Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-02 00:00:00

SMITHSONIAN HOTEL, BRO! DWAY, Corner of HOUSTON-STREEr, New YORK. Named in honour of the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Established at WASH tuoToN, by the U. S. CONGRESS, With Funds bequeathed by James SMITHION, of ENGLAND, Having the Friendship of the 0 ?FICHES Of the NATIONAL INSTITUTION, Is eon incted on the .EIDLOPEAN PLAN. CHAS. H. SMITH. eQ ittntrciat liattl—tbis Dap. At twelve o'clock, at the broker's ortlaa, 9, North John-street, IS boxes n rrowroat. —William Wright. ♦t twelva o'clock, at the broker's office, 13, Temple-hey, 25 tons Logwood, and 70 tons Birwool.—John Rowlins, n. ♦t twelve o'clock, at the broker's offi , e Exchange-place. Exchange street East, 12 bags Shumac.—Elarpia and Co. At twelve o'clo:k, at the public sa'eroom, Exchanga-buildings, a quantity of Shumac.—Booke, Okeli, and S,ienciii. At twelve o'cl - :ck at the publ:e saleroom, Fxchange-b ,ildings, 450 bales Madder Ro3ts.—T and ii. Littledale and Co. At twelve o'clock, at 'icon, on the quay, as sire of Brunswick Doce, a quantity of firnher.—A F. and D. Mackay. At one o'c7o:lc, at the public saleroom, Exchangs-buildirgs. a 1• rge quantity of damaged Manufactured Gcods.—Percival, Campbell and Co. ♦t twelve o'clock, 5 tons Sapa,wood, and a quantity of Xyrabolams. Cox Brothers. At twelve o'c'ock, at the hrokers' of .le, 1, o'.dhall-street, 1,800 barrels Rosin.—How and Bacloy. twelve o'cleck, at the public saleroom, Exchange buildings, 25 hhcls.Quercttron Bork.—Wm. Porter ~nd Co. At twelve o'clock, at the publ c saleroom, Exchange-buildings, 4,200 bundles Rattans.—T. W. and J. C. Harrop and Co. At twelve o'clock, at the broker's office, Victoria-buildings, Hackin'.- key, 248 bogs Saltpetre. —Corrie and Co. „At tssrelve o'clock, at the Public saleroom, Exchange-buildings, a quantity of Snmac and3ladder forts.—John Baron and on. At twelve o'clock, at the broker's office, 18, Ilackin's-hey, 26 casks Brown Tart ,r.—B.Ornain and Hill. At twelve o'clock, at the brokers' office, 4, Lancaster-buildings, 15 tons Mynboams.—John Davies and Co. .Lt twelve o'clock, at the broker's off ce, Oldhal -street, 106 bales Madder Roots.—Gladstone and Serjeautson. At twelve o'clock, at the broker's office, 30, Exchange-allay North, V 26 bare s Rosin —S:land, Meson and Co. twe've o'cl,clc, at the Pubic f.a'eroo n, Exchange-buildings. a quantity of Logwood, Saltpetre, and tiattaus.—Whitaker, boad'and Co. ♦t twelve o'clock, at the brokers' office, 27, Tithebarn-street, 172 tone 13one Ash. and 14 tons Catt'e Bones.--Isaac Hadwen, jun., and Co. c-g- For particulars sea advertisements. YIUSE.IENTS, PETBLW &c. THIS PAY. TICIATZI ROYAL —it Allan Op••ra —8 p.rn. roTAL AMPTIETLIRATILS — DratiIIti: Performance-7 p.m. Etlayzott HALL, Clayt n-square—G3Tdon Cumming-8 p.m. COL,SSRTINI—GeneraI Entertainment-6.30 p.m. SEoLcaxcAL GARDENS—Grand..nd Variei Ent.rtainments. Far particulars see advertisements. 'O4 fle 7 110tiberu (grain WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1857. THE DAY'S NEWS The usual monthly meeting of the Town Council will be held tc-day, at which, it is anticipated, several matters of importance will be discussed. It is understcod that the report of Mr. Duncar, to the Water Committee, will be brought before the notice of the Council, and as he is said to virtually approve of the supplying of both Rivington and sandstone water, by a different set of pipes, we surmise that the people of Liverpool will ultimately have pure water for dietetic purposes. This state of affairs would never have been brought about if the press had not loudly called out, and so strenuously battled against that monstrous jobbery scheme—the Pike. It is stated that a move will be made in the Council for the purpose of voting a sum of money to Mr. Shuttleworth, the town clerk, for his services in connection with the Mersey Conservancy Bill. The sum proposed will be, we believe, £l,OOO. The annual excursion of the Dock Committee, for the inspection of the lightships, lighthouses. and buoys, took place yesterday. The day passed off in a most pleas . int manner. At the dinner ou board the Iron Duke Mr. Charles Turner presided. A fu'l report will be found in another column. There were some slight whispering respecting the filling of the Mayoralty chair for 1857 8, and the choice, from what we can see, lies between Mr. James Holme, and Mr. Charles Turner. Outsiders also think that Mr. Alderman Preston has a chance. _ _ The monthly meeting of the Toxteth Park and Garston Boards of Health were held yesterday, but no business of the least importance was transacted. We give ample and sufficient reports elsewhere. The monthly meeting of the Birkenhead Com missioners ,was held last evening. Mr. Laird, the chairman, entered into full particulars of the pro ceedings in connection with the Mersey Cons - vancy Bill, and the Birkenhead Gas and Water Bill. The former was adopted, the latter thrown out. He congratulated the township on the victory they had achieved in defeating the schemes of the prom tars of the rejected bill. A. meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Burford, Dyer, and Co., African merchants, of Bristol, of whose suspension of payments some notice has already appeared, has been hell, and the investi gation disclosed a much more serious state of affairs than had at first been supposed The lie bi ities, instead of amounting to £lOO,OOO as was at first thought, exceed a quarter of a million ; while the probable assets (apart from the private property of the partners) will only amount to some £30,000 or 190,000. A proposition for winding up the estate under inspectionship was adopted, and it was resolved that a deed of assignment for the benefit of the creditors should be executed. The elevation < f Thomas Babbington Macauley to the House of Lords, gives, it would appear, almost general satisfaction. Mr. Alderman Salomens, who was elected by a large majority in 1833, is in the field for the repre sentation of Greenwich, in the place of Mr. Townsend, who is now disqualified by reason of his bankruptcy. Mr. George Byng is it seems to be elected with out opposition for the County of Middlesex. Middlesex has selected Mr. Byng, partly because he beat's an honoured name, hut in a greater degree because he has great abilities, and " stands fast by the good o'd cause." Ho has the staunch qualities of the venerable father of the house enhanced by the promise of greater things than his ancestor ever aspired to perform. So says the ministerial print of last night. Several of our London cotemporaries publish private letters received from India by the last msil. They are of a most distressing charac'er. The butcheries practiced by the native population is of a most horrible descriptien. The whole seems a war of extermination of all Europeans in India. The Times, in a manner, praises the Home Government for its exertions made to suppress this Indian insurrection. It was on Saturday, the 27th of June, that the curt and scarcely credible commu nications of the telegraph first announced to the country that the mutiny of the Bengal Army had assumed the characteristics new but too well known. Wednesday, the Ist of July, the stream of rein forcements from these shores to Calcutta set steadily out, and from that hour to the present it has flowed on so continuously and with so sustained and even accelerated a current that we scarcely know where to look for any similar example. On a single day in July—the 21st—six vessels left these coasts, conveying 1,700 troops; and the whole number of ships despatched during that month was 29—a1l but two for every successive day. The month which terminated yesterday witnessed redoubled efforts, as the energies of the country rose promptly to the level of the exigencies which each mail announced. In the aggregate, we despatched to the East in July about 9,000 troops; in August we sent upwards of 15,000, and in ships of greater isize and swiftness than before. In the 29 vessels de parting during July there was only a single steamer; in the 28 which followed in August there were no fewer than 17. But it says there is no room yet for contentment or repose. Common sense calls for unremitting exertion, arid with inex haustible resources and a unanimous nation the work of Government should be easy. They have not been wanting to their task. Fifteen thousand men of the militia will be immediately called out, and fifteen re a )nd battalions of t'ae Line will be formed in the stead of the regiments which have emberked for India. Those regiments, moreover, which are either at home or on colonial service will be raised from 8.10 to 1,000 men each as soon as the progress of recruiting permits. An addi tional force of artillery will also be sent to India, so that there may be no doubt of our supremacy in that most essential arm. We have been sur prised by assassins and traitors, there is no deny ing, and we lutist put up with such reproach as that event implies, but the reproach of leaving anything undone which can accelerate the rescue of our countrymen and, the re-establishment of our power would be far more disgraceful and unendurable, and we feel sure the nation will not deserve it. There has been already upwards of 5,0001. collected in London for the aid of the sufferers in India, aril the French ambassador has subscribed £lOO, in his " private capacity." The Daily iVews slys that there is no time to be lost. The need of aid in India is real and urgent. " Case- after case of destitution is brought to our knowledge. Few of the fugitives have been able to carry with them more than the clothes they had on at the moment of their escape, and many fled with sufficiently scanty covering At one time we hear of the destitute family of some merchant or planter, who, after years of meritorious industry—just as the prospect of being in a short time able to retire from business was beginning to dawn upon him—aees himself obliged to begin the world again with nothing At another it is some civil or military servant of the Company, whose little capital invested in bungalow and other necessaries has perished in the flames. And there are yet more helpless, because less befriended victims than these—the widows and orphans of private soldiers who have lost their brave fathers." Many people think that there could be no diffi culty in carrying on our corrective measures in India and our war with China at the same time. There are, doubtless, Sepoy regiments which, although not openly in revolt, are not trustworthy in action against their co•religionists. Why not send them to China? Sepovs have already been upon the heights above Canton and behaved admirably. The sun of China, under which our ruddy English recruits grow feeble, as flies in frost, would deal tenderly with the Bindoo. So it was when Gough took Canton and Elliot sold his con quest. So it would be again. The only item of continental news this morning of any interest or importance is that relating to the Principalities. It is denied that England and Austria have in the slightest degree changed their idea of the question. The populations are to vote a second time as a matter of legality ; and if, says the official Verona Gazette, as is `probable, the second result tallies with the first, "it will be curious to s e what the fusionists will do to op pose the execution of this vote, and neutralise the sovereignty and independence of the Porte, by undermining the edifice of tl - e peace of Europe, only just restored" Of the result of those elec tions, very. sms.ll doubts are entertained by any acquainted with the feeling in that province. However fairly conducted, says a Paris correspondent, they will result in an anti-Unionist majority. "The reasons for this have been repeat edly given. It appears to me that French public opinion daily becomes less favourable to the Union, and I have repeatedly heard the remark made that France has taken up its cause without sufficient information upon the subject. Fortunately, she has not by any means so compromised herself in its favour as to render a modification of her policy impossible or even difficult. Since Divans there were to be, representing, as far as possible, the feelings of the Moldo-Wallachians, it was quite right to have the elections fairly conducted. But this is very different from binding the Paris Con ference to act simply as the executors of the will of those Divans, a course which assuredly was never contemplated in the treaty." The Spanish Cortes will reassemble about the 10th of October. The Peninsula announces a piece of news which appears exceedingly doubtful, namely, that the government of the United States had concluded an arrangement by which they were to supply to Mexico . 15,000 armel volunteers, in case of that power engaging in a war with Spain ; the said troops being intended to seize on Cuba in the name of Mexico. There is a renewal of the rumours of the intended coronation of the Emperor Napoleon. IN our last we concluded by saying that the Water Committee had made us pay dearly for our Pike Piper ; that the town had been mulcted of a million and a half of hard cash, and that in return they had given us a limited supply of Rivington bog wash, of such .a disgust ing character as to render it unsuitable for many sanitary, let alone dietetic, purposes. The advocates of the Pike were formerly in the habit of taunting its opponents with igno rance and narrow-mindedness. " Wait," said they, " till this hubbub dies away, then the people will discover who have been their real friends—the advocates of the scheme, or the ignorant agitator; who have set the town by the ears with their mendacious denunciations of the grandest project ever undertaken for the benefit of the inhabitants." " Oaly wait" said they, " until the water is once fairly introduced, the whole town will bless the authors of it for their determined perseverance in carrying it out in defiance of popular opinion, indignation, and every thing else." Well, the people have had a fair trial of the Pike—at least, they have had a sample of it conveyed into their houses for the last eight months—and what is their ver dict upon its merits ? Has it gladdened the hearts of those who were represented to be perishing for want of an ample supply of the pure element ? Have the poor invoked bless ings on the heads of its promoters ? or have the inhabitants congratulated the Water Com mittee on the successful issue of their labours ? Verily not. The Pike has been fairly tried, and as fairly condemned by the public voice. In place of gushing fountains of life and health-giving water, we have had substituted feculent streams of living wash—a semi-fluid teeming with animated montrosities of the most revolting description, sowing the seeds of disease and premature death amongst all classes who are doomed to use it ; while the poor, in place of blessings, heap curses—if not loud, yet deep and heartfelt, on the heads of those who, for pecuniary benefit, conspired to rob them of the greatest, if not the only real blessing they could boast of pos sessing—their ample supply of pure water,—sub stituting in its place the foul abomination which all abhor, while the , ratepayers at large, in place of congratulations, indulge in nothing save angry remonstrances against the proceedings THE NORTHERN TIMES. LIVERPOOL, of the Water Committee and their unprincipled agents. It is worse than useless for certain members of the Council to attempt, by means of cooked accounts and jesuitical sophistry, to make it appear that the money so prodigally squandered on this foul abortion does not amount to more than one-half the sum stated by us. However much those parties may presume on the prestige of their position, or the success which has hitherto attended their dictatorial assumptions and unscrupulous assertions, we beg to tell all such, and the Council at large, that we do not indulge in hap-hazard statements on this or any other such grave subject; and we are prepared to prove by facts and figures which shall challenge contradiction, that already the actual expenditure on the Pike is in round numbers One-and-a-half Million sterling, and ere the works are finally completed, and all claims liquidated, the gross expenditure will exceed that sum considerably, brazen assertions to the contrary notwithstanding. The discussion on the proceedings of the Water Committee's proceedings to-day, is likely to open up the whole question, unless indeed the other business before the Council should be so protracted as to lead to an adjourn ment, ere the Water Committee's report is brought forward, as has been unfortunately too often the case before ; and while on this point, we would beg to ask those who have the power of arranging the order in which the various Committee's proceedings shall be brought before the Council, how it happens that one of the most important Committees in the Council— a Committee who have expended nearly Three !Millions of Money on the purchase of old works and the completion of new, who have the disposal of a revenue fast approach ing 100,0001. per annum, and who are, moreover, charged with the important trust of furnishing the inhabitants of this important town with an essential necessary to existence — water—should have their proceedings brought up at the tail of nearly all the others ; the result being that, in almost every instance, these have to be considered at an adjourned meeting. No doubt this, like every other thing connected with thz job, was an artful d.:dge to gain time and weaken the opposition. Let some indepen dent member of the Council take the question up, and endeavour to have the water procedings brought forward immediately after those of Finance have been disposed of. Assuredly the numerous unimportant committees have no rig - ht to take precedence of the Water in the manner they do under existing arrangements. We have already informed our readers that all the efforts of that quack alchemist, the stipendiary philosopher of the Town-hall, Mr. THOMAS SPENCER, to purify the Pike water at Rivington, have, like the job itself. proved so many abortions. And that Mr. DUNCAN declares that the only chance of making the water at all passable is by the con struction of filtering apparatus at home. But, with all due deference, we must remind Mr. DUNCAN that his proposition is in itself merely an experiment which may or may not prove successful, and must involve a re-arrangement of the entire system, involving certain serious cost for questionable benefits. And we would again earnestly call on every independent member of the Council to resist every proposition to embark in that or any other proposition, however specious the arguments in its favour, which has for its object the involving the town in further large cost, and possible annoyance. While according to our Water Engineer, Mr. DUNCAN, credit for soundness of judgment and purity of motives,. we are, on principle, com pelled to disagree in toto with his proposition cf laying a second set of mains for the distribu tion of the well water, at the estimated cost of 200,000/., besides a large margin for extras, to be borne by the water consumers ; and we feel constrained to enter our solemn pro test against the adoption of that scheme either in its entirety, or even in a modified form until after the most careful deliberation. For the last ten years the Water Committee have been floundering about in a fog, totally unconscious of • where they were or what they were doing. That they have gone astray their very best friends must admit, and their only chance of extricating themselves is by retracing their steps, now that a glimpse of sunshine has broken in upon them, to the point from whence they started: They must go back in fact to the state of things as they found it in 1848. The film once removed from their eyes—their minds uninfluenced by passion or prejudice— and influenced by a ,sincere desire to benefit that community which has already suffered so severely from the misdirec tion of their efforts, they will throw all past or personal considerations to the winds, and apply themselves with the resolution of honest and determined men, in order to retrieve the fearful errors they have been instrumental in committing. Ou this subject we have elicited the views of persons thoroughly conversant with the subject, and we are glad to find their opinions in unison with our own; and we believe that we do not err when we assert that the well water, in ample quantity, may forthwith be made available for the supply of the whole of the inhabitants ; that, by certain simple, and by no means costly modifications in the present pipeage, arrangements may be speedily made for the distribution of the Pike decoction for such purposes as it is suited to. This must be glad tidings alike to the Water Committee and the WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2. 1857. THE MUTINIES IN INDIA. [CO➢IMUNICATED.I and carried on. It is full time that some change was made in the laws_ regulating'public-houses. The licensed victualler should not be placed at the mercy of the police-officer. It is impossible to enforce sobriety by Act of Parliament, nor can the morals of the people be promoted by empow ering the guardians of the public peace to insti tute proceedings such as occupy the police magistrates for hours every Friday. Laws more arbitrary and inconsiderate do not exist, and the Legislature could not be better employed than in regulating every thing that is obnoxious, and freeing the liquor dealers of the United King dom from every annoyance and unreasonable hindrance to the fair and legitimate exercise of his or her calling. THE painful details of the progress of the Indian mutiny, published by us on Monday morning, will hardly have astonished, however much they may have harrowed, the feelings of our readers. it seems as if wherever, throughout the North-west Provinces of India, there were any Europeans to be murdered, they have met that, or a more terrible fate—as if, wherever there were any regiments of native infantry, cavalry, or artillery to revolt, that mutiny has been the " order of the day." The blood of every E iglishman may well boil over with a crying indignation when they read of the terrible deaths of the wives of their fellow countrymen, their children, and sisters ; and we wonder that all the wild youth of England do not arm themselves with revolver and with rifle, and go forth by the next few Overland Mails, not to do battle, but to take vengeance on the mur derous Sepoys. We speak advisedly when we say that their assistance would not be refused ; that if a few hundred of the young men who are idling away a life given them for a better purpose and for a higher end, were to go out to Calcutta at their own expense, and present themselves armed and equipped at Delhi, Agra, or Lucknow, that their assistance would be thankfully received, and that they would " see• service," and would " deserve well of their country." Believing, we do, that one of the chief causes of the terrible crisis which has brought mourning into almost every household, is the want of a true patriotic spirit in our Indian army, we should indeed rejoice to hear that a few hundred young men, inspired with a real mili tary feeling, had gone forth in the true spirit of soldiers to fight the battles of their country in their country's direst need. We are but too well aware that it is very diffi.;ult to get a commission either in the British or the Company's service ; in the one case it is a question of money, in the other of patronage, and in both it requires that a man should choose the army as his profession for life, while many who would be willing to go out for a few months in a time of great excitement, do not wish to bind themselves for the better as well as the worse of a soldier's life. We do not ask Government to offer any encouragement on this side to volun teers. We should be well satisfied if we saw Ministers more vigorous in their measures, and more serious in their tone. At a time when every mail announces the mutiny of eight or ten regi ments of natives, and the murder of 300 or 400 defenceless Europeans, women and children, we should have wished to hear of more activity in the dock-yards and camps ; and we hoped, at least, to see "red tape" less omnipotent, and the Dictator PALMERSTON more autocratic. Why are not thousands of British ships sailing, and steaming eastward with the screw frigates of the nation ? Why is the Atlantic telegraphic cable lying at Plymouth unused, instead of being a part on its way to connect Malta or Alarseilles with Alexandria, and the rest'on the way towards the Red Sea ? Why have not arrangements been made to transport troops by the• overland route, thus gaining six to ten weeks on the fast sailing clippers round the Cape ? It will be time enough t) ask how the horse was stolen when we have shut the door. So we forbear all speculations on the cause of the disaster ; con vinced, however, that, as usual, nobody is in fault, and system and routine are, as ever, to bear all the blame. Our duty now is to quell the storm, not to ask whence it came; to repair the broken rigging of our Indian vessel, not to ask who made the stranded ropes ; above all, to take summary vengeance on the murderers of our fellow-country womem and their innocent children , and to teach the " Bengal Tiger" a lesson which will prevent all such atrocities in future, even if it does not put a stop to Indian mutinies. BRADFoRD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND CONTINENTAL COMPETITI)N.-it a meetieg of the council of this chamber, on Monday, Mr. J. Atkinson, one of the mem bers drew attention to the great degree in which, duriag the last ten years, the flee wool and worsted trade of the district had rolled off to France, Belgium, and Germany. At the late London wool sales the competion by foreigner, was exceedingly brisk. They carried off the fine wools tram us into their own countries, wove them into fine, pain, and fancy fabrics, which they again brought into oar own markets, and even then undersold us. It was partly from this cause, no doubt, that the better qualities of wo3l had risen high.--Some of the other members showed that the manufacturers were supported by their own governinen:s, who granted them a boon or bonus, in proportion, to the value of the goods they ex ported. Alderman Wand also said that they used in some parts of Germany for warps, especially what they termed champaign wool, of so fine and super-excellent a quality, that we could not compete with them in flue goods. Mr. Ripley could not see how they could entertain the subject at all of meddling with the matter, because in doing so they would virtually be interfering with the question of free trade, upon which he had very clear and decided contivictions. H. W. Wickhan, Esq., chairman, said the question was, how were they losing their trade? which Mr. Atkinson said was upwards of 25 per cent. less than it was in fine goods. Mr. Atkinson ultimately moved that a committee be appointed to inquire into the canna which have led to the partial loss of our trade in fine goods, and that the committee comprise Mr. Titus Salt, president of the chamber, and Messrs. Waud, Behrens, Ripley, W. E. Forster, Joseph Craven, and Mr. W. Douglas. The motion was carried. CANTZRZURY, Naw ZEALAND.—From a paper read in the statistical section of the British Association, by Mr, IL J. Forfar, on a census of the province of Canterbury, New Z:aland, we learn that the total population of Can terbury is as follows :—Males, 2,190 ; females, 1,699 ; total, 3,895. Of that number there were, English, 3,310 ; Scotch, 314; Irish, 162 ; French, 67; German, 24 ; other nations, 38. The number of professing members of the Church of England, 3,225 ; Roman Catholic, 111 ; other denominations, 559; sick and infirm, 21 ; total at Sunday and day schools, only 294 ; dwellings of stone and brick, only 2 ; of wood, 365 ; of other materials, 181 ; stock of sheep, 99,245; of cattle, 6,363 ; of horses, 596: of pigs, 4,391. It appeared from Mr. Potter's paper, which accom panied the statistical tables, that in a population under 4,000, there wera 500 more males than' females, eausimg a great want of femaler, andthat it would have required lock more females to give one domestic to each family, who,: if resident in England, would require such aid ; and the few stone buildings, only two in the while province, wag caused by the frequency of earthquakes ; that the few sick and infirm proved the salubrity of the climate, and that the failure of the• Canterbury Association scheme may be accounted for by the attempt to for a Blass settlement of one religious persuasion alone, and the early expenditure of two-thirds of the land snlea on secular purposes, which were intended for church and educational purposes. Mr. Porter's opinion aft3r a mei deuce of twelve months in the province is, that labourers will find it. a good country for emigration, but the higher Classes had better remain at home. IMPROVEMENT OF TIDAL RIVERB.—Dr: Strung, of Glasgow, read on Saturday, before the British Associatioo at present sitting in Dubin, a paper on the advantages' afsing from the improvement of tidal rivers as exemplified by the state of the Clyd The following is an abstract of its contents :—Nothing has contributed more to the development of the commerce and manufactures of Great Britain than the improvement of her tidal rivers. Among these the Clyde stands pre-eminent. Thongh the area drained by the river above Glasgow is 736 square miles, and sends down value in floods to the extent of 33,835 cubic feet per second, it remained in a. state of nature till 1768, having only about two feet depth of water. By diErent engineering appliances it has been rendered navigable for vessels drawing twenty feet of water. This has been accomplished; Ist, by placing jetties on- its , sides, whereby to contract the stream and cause it to deepen itself by its own flaw and scour; this obtained a depth of eight feet ; 2ad, by connecting these jetties by half tide parallel dykes, a depth of tea feet, and thereafter by raising them to full tide dykes, a depth of eleven and a haf feet ; 3J , by the combined processes of dredging and steam navigation prior to 1839, which augmented the depth to fifteen feet ; and 40, by the combined action of the dykes, deepening machines, and steam boat traffic, an artificial river has been got at this moment of a depth of eighteen feet water at neap, and 2.0 at spring tide. With respect to the Labour at Glasgow, its changes had been equally marked. In 1800 the whole quay was limited to a felt hundred yaids ; now it extends to about 23 miles, leaving an extent of harbour of upwards of sixty aeres. Frost these causes the number of vessels arriving at the harbour of Glasgow has increased from 11,505 with a tonnage of 696,261 in 1828, to 17,960, with a tonnage a 1,612,681 in 1857. While in 1828 there was not a steamer above 100 tons at the harbour, two such vessel& as the Persia of 3,60 t) tons sail down the river. The cost of the vast improvements made from 1770 to July, 1856 a has been £2,527,199. The revenue collected during the same period has been £1,603,219, the annual revenues being in 1771, £ . 1,046 a in 1857, -£82,797. The debt of the C:yde trust is about £92,000, consequently a large portion of whet may be called real capital has been paid out of revenue. The following commercial results may be miimly att'ibuted to the improvement of the Clyde navigation. • Before these operations :were begun, Glas gow had little or ins trade, whereas in 1854 the aggregate value of exports from its harbour was £4,905,557. Pre vious to 1801 her registered ships were nil in 1856 they amounted to 563, with a tonnage of 2045331. Formerly no ships were built on the river; now there are no fewer than 30 large shipbuilding yards, which in 1853-4 constructed no, less than 266 vessels having an aggregate tonnage of 168,000 tons, which, with the marine engines made during the same period, involved the enormous cost of nearly five millions sterling. _Previous to the commence ment of the river improvements, Glasgow had only 24,000 inhabitants; now she can count 420,000, whilst its annual rental, which in 1750 was only a few:thousands, was last year £1,319,720: The? improvements on, the e!yda hare given a most decided impalse to the opening up and work ing of the rich fields of minerals by which Glasgow is surrounded, and which produced in 185:5, from coal and iron alone, nearly £4,900,000, and give employment to 233,912 persons, who received for their labour wages to the amount of £1,975,919. So much for Glasgow. In a national point of view these improvements have proved equally be eficial. In 1796 the customs duties levied at Glasgow were only £125, whereas last year they amounted to £718,855.. In 1731 the revenue of the Glasgow Post office was only £1,341 ; in 1856 , with a pinny postage, reached £64,958. In one word, while the taxes paid; into the public treasury through the city of GlasgaY l, before the Clyde improvements commenced were cr,ru- , parat;v;ly speakiog, nothing, the various crown revaanes. collecte 1 there last year reached no less a sum than-, £2,800,000, or about one twenty-fifth part of the whole revenue of the country. FATAL ACCIDENTS.—On the 25th ult., a bay named Patrick M - Intire, aged 10 years, and who resPed at 25, Fordc-street, was crushed between a flat and. Barlington Bridp, and was severely injured—he died yee.erday frouS the eff,cts. Yesterday, a child died in 34, Saint Martin street, in consequence of having been severely burnt oil Saturday, is the aia3enc-e of its mother. DIRECT CADEr3 kOll. INDIA —The following gentlemen passed the reqntred: examination for admission into the . lodian Military Service on the 18‘11 inst :—R. S. Arta- , strong, C. St. John B. Bennett, G. S. Byng, 0. S. B eaman, T. D. Chettertrn, C. H. C. Colo Yen, G. P. Cam* mind, W. T. Keays, W. F. Worcester, J. S. Bigshaw, A. F. Curtis, L C. lk , sborough, A. E., McCoilum, D. Munro, fl. L. Walker, A. Wa:eraeld, W. T-1.. Trevelyan, and J o hn W.H.—.Allen's Indian Mail, Fteas.—Last night, about eleven o'clock, a fire broke out in a brush shop in Riehni.•nd-row, which for some time threatened great destruction of property, the parties in tha house having retired to rest, and with difficult' , were aroused from their slumbers by the p dice officers 0 3 duty on that boat. The engines, reels, &c., were quicklY on the spot, and after great exer , ions the thin s evere subliel, but not until great damage was done both to boesehold effects and the stock in trade. „ • , DRINKING FOUNTAINS,—Mr. C. P Melly has iorwarao% us the follo. , ,ing circul r :—ln Jaunary, 1856, about two hundred gentlemen offered (by means of an annual sub• scription of 104 each), to guarantee me .against any charge which might be made by the Town Council for . % gate supplied to the drinking fountains I might erect. I beg sincerely to thank you, as one of those gentlemen, for the support and encouragement you then give me, and which, has induced me since thea to increase the number of fountains from six to thirty-three, replacing also some o ,f, the original small iron ones by the more useful an d ornamental polished granite fountains. lam happy to sap that the Town Conned have now not only undertaken to supply a liberal and constant flaw of water to thoi° fountains without charge, but that they eontemplat e erecting some of their own in connexion with the larg e lamp-posts at the public crossings. I believe that I map safely add, that in the course of the next six months , similar drinking fountains will be erected in Ches(e r ' Manchester, Preston, Kendal, and St, lielens. water consumers, The serious first cost of an entire double set of mains will thus be rendered quite unnecessary, while the public will be spared the infliction—no small matter, by the bye—of having the whole of the pavements throughout the borough torn up, and the streets rendered impassable for months together ; while the works would thus be rendered much less complex than if a double set of mains ramified throughout the whole of the borough—a most important consideration. When all these matters are duly considered, we feel convinced that the good sense of the Council will be an ample guarantee against any specious attempt to fasten successfully a plan upon the ratepayers which practical men declare to be uncalled for, and which involves an outlay so very considerable. THE case of Mr. WICKHAM, reported in Mon day's NORTHERN TIMES, is one calling for a brief consideration, particularly from the fact that an impartial jury have reversed the decision of the magistrates, and by their verdict stamped the proceedings of certain police officers as arbitrary and oppressive upon• a numerous and most respectable class of our fellow-townsmen. Mr. WicKirem was charged with wilfully per mitting and encouraging drunkenness in his house on the 2nd of June. It appears that a similar charge had been preferred against him for a like offence on two previous occasions, and in each case there was a conviction, followed by a fine. Hence Mr. WICKHAM is an object of special care and solicitude by the police. From the evidence of Inspector WILSON, it appears that they watched his house with a vigilance that - was 'most unusual; and no sooner did they find a man or woman emerge therefrom than in they popped, made an examination of the pre mises, laid an information, and carried through their prosecution. The evidence given by the police-officers, on Saturday, clearly prove that in cases of the kind they are at all times prepared to hazard the most random statements on oath. and give sworn opinions on this and that character and quality of drink. Their interference, as elucidated by their testimony before the . Recorder, shows that the present surveillance of the public-house keepers of Liverpool is not only objectionable, but fraught with serious disadvantages. The accusa tion against Mr. WICKHAM was, that he per mitted and encouraged drunkenness in his house. This implied that all the parties in the house, at the time the police officers entered, were not only drunk, but that they had become intoxicated from liquor supplied to them by Mr. WICKHAM or his assistants. Now, it requires no argument to demon strate that the police could not - prove any such thing. They merely entered the house at a certain hour of the morning, and there found a number of people who had been drinking. Whether they were drunk or not is a matter of little moment, for the 'wording of the charge implied that it was Mr. Wlcratam's liquor that made them tipsy. Is not the law, as thus administered, most dangerous ; and may not an innocent man be made a victim, if it suits the whims of a police constable to " spot him." and institute proceedings similar to that which took plaice on Saturday. We may talk of the uncon stitutional character of the Maine Liquor Law, but the empowering of any class of public officials to swear against licensed pnblicans, as Inspector WILSON and his colleagues did on Saturday, is ten times more objectionable in principle, and injurious in practice. All who are engaged in the liquor trade have no security against the private pique or petty grudge of the police ; they are liable to be hauled up at any moment, and by means of exaggeration and distorted facts, convicted and fined for an offence of which they are entirely innocent. To carry out the law as certain magistrates whose princi ples are antagonistic to all and ever?' traffic in spirituous liquors, would be certain ruin to every licensed victualler in the kingdom, for no matter how he acted if the police officer has the will, he possesses the power to flue, and ultimately confiscate the license. They are a body too numerous, influential, anal wealthy to annoy and persecute as was done to Mr. Wickham. But there is also another strong objection to this spy system of the police, we allude to their impudently snatching up people's glasses and tasting their contents, for the purpose of " proving" a case. Accustomed as they are to give evidence in the Police Court, the Quarter Sessions, and Assiz?. Courts, their direct evidence is not easily shaken. Nevertheless, we are of opi nion that their ipse dixit is too often taken where it should be rejected ; besides, the magistrates should not encourage the practice of " tasting" glasses. We have already proved that it is decidedly an illegal act on the part of the police to lift any person's glass, and taste its contents. And although it may be very desirable to eradi cate the practice of drunkenness, we must not aim at effecting that object by means which are dis reputable, and calculated to lead to a breach of the peace. We have known more than one instance where the police have created a disturbance by lifting glasses from before men, and sipping their con tents. We are glad, for these reasons, that the jury felt it their duty to acquit Mr. WICKEIAM of the charge preferred against him, and by that verdict to show the polic3 and the magistrates that they did not approve of the manner by which public-house prosecutions are instituted