediately For it.... • .... • '''''''''''' • 20 retracted, I shall move a vote of censure.. (Great applause.) Against it ''''' ...... s • • • • • • • • 32 The amendment was consequently lost. The following members voted in the division : For the amendment—Messrs. Thornhill, Preston,Holmes, Mellor, Bolton, Aikin, Bright, Priestley, Yates, Robinson, Jordan, Platt, Mather, Holt, Bulley, Freme, Evans, Barclay, Earle, and Moon, CHESTER RACES TUESDAY A PRODUCE SWEEPSTAKES of 50 sovs each, h ft, colts Bst 41b, fillies Bst ; two miles. Mr. F. R. Price's gr f Valentine, by Speculator Sir R. Bulkeley's ch f Wide-awake, by Physician 2 THE TRADESMAN'S PLATE Of 200 sovs in specie, added to a Handicap Sweepstakes of 25 sovs each. Mr. Plummer's br f Alice Hawthorn, 4 yrs Mr. Kirby's br h Lanercost, aged A SWEEPSTAKES of 5 sovs, with 50 sovs added by the Pro prietors of the Grand Stand. Mr. Meiklam's b c by Physician Mr Walter's b c Wilton Brown Mr. Collett's br c Heads or Against it—Messrs. Shaw, Shand, Hodson, Houghton, Sandbach, Copeland, Edwards, Barton, Blundell, Sands, Toulmin, J. Lawrence, Cooper, Wood, Birkett, Gladstone, Bushell, Procter, Lloyd, Rigby, Kilshaw, Parker, Brassey, G. H. Lawrence, Trotman, A. Smith, jun., Harbord, Nicol, Chilton, Bramley-Moore, and the Mayor. Mr. Parker's amendment was not pressed to a division, and the proceedings were confirmed. The leases were then read and confirmed; after which the council adjourned to Friday, for the despatch of the remain ing business. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE, The following members were present at the Dock Com mittee Meeting yesterday :—Messrs. Sands (chairman), Horsfall, Barclay, Holt, Holmes, Middleton, Sandbach. Nicol, Aikin, Mellor, Bulley, Evans, robin, Shand, Martin, Smith, and Ripley. A large pile of English oak, taken up from the excavation for the new dock, was laid in the com mittee-room for the inspection of the members. Mr. RIPLEY, looking at it; said he was glad to find that it had a piece of iron at the end of it. which iron was in a state of perfect preservation, although he supposed it had been down for 150 or 200 years. This was a strong argu ment in favour of the iron light-ship. (Laughter.) Mr. matter (Continued laughter.) s no argument a , The light-house at Hoylake was ordered to be repainted and whitewashed inside and out; and, on the recommendation of the Sub-committee for the Department of the Marine Sur veyor, it was ordered that the new iron light-ship now build ing by Mr. Laird should be fitted up with the improved lanterns, reflectors, and lamps. Mr. HOLT said that Mr. Horsfall could not have failed to observe, from his country residence, the superiority of the improved lanterns over those of the old construction. 2 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 d Mr. HORSFALL replied that any improvement in the mode of lighting the entrances to the port ought certainly to be adopted. _ _ Mr. SANDIIACH asked what would be the cost of the im proved apparatus? Mr. HOLT, in reply, said it would be manufactured by their own Surveyor. There would be three lamps, and each lamp would cost £416, so that the cost of the three lights would be somewhere about £1,400. Mr. RIPLEY wished that gentlemen of the commitee would inquire into the cost of manufacturing this kind of apparatus. If they would, they would find that their Surveyor manu factured it much cheaper, in their own yard, than regular makers themselves. As Mr. Hartley had sometimes been charged with extravagance, it was only fair that this circum- stance should be known. Mr. Tom/sr.—The difference is that in one case the maker charges no profit, whilst in the other he puts one on of 30 per cent. _ A resolution was then adopted, authorising the Surveyor to make the necessary lanterns for the iron light-ship upon the most improved principles. WRITING LETTERS IN THE NEWSPAPERS.-CAUTION TO THE SERVANTS OF THE DOCK ESTATE Mr. RIPLEY said that he had seen a letter in t POOL STANDARD O f T ues d a y, purporting to be signed by signed by Mr. Askew, the South Harbour -master; and he should like to know from Mr. Askew himself whether he was the author of that letter. Mr. HORSFALL suggested that the letter be read. The SECRETARY then read the following letter, which ap peared in the last number of the STANDARD : " THE NEW LIGHT-SHIP. " TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. " SlR,—The Dock Committee having determined on an iron light-ship, I hope they may be not more disappointed than they have been in the last N.W. ship, built under the superintendence of the Marine Surveyor. I cannot afford time to discuss the relative qualities between wind, cork, and wood, with " Proselyte " or any other jack-in-the-box. " May 2, 1842. " JOHN ASKEW." Mr. HOLT said that Mr. Askew suspected that the Marine Surveyor was the author of a previous letter, signed " Proselyte," which appeared in another paper ( The Albion), but without making any enquiry upon the subject from Mr. Lord himself, he had printed the very improper letter in the STANDARD to offend him. • Mr. HORSFALL said he was not aware before that any such letters had appeared. Mr. HOLT added that it was not the present Marine Sur veyor who had had any thing to do with the light-ship :it was Captain Denham. Mr. Alderman EVANS said he did not mind the imperti nence of thelletter so much as its being calculated to create dissension among the officers of the dock estate. Mr. HORSFALL suggested that the committee had better ascertain whether the letter was of Mr. Askew's writing be fore they took any steps upon it. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—Has he not signed? Mr. Alderman BARCLAY.—It is signed with his name, but it may be an assumed signature. Mr. Alderman EvANs.—There can be little doubt whose it is. Mr. AIKIN asked whether the subject was worth the serious notice of the committee? If one man was in favour of wood and another of iron, it might lead to a controversy between them in the papers, but was it worth while for the committee to notice it? Mr. Alderman EvANs.—l do not think that any officer of the dock estate ought to write to the public papers upon sub jects connected with the estate. Mr. HORSFALL.—To say the least, it is unbecoming and improper; but I think it would be only right, if you are all of that opinion, that Mr. Askew should be called in, and made acquainted with it. Mr. TOBIN asked whether Mr. Askew referred to the lr ght-ship built under the direction of the marine surveyor? Mr. HOLT.—To that of Captain Denham, I believe. Mr. TOBlN.—There have been two or three light-ships built since then. Mr. HOLT.—He says the north-west light-ship. Mr. liarLE sr - would ask what business had Mr. Askew with that ? He could not reflect upon the marine surveyor without reflecting upon the committee ; and, therefore, his letter was exceedingly improper, and, at least, he deserved a reprimand. Mr. MELLOR asked Mr. Ripley whether he had read the . previous letter of " Proselyte," which had called forth Mr Askew's reply ? Mr. RIPLEY said he had not, hut that was a matter of no consequence in this question. The Dock Committee had nothing to do with any correspondence in the newspapers ; but he understood that Mr. Askew had written a former letter to kl.n STANDAp.”. he should like to see that let ter. Mr. Alderman BULL this Mr. RIPLEY.—I think it i —ls it worth while going on with Mr. Tonric said Mr. Askew 's opinion was correct, but he should not have written the letter. Mr. Alderman Nicol. recommended that Mr. Askew be called in, before any further discussion, in order to ascertain whether he was the writer of the letter in the STANDARD. Mr. RIPLEY.—That is precisely the course I recommend. Mr. Alderman Islicor..—And he might retire after he had answered the question. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—He certainly had no right to bring the business of the dock estate before the public ; be sides, there is also a sneer at the Dock Committee in that letter. Mr. RlPLEY.—Precisely, and by our own servant. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—We dismissed Captain Denham for something worse than that, certainly, but not altogether unlike it. Let him answer newspaper correspondents if he likes, but he has certainly no right to do anything of the kind in a case like this ; he has no right to bring the business of the Dock Committee before the public so long as he is a ser vant of the estate. The CHAlRMAN.—Certainly not. The SECRETARY was then desired to fetch Mr. Askew in before the committee. In a few seconds he returned and reported that Mr. Askew was not in the building, but that a messenger had been despatched for him. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—The letter is his, I have not the slightest doubt. The CHAIRMAN.—No doubt of it. Mr. Alderman EVANS;;;iiid;;;tood, by the reporters, to say that it was sufficient ground for dismissal for a servant of the estate to have written to the public papers impugning a decision of the committee. Mr. HORSFALL said, he would leave the matter in the hands of the chairman, who should inform Mr. Askew that the committee disapproved of his conduct in writing the letter. Mr. RIPLEY should be very sorry if such a matter as this was likely to lead to the dismissal of so valuable a servant as Mr. Askew : he did not think the offence deserved such a punishment; but he did think that the least thing the com mittee could do would be to reprimand him for having writ ten the letter. Mr. AIKIN thought, if any resolution at all were passed against writing letters in the newspapers, it should apply to all the officers of the establishment. Mr. Alderman EVANS asked whether the committee were to be afraid of their servants? They had not been afraid of " the great captain," and why should they be afraid in this case ? Mr. ToniN.—Who do you mean by " the great captain ?" Mr. Alderman EVANS. — There never was but one •` great captain" in our service. Mr. Alcor would not be afraid of any one in their service; but at the same time, be would pass a resolution that no servant of the estate should write letters to the papers. He did not think there was any thing in Mr. Askew's letter to call forth all these proceedings. Mr. MELLOR was of the same opinion. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—IIe had a good right to address the public upon any other subject than this. Mr. IionsFALL thought the subject had now received sufficient notice. sTi was then agreed that the Chairman should reprimand Mr. Askew for having written the letter. The committee next proceeded to the consideration of some financial affairs, and shortly afterwards separated, RANDOM THOUGHTS ON WEDNESDAY'S COUNCIL. I think great praise is dueto Mr. Councillor Lloyd, for the manner in which he opposed the motion to grant addi tional assistance in the surveyor's office, on the ground that the town has not the entire and undivided services of those already employed in his office; and I think it was very silly of Mr. G. H. Lawrence to say we ought to connive at this. I think that Mr. Councillor Yates has clearly proved that he advised and " edged on" Mr. Taaffe to quarrel with his bread and butter, and then, conscience-stricken at his own moral liability to support Mr. Taaffe, he makes a magnilo quent appeal to the humanity and justice (! !) of the council to reinstate him in his situation, after being dismissed for insubordination, clearly proved by one of his own letters, concocted and written at the " Hall of Science," in the Dingle ! IE DEE ST added by a WEDNESDA I.ND STAKES of 10 soya each, p p, with 50sovs e Dee Stand Pro 'lli's Ur h Lanercost ,netors A SWEEPSTAKES of 25 sous each, for two-year-old colts Lord Westminster's b f Mary Day, by Physician Mr. Griffith's b c Newcourt, by Sir Hercules THE DEE STAKES of 50 sows each, mitt Mr. Copeland's b c Combermere, by Bran Lord Westminster's ch c William de Fortibus, by Plenipo 2 SIXTY GUINEAS, (clear,) the gift of the Members for the 200 says added _ Mr. Jones's gr c Portrait, 4 yrs Mr. Meiklom s b c Physician, 3 yrs Mr. Owsley's b c Happy-go-lucky, 3 yrs. THURSDAY. , Mr. Orde's b m Bee's Wing, aged . - walked over THE MARQUIS OF WESTMINSTER'S PLATE, value 100 sows. in specie, added to a Handicap Sweepstakes of 20 sows. each, h ft for all ages (two years old excepted.) Mr. Heseltine's br m The Shadow, 6 yrs .. Lord Eglington's b m Bellona, aged THE SELLING STAKES of 5 sows each, with 20 sows added from the Racing Fund. Mr. Price's ch h Prince Albert, 5 yrs . Mr. T. Walter's b f Miss Winney, 4 yrs A FRED HANDICAP STAKES of 20 sous_ each, 10 sovs ft, with 50 sovs added by the Grand Stand Proprietor Mr. Plumer's br f Alice Hawthorn, 4 yrs Mr. Ferguson's hr h Humming Bird, 5 yrs CORRESPONDENCE THE SHIP WALLACE FOR PORT PHILLIP, For the satisfaction of the friends of those who went out in her, we publish the following letter, addressed by one of the passengers in the ship Wallace, from this port to Port Phillip, to the editor of the Port Phillip Patriot newspaper: — SlR,—The ship Wallace left Liverpool on the 18th of August, bound for Port Phillip, and arrived in Hobson's Bay on the 26th day of November, after a very pleasant and short passage of 100 days. She brings eight cabin, and three steerage passengers, and three hundred and twenty-eight free emigrants, of whom there are sixty-seven married couples, fifty-one single men, and thirty-nine single women, and one hundred and four children from one to fourteen years of age. She has two surgeons on board, Mr. J. Greenwood, the superintendent, and Mr. W. W. Burnell, the assistant surgeon. She had aroughpassage_down the Channel, and _ _ Ige would have been one of the quickest the line on the 20th of Sent., 1 Think every "fact" stated by Mr. Yates was proved to have no other existence than in "his own fertile imagination." I think the Member for Castle-street Ward, commonly denominated " the lumper in Sunday clothes," must have a great superabundance of gastric juice, to eat and digest, with such wonderful facility, his own hard words, when forced down his throat (without even the ceremony of mastication) by Mr. Robertson Gladstone. We heard a wag say, " Two to one on Bolton against any ostrich in the Zoological Gardens." catne in her course, runni I think Mr. Alderman Earle outdid by " chalks," in grace ful attitudes, Dr. Braid's somnambulist young lady, which have been so very deservedly admired. I was once firmly under the impression, when the alde •man turned up his eyes, and his " eyelids quivered," that he was in a state of catalepsy. To be perfectly serious; when Mr. Earle lifted up his stick, and said to Mr. Toulmin, " this is a thing," and " you are a person," the painful reflection flashed across my mind of what the late John Barber said he was alone fit for, viz., " A sign for the Crooked Billet !" _ I think Mr. Birkett hit Mr. Councillor Mellor rather hard when he reminded him of what he said in committee, on the the testimonials of an individual being signed by about a dozen clergymen, " that a recommendation signed by so many parsons was enough to damn any man !" Exchange Ward, hear that ! write it on the tablet of your memories ! Write it on your banners next first of Novem ber,—" THE RECOMMENDATION .oy , TWELVE PARSONS' IS ENOUGH TO DAMN ANY MAN ! !! B. P.S.—I forgot to say the Town-clerk gave a volunteer, which I think made Mr. Alderman Barclay open both his eyes : Good wine cures the gout, the cholic, and the thysic, 0 And it is to every man the very best of physic, 0 V' which was loudly encored. otherwi on record, for after crossing she distanced every ship whic the distance from the line to Port Phillip in 58 days. The haziness of the morning of the 25th instant prevented Cape Otway being discerned until very near land, and in conse quence the captain preferred dodging about during the after noon and night to venturing to the' entrance of the bay in the The commodiousness of the ship, her swift sailing, vigilance and firmn evening . ~)f her commander in preseri __ Ong order, and cleanliness especially, recommend her as an emigrant ship. She was abundantly supplied with excellent provisions by the shipping agents, Messrs. W. Smith and Sons, Liverpool. There were but two deaths on the passage. Mary Mercer, an emigrant from Ashton-under-Lyne, who died in consequence of a premature delivery of a child but two hours, and James Walker, a seaman, of who was dragged overboard by a rope in a squall nd drowned, notwithstanding great efforts were made to Three hundred and twenty-three emigrants are land in zood health as soon as the usual formalites have been gone through. The subjoined testimonial was presented to Captain Main for his considerate attention to the passengers and emigrants. " We, the undersigned pas sengers on board the Wallace, respectfully present you with this memorial conveying our approbation of your ereat ex perience in command, of your firmness in maintaining dis cipline and good order, end of your vigilance in preserving cleanliness throughout the vessel, which not only ministers to comfort, but is likewise indispensable to health. We also wish particularly to express the gratitude of those who have been afflicted' by illness, for your endeavours to mitigate their ind to restore them to health ; also for your ig amusements to relieve all from the Liverpoc prepared t sufferir kindne a voyage. Our wish, sir, is, that all your future voyages may be prosperous, that you may attain a green old age, comforted by the reflection of a well-spent life, and the assurance of securing a happy immortality." Yours, &c., A PASSENGER. weariness of a TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR,—It is fortunate for you that the STANDARD is in its course accompanied with two excellent contemporaries in the Albion and the Mercury. In common with the remain der of the world, you cannot fail, I imagine, to receive a stream of perpetual light from two such suns ; and you must, long before this, have recognised an almost special providence in the circumstance of the two luminaries irradiating our otherwise dark hemisphere at different ends of the week. For this mercy the inhabitants of " the good old town," of every clime and nation and creed, cannot be too thankful ; because, had their risings been coincident, few indeed could have stood against the united brilliancy of the combined orbs. There was a time when these magnificent planets were in opposition to each other—in opposition to such a degree, that many began to think that either one or the other would, by the attraction of repulsion added to its own gravity, lose its place in the solar system of the broadsheet. lam not quiie sure that there is any remarkab' except perhaps and Unger from MI One element ~ however, there is, besides the apprehension of common danger, which, with magic influence, has, for the moment, sapped ancient animosities, and engendered an amiable concord between these most valorous champions. Beine of - temm" --- " - -I.llave over tins promise of peace with no common interest ; I congratulate my fellow-townsmen upon the gratifying fact, that harmony and reconciliation have superseded quarrellinir and contention. We are thus spared from collision upon a most vital subject—a collision the bare contemplation of which is very nearly as horrible as treading upon the interior surface of a discharging volcano to an hypochondriac who fancies himself a lump of the lard described in Monday's Albion. And what do the most enlightened people of Liverpool think is this wondrous element, which thus presents pheno mena vastly more surprising than those of the Mesmerists, or the Homeopathists, or even of Mr. Claridge's Hydropa thists ? The venerable " Crito " (to whom I shall address myself at a future time upon his favourite topic) may, and for aught I know to the contrary does, rejoice in the disco very of an agency, which has apparently had the happy power of exchanging feud for friendship. What, then, is this invi sible and mysterious power? Why, it is no other than a wholesome species of nervous irritability, somewhat similar to that of which Sir Giles Overreach might be supposed to be the victim, were he to have sinned only with reference to his stomach. It is, in short, no other than the circumstance that the retiring disposition of our present chief magistrate, whose aversion to display of any kind is next to his unques tionable integrity, his chief characteristic, has not led him into the practice of giving a dinner every month or six weeks to some sixty or hundred of his townsmen—to men who ought never to want, and who never do want, but who are as hungry as paupers when the prospect of a civic feast sti mulates the appetite. Really a tremendous catastrophe has befallen the " classic " Albion and the " venerable " Mer cury; a common misfortune has, by their own admissions, overtaken them, and their wailings are only to be consoled by that judicious clause in the Municipal Corporations Act. which, probably in relation to this very case, enacts that all mayors must be elected annually. It requires no skill in divination (but if any divination at all be made, it must be by the ancient mode of the entrails and stomach) to foretel that the re-election of the present mayor will be opposed by the unanimous pens of these voracious complainants. Without doubt, however, there are a tolerably large class who are by no means satisfied with the conduct of Mr. John Shaw Leigh, in his capacity as mayor, with regard to the lamentable lack of dinners. In the eyes, or rather in the mouths, of these gentlemen, the dining-room of the Town should be immediately converted into a gratuitous ordi nary, the mayor into a Boniface, the town-clerk into a wine drawer, and the surveyor into the superintendent waiter— an office wherein he might exhibit his skill in design, for why should not his works be as clever on a table as in a town ? On the principle of the greater comprehending the less, what might not the gourmand expect from his tabulated inge nuity ? As to the aldermen and town-councillors, they might be distributed in the establishment as cooks and scul lions. Thus, then, is the outline of an eating-house on a magnificent scale immediately drawn, and the details can be filled up by the grumbling gentlemen of whom the Albion and the Mercury are the organs. Well, but for their information I will mention that the Town-hall Establishment Committee have just ordered the kitchen-range in the Town-hall to be repaired, at an expense of seventy pounds of the corporation money. This looks promising. Dinners will not always be at a discount. They may be had for going for shortly; and the doctors may speedily anticipate a prolific season of dyspepsia. But, in the meantime, whilst the kitchen -range is mending, some steps must be taken to bring the mayor to a sense of his duty—to make him try whether the corporation tinker has not made more holes than he has soldered up in the various pots and pans and kettles which form part of the civic culinary garniture. It certainly will be incumbent on him to risk an experiment ; but if the mayor should be so shockingly obstinate, so deaf to the cries of the ravens, as to persist in not making the Town-hall into a turtle-soup shop, then there will be but one mode open for redressing this grievous wrong. This mode of redress, happily, has the merit of being as easy as it will be successful. It is, that a special meeting of the council be summoned instantly upon the discovery of the mayor's refractoriness, at which the persuasive eloquence of Mr. Alderman Earle should be exerted in support of a mo tion by Mr. Alderman Evans, for the appointment of a com mission, after the approved liberal fashion, to inquire into the intolerable abuse of his office by the mayor, and report thereon to the council. The motion fora commission should embrace two specific points—first the number of dinners the mayor has hitherto given, and next the number he ought to have given; besides which, it might be so wisely framed as to imply Porter's tables (not he of the board of trade) to be the corporation catechism for the instruction of succeeding occupants of the chair. A single commissioner would per haps be capable of conducting the investigation; and as the town-clerk must not be supposed to have any bias on this, no more than on other matters, probably the council would nominate him to the office. Indeed, if his own doctrine— that, because his office is mentioned in the charter, he has a right equally with the aldermen and councillors to debate and discuss the several motions propounded before them— be correct, I expect to hear him claiming the appointment of commissioner as his legal privilege. And as he evidently is not a man to lose what is his own for want of asking for, I would confer this office upon him on both grounds first, that it is his by ancient right, and so gratify his weakness in antiquity; and secondly, because he is eminently c a p a bl e o f conducting such an inquiry, and so obtain, after the tempe rate manner of a lawyer, the benefit of enlarged individual experience. The evidence ought to be taken down in short hand, and printed along with the learned commissioner's report, for the information of the council and the edification of their constituents. By the way, although the mayor's dinners ought on all occasions to display high celery), I think the commissioner's salary might be paid in invitation cards, and this for an economical reason—namely, that, lik e good bills, they would readily be accepted. they Giving your shining contemporaries all the advantage can make of these valuable hints, I remain, sir, your obedient l s , e u rvig oQ uE. Great George-street, Wednesday evening. The Irish whiskey duty in 1839 was X 1,510,092 ; in 1840, £1,032,582; and in 1841, £964,711. SECOND EDITION. Standard-office, Eleven o'clock DESTRUCTIVE FIRE THIS MORNING, AT TUE LIVER STEAM MILLS. We regret to announce that about three o'clock this morn ing a most destructive fire broke out in the extensive works of Messrs. Edward Holme and Son, millers, on the west side of the Canal-banl out very suddenly. An alarm was immediately given, and The flames, aderstand, burst messengers were despatched for the tire-engines at the dock stations and the station in Temple-court. Five powerful engines from the latter place were instantly on their wa to the scene of conflagration, and in about twenty minute afterwards no less than ten ' engines were on the spot. Al)! were playing upon the flames at once, but without effect. No effort could save the building, and at this moment it is a heap of ruins. We arc sorry to add that four men were very severely injured in their efforts to extinguish the flames. One of them was a miller in Messrs. Hohne's service, and the other three were men belonging to the fire brigade. They are now in considerable danger. We have not heard any probable account of the origin of the fire, nor whether the property was insured. DISASTROUS FINANCIAL CONDITION OP INDIA The Morning Herald of yesterday, in a leading article upon the news brought from India by the overland mail just received, observes that— " Sir Robert Peel has not, it would appear, been at all pre mature in his fears as to Indian finances. Monetary em barrassments are accumulating throughout the three presi dencies ; the whole country suffers from the drains of specie caused by the Affghan war; the currency is becoming so contracted that the ryot is unable to find silver to pay his land-tax ; trade is oppressed and stagnant ; the demand for our goods rapidly decreasing ; the wealthy natives are be coming distrustful ; the new loan is not filling up ; credit is languishing, and prices are falling. These results of our Indian wars will add to commercial distress at home, and selfishness may at last induce us to make that demand which justice and right ought to have begotten, that the Affghan war be brought to a speedy conclusion, and trans-Indan con quest and subjugation be at once stopped." This disastrous state of things there are few, except the thoughtless admirers of whig policy, whether abroad or at home, who must not long ago have foreseen ; and when it is borne in mind that the rash occupation of Aflghanistan has already cost, independent of 13,000 valuable lives, the enor mous amount of nineteen millions sterling, even these peo ple, we imagine, will confess that its occurrence is not very Let those excellent politicians who but a few ) attributed every evil under which the foreign urprizing commerce of Gr Britain laboured to the effect of " mono- poly" at home, tell us whether it is not quite possible that the mismanagement of our foreign affairs, by that sublime of foreign ministers Lord Palmerston, may not have had quite as much to do with the matter ! By the bye, may we not enquire into what hole has the sublime statesman in question crept from observation of late ? We thought he was to have led the opposition, in the House of Commons, to Sir Robert Peel's government ; but it is gratifying to find that the rouged cheeks of the venerable dandy are not imper vious to the blush of shame. THE DISC-ENGINE AND CAPTAIN CARPENTER'S PROPELLERS (From the Railway Magazine.) We have had the pleasure to witness some experimental trials of the above apparatus, made in the presence of Sir Edward Parry, comptroller of her Majesty's steam marine Messrs. Ewart and Lloyd, the government engineers, several gentlemen connected with the Admiralty, and a number of eminent engineers who attended on the occasion. The apparatus was fitted in the pinnace of H. M. steam.- vessel, Geyser, which is under orders to sail for China. The boat is 30 feet in length, 9 feet in width, and is capable of carrying 8 tons. The engine is of the peculiar kind called the " Disc-Engine, " which appears t o b e we ll a d apte d t o marine purposes. Its nominal power is equal to five horses, but it was estimated to be performing considerably more during the trial. The engine itself occupied a space of 3 feet by 1 foot G inches, and its total weight, exclusive of the boiler, is 5 cwt. The propelling apparatus is the invention of Capt. Carpen ter, the commander of the Geyser. It consists of two hori zontal shafts passing through the stern of the boat, (the joint made tight by a stuffing box,) one on each side of the keel, carrying two arms placed at right angles to the shaft, at the ends of which arms are two lozenge-shaped propellers, the angle of which with the horizontal shaft may be varied at pleasure. These propellers are caused to make about 300 revolutions a minute, and judging from their effect they appear to be well adapted for the intended purpose. The boat made numerous trips up and down the river, and the facility with which the motion could be reversed, and the perfect command obtained in steering, called forth the com mendation of the gentlemen present. On making use of Massey's log it was ascertained that the speed of the boat, when the engine was making 100 revolutions per. minute, was equal to seven miles per hour. The form of the boat is very unfavourable to obtaining velocity, and it was observed that in consequence of the bluffness of the bows a wave of considerable height was carried before the boat. We understand it is intended to employ this boat as an assistant to the steam-frigate, and that it will be employed for the purpose of towing other boats into creeks and shallow where it may be desirable to conduct an armed force It appears to us that not only for purposes of warfare, but also for the more peaceful operations of commerce, the com bined apparatus we have inspected presents great advantages, as, from its extreme simplicity, it is perfectly manageable by ordinary workmen, and the small space it occupies, and its small weight. os, and nrevent the boat taking a full comple ment of men , • it b y?. an „e e •s anc.... afforded by a boat of this kind woatt en s t ' a vessel to make considerable way even in a perfect calm. We are not a little surprised and pleased to learn from Captain Carpenter, that the whole apparatus was so arranged that the engine and boiler could be taken out of the boat and replaced in it ready for operation in less than ten minutes. This simple fact is the best illustration of the suitability of thedisc-engine for such an application. The duration of the trials was not such as to enable us to determine the consumption of fuel ; but, as far as we could judge, this appeared to be remarkably small. The engine employed was only 15 inches diameter, and the steam pressure estimated at 38Ibs. to the inch. The mean number of revolutions of the disc per minute was 160, and on repeated trials we observed that the full number was al most immediately got up on starting. The above experiments were attended by Mr. lierapath. Another trial, we understand, was made on Saturday. The pinnace sailed from Woolwich against a strong tide and powerful head wind, and made such way as surprised the party on board. Afterwards they took in tow a man-of war's launch, having on board fifty men, with their arms and ammunition, and two cannons with their equipments, and made good way also against tide and wind. It does not ap pear that any log was on board, or any account of the steam pressure or consumption of fuel, but the experiments were confined to what may be called ocular inspection of general deeds. CATARACT REMOVED BY GALVANISM.—Prof. Pirogoir and Dr. Crussell, St. Petersburg, the operators. The con vex capsule was opened by a crucial incision, and then a weak galvanic current was introduced into the eye for ::bout a minute. The pupil became almost instantaneously black over a large portion of its circumference, and immediately the patients saw the objects that were presented to them. The reabsorption of the cataract takes place soon after the operation. On Monday a serious fire broke out in the printing-office of Mr. Lee, at Lewes, which was not extinguished before the whole of the establishment was destroyed. Noth;ng is known of the origin of the fire, but it is conjectured that it was oc casioned by the 'accidental falling of a spark from a candle during Sunday evening, and its smouldering till past mid night, and then bursting into flames. The damage is esti mated at about £1,600. The premises were insured, but not to the full value. --- TIMBER DIITIES.—ME:ETING OF THE BELFAST CH AM BER OF COMMERCE.—On Saturday, pursuant to an adver tisement that appeared in the papers, a public meeting of th e members of the Chamber of Commerce was held at twelve o'clock, for the purpose of considering the propriety of send.. ing a memorial to government to allow the proposed duties on timber to have an immediate operation, when it was re solved unanimously, that a petition be forwarded front the Chamber to her Majesty's government, praying them to p ass the proposed measure, and to let it come into operation with as little delay as possible. - - BUTTER.—Fresh butter, of excellent , • but much rem• • ' coning unths lier hour it fetched s., Low quality, sold PRICEin ou O r F m ß ar u k i e T t E o i n n: Saturday for 9d. per pound • at an ear pose of, d a reduction was submitted to, and at the lower price above stated a great deal remained unsold. It is possi ble that apprehensions among the dairy farmers, excited by the cautious arrangements with th em on the part of the Lon don factors, have led to this eager supply. The latter may not improbably be alarmed at the probable effects of tin tariff when it comes into operation. Whatever may have been the occasion, it is certain that so large a stock of dairy produce at this early season has not occurred for many years past.—Taunton Courier. The extreme drought of the past two or three weeks has been suddenly terminated by a mild, and for several hour' copious, rain, which commenced yesterday, though we fear its extent was but limited. The appearance of the country 1 . 1 1 and about this neighbourhood, and in the adjoining e° " "2: of Hereford, is truly luxuriant as regards all kind of and pot`'" but rain is much wanted, especially for the grasses ant_ l 2", toes; we therefore hope that a continuation o f sea .. .„s4;; or showers will now come to the aid of the cultivator; 1 n chards present a beautiful tint, and rich will be the .b e a l r yc i L it t. cider and perry if no untoward change (wetl t he 11 winds, has is springing up with much vigour, but that fell I ; devourer—the fly, wafted by the late easterly of thee pretty generally attacked it ; and the disposition rb , l oc usts.• to voracious tribes, like their cousins-gr.': ` . : O welt known . in convert " the paradise into a desert, 1 A iet any thin satin_ t pre ntomological the history of hops, that we cannot ye we , io „ e, w il if,.o n , i .ce jer factory of the crop. The weather ° , . ege l at i ; on . weeks, give a favourable turn ' in the the never A COURTLY ADYENTURU. — A t Journal: near one pinningo'clock doors "P the morning, while the wardrobe-woman was Queen's hair, there was a sudden rap-tap at the dressing. room door. Extremely surprised, I looked at the Queen. t,, see what should be done; she did not speak. I had heard such a sound before for at the royal always a particular kind of 'scratch used, instead of tar.!l.° is I heard it, however, again,—and the Queen called.'llrg. " What is that?" I was really startled, out, not cone • could take so strange a liberty as to come o the ening who apartment without the announcing of it paget Queen,,, I was very sure, would make such a noise. Again ; and no page, was repeated, and more smartly, 1 gre. the sound imagining some serious evil at hand, eithery quite alarmed, king or some of the princesses. The Q regardin the me open the door. I did ; but what Queen however, g '" there a • large man. in an was my sur • bid round his chin, so that he was immense greatcoat, surprise to ee hat• I stood quite motionless almost hid be , buttoned up so surprised, drew back , I ss for a moment between cape and —I really thought some ruffian felt quite sick4leat ; but he, as if a madman. " Who i ruffian had broke with sudden terror know, ma'am," I a sit ?" cried into the house, or and then, taking answered, ~ Who the Queen. "I do not The Queen lancrh off h is hat, ho is it ?" she called aloud unexpected expl ed v e ry entered ; much , the Prince of Wales. came to inform illation. Ile did I too, happy in this lights to be told her eagerly, her there he merely to cow. tha t couldpossibly most beautiful northern IY Arbi a 'to ;the ___ ~ be imagined, and begged Y. gaitery-windows • .—Dtary of Madame