The Daily Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-11 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER. OF COMMERCE , HALF-YEARLY MEETING, YESTERDAY. The half -yearly general meeting of this body was held yesterday, at the rooms of the Chamber, in the Exchange-buildings. Mr. W. J. Tomlinson, the presi dent, occupied the chair ; and amongst the gentlemen present we observed William Brown, Esq., T. B. Hors fall, Esq., M.P. ; Mr. T. B. Forwood, the vice-presi dent; Christopher Bushell, Esq. ; Lawrence Heyworth, Esq. ; Mr. C. E. Rawlins, jun., Mr. Charles Holland, Mr. Chilton, jun., Mr. A. B. Forwood, Mr. It. A. Macfie, Mr. C. R. Hall, and Messrs. Bouch, Gill, Job, Darsie Campbell, Brebner, King, Higha,m, Shalleross, and Hill. The CITA-1R14,114, in opening the proceedings, said that it was usual to hold the half-yearly meeting in August ; but as the session was then nearly over, and would be completed by the Ist of September, they had postponed it until to-day, in order that Mr. Ewart and Mr. Horsfall might be present. Fortunately Mr. Hors fall was in attendance. Mr. Ewart, would ,have also attended, but he had ,been called away . to the Isle of fan. He then called upon Mr. TRONE:ON ) thn secretary, who read as follows REPORT. B.A.±,TicsurTcY BILL. In accordance with the promise of the Attorney-General, e•ferred to in the last report, a bill for the amendment and consolidation of the Bankruptcy Laws was introduced into the Rouse of Commons during the session Of this year, and it Proceeded so far as to be committed. SeVerai Of the clauses Were considered, and hopes entertained that it Mika-hare beef passed; but eircUnistanceS,conipsiledtthe GoielitLeilt to Vithdraw it. This yottr.ccitixol regret the Lore, inasmuch as the bill, With. ItithAkiterkt!ens as were suggested by the :5 0 1calizro cf CorLuere and other bodies who had considered ' its &tails, would have tended to place the question of bankruptcy and insolvency on a much more satisfactory footing. The measure will, however, be brought again before Parliament in the next session; when it will receive the best attention of your Council. COMPANIES. BILL. measuie for the incorporation, regulation, and winding -1.11:, of trading companies was examined by your Council and approved of. It originated in the /louse of I.OrAe, but was withdrawn in the Commons. . • as. • 441.... rims:Ron AND tIEN 'FOB. ttiLEVORt tILL W as re-introanced late this session, and passed the House of Ccatorrions, hat was withdraWn it the House of Lords. t.PCN OAT 'GOODS FOR TREICIDT OUTW.ADDS. This subject was consilered b' your coancil in . coniuucien :with a deputation fromthe Shipowners' ASsOChition , but t tib liculties sUrrcianding it were so great that no decigiOn:Coidd I 's come to. It will, however, receive Ahrther conEideritiOn. • STAMP DCTIES ACT, 1560. , Your Council were anxious tOiirovire sOthe amendments in Allis Act, by which the peialties Ander it might be more dis tinctly defined, ,and the scale of duties made more equitable ; but as the meailitrt was passed through Parliament very 11 1 19 ‘. k.1y, theile Was no opportunity of effe ctin g this. Upon the iiitre'duction of a second stamp bill, your Council repeated their attempts, but without success, owing to the haste with 'which, like the former one, it was hurried through its various stages. AMENDMENTS IN THE BRITISH TARIFF 00' IMPORT DUTIE3. The Budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer has provided for the repeal of most of the import duties for which your council memorialised Government at the beginning of this year, and to which reference was made in the last report. The Budget being of a very comprehensive charadter, Many ques tions arose which required the vigilant attention of your coun cil, such as the import, export, and bonding charges imposed ' u nder the new Customs Act. As the mode in which thWe Charges were first proposed was, in the opinion of yourtenincil, bi ghly objectionable and calculated to place v'exa'tious restric tions upon commerce, every exertion was used, both by cor resPondence and deputations, to obtain sonic modifications, and although all that your council desired could not be effeeted, Still the bill was very much modified before it became law. e following is a statement of the proposals ma de b y the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the subsequent Emend , 'Meats, and the final result as sanctisned by the Act -The first Propositions were made in February , to imp ose a char g e in aid of the Customs establishments-1. upon all goods, both free and dutiable, imported or exported, of Id. per package or t pn. 2. Upon goods removed antler bond, such as tobacco, ls. Per 100 Ms.; sugar, 4d. per cwt. ; wine, ss. per 100 gals., and " . on. 3. And upon the various operations in bond, snch as re- Packing, ls. per package ; re-weighing, 4d. per package, and " On. In March these were amended, and it was proposed to charge on the importation of free goods, Id. per package and unit of entry; t rans hipment on foreign goods, Is. per cent. o n value ; exportation of free goods and goods in bond, 2s. id. per sent• on value ; removed under bond, tobacco, nd. per ll of duty ; other goods, Id. per £1 of duty; and operations in bond, r e - Packing, 4d. per package; re-weighing, id. per package, and so on. • Strong objection was taken by your council to mangy of these ' e llarges, especially to the principle of ad valorem duties on the ° xPortation and transit of goods, and the resolutions were int ther amended by abolishing the transhipment and exportation dUty, and substituting a duty on the Customs bills of lading of ls. fid. for each shipment ; and imposing, instead of the charge for removal under bond, a charge for bonding and removing of los. per cent. on the amount of duty, and for bonding without re moval, Is. per cent., the charges for operations in bond remain -1 .;_g the -same; but, in conformity with a promise made to a deputation of your council, these last were afterwards aban doned by Government. The whole of the charges, as autho rised by the Act of Parliarne%, are now as follow :---Importa tion of all goods, except corn. grain, dour, and timber, and Roods in transit, Id. per package and unit of entry; warehous ing of bonded goods, except tobacco and sugar, not removed, Ss. per cent. on duty; and if removed under bond, 10s. ; on obacco, not removed, 2s. 6d.; removed, ss. ; on sugar, not :removed, 55.; removed, 10s. Another quesiionurising out of the Budget was the arrange taent of the details of the new Irene& tariff of import dtrti.f.a on Bri tish manufactures, enumerated in the let article of the recent treaty with France. A. letter was received from the Board of Trade, asking for information upon certain poin ts I nvolved in that arrangement, to enable the commissioners to regulate the assessment of those duties. A special committee " a s appointed to collect Information from t'e manufacturers ln_ Liverp o ol ; but with the exception of the chemical mans - Ta.cture rs , the sugar refiners, the salt trade, and the soap manufacturers, no information could be obtained. A report 'was sent to the Board of Trade, embodying the remarks and *lt gßestions made by the trades above named. THE EXCISE DUTY ON PAPER. It will be remembered that, in May last; the Chamber, at a 'Reneral meeting, decided not to take any step in reference to ' t ile action of the House of Lords on the bill for the repeal of the excise duty on paper. Since then, however, the House of ' C ommons has decided to reduce the import duty on foreign 174 _ Per, which will be liable to the usual custom:: laws ; and as, iu that case, the British manufacturer would be placed at a disadvantage, a memorial has been sent to the Chancellor of t he Exchequer, asking that the same facilities may be given to E h s paper by the excise as will be granted to foreign -Paper in bond. A reply has been received, saying that the 'question has the Chancellor's best attention. AIIMIRALTY JrRISDICTION DILL. This measure was consideration by your Council, but It was withdrawn, owing to the lateness of the session. SALE OF SHIPS UNDER ADMIRALTY ORDER. Your Council, after due consideration, agreed to memorialise "ivith the Shipowners' Association and the Steam-ship Asso eiation) the Judge of the Admiralty Cour t for a withdrawal•of his recent order, which transferred to London the sale, under Ad miralty, order, of ships lying in Liverpool, as they are con itinced that this port presents greater facilities for an advan tageous sale. There is every reason to believe that the order -w ill be cancelled by a rule of court. LEGALISING AGREEMENTS FOR NIA VINE INSURANCE. Ow ing to the use of submarine telegraphs, losses to shipping 'and Produce abroad have been announced before the orders :f or insurance have been received . by the ordinayy co urse. Your Council, therefore, at the request of the East India 'Association, and in conjunction with the Shipowners' Associa tion, joined in a memorial to the Inland Revenue Department, Praying that agreements to effect insurance might be legalised - by the imposition of a small stamp, which should be valid until the issue of a regular policy; but as yet no decision has `been come to. Your Council consider that the Stamp Duties Rill afforded an opportunity for doing so, but as the bill was Passed so very quickly, it could not be availed of. ncIERNATIONAL GENERAL AVERAGE. O w i ng t o the great differences which exist in various, t ountries and ports in the custom with regard to the adjust 'Merit and settlement of general average, an attempt is being ) alade to assimilao it if possible; and your council have ap pointed a deputation to assist in such attempt. The matter 'will be brought forward at the meeting of the Social Science As ,, ociation, in Glasgow, when it is hoped that such action - May be taken as will tend, if not to a complete assimilation, at aeast to a reduction of those differences. THE LAW AS TO COLLISIONS AT SEA. Your Council are glad to perceive that attention is given to 'this subject by the Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, and theY trust that some aption may be taken upon it shortly. araBIA COMPANY. You. Council are happy to report the announcement, in the -,,,,. "' ° use of Commons, that the dues hitherto levied by this com pany on imports from Russia have been abolished. TOLLS ON THE UPPER ELBE• As noticed in the last report, your Council memorialised the Foreign -office for the abolition or modification orthco. 444 they have received a reply stating that, although there is 40 prospect of doing so at present, the Govarnment have the 'hatter before them with a view to accomplish it at some future t i me. The subject, however, will not be lost sight of. DIRECT TRADE WITH WESTERN CHINA. A Proposal, suggested by Captain Sprye, of I ondon, for •• •°l3e hing a district trade with Western China, by way of Ran - „°O /1 and through Pegu and Birmah, has been considered by your Council. The proposal is one of a novel character, and Z I :jell required very full information. And, from what you r •,„ "Len were able to learn, they believe it is one deserving th e `a''eful attention of the Government, and they have forwarded H letter tO Lord Palmerston, praying that such steps may be f - en by the Government as may be deemed necessary ; but, : . ° ll l the reply, it would appear that the Government does not gasider the project a feasible one, at least for the present. FOSTOUEICE SAVINGS' BANKS. The communication on this subject, alluded to in the last • P Port, h as b een f u lly considered, and your councilhave placed 4 '' l record a reso lution approving of the scheme suggested in a l etter of Mr. C. W. Sikes, of Huddersfield, to the Chancellor ? i the Exchequer. They also solicited the co-operation of the Tru stees of the Savings' Bank here, but there seemed n o inch ''',,ation on their part to take action upon it for the present. AVERAGE RATES OF DAILY WAGES TO LABOURERS, &C. kt the t of the Statistical Departmen t of the Board of Trad request e, a return has been prepared of the ave ra g e rates p aid ~„7 " l i g the year 1859, in continuation of the returns furnished . 11t Ovious years, and which will be published in the volume '43i Mi scellaneous Statistics. CC WORESS OF DEPUTIES FROM CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. several subjects of importance were brought before the con re's 'which met in London in February last. As a p reliminar y jag use it was prop os ed to establish a central office in London for j a . a. ; 4 'e of Chambers of Commerce, the regulations for wh ich e 'be n' , generally approved of by your council, and to whic h th e 37 intend to subscribe, provided that the proposed office does Qt interfere with the present Liverpool office. • MASTER, PORTERAGE AT THE DOCKS AND QUAYS. T he draft report of a committee of the Mersey Dock Board, ° n this subject, with the analysis of the evidence given before that committee, has received the best consideration of your i; ( 7 .e il. and recommendatiOns have been forwarded to the a requisite Board. Those are-1. That the Dock Board shall license il ,,;•,, e q ui site number of competent master porters, and appoint o r Tr. e Y ° rs• 2. That surveyors shall be stationed at each dock _oturstriet to be appointed by the board. 3. That the master Ze ter shall furnish to each consignee an account of the landing, cia," of his goods, and shall provide certificates in case of cf T h a ge, such certificates to be coantersigned.by the surveyor of dock or district. A further question, as to the landing 14a3,8 goods from the ship and the pth: orterage of them on the by . e b o e n in si g uei p a e ti rl o b n riu by ed ite master porter, in now l uider co t n fi n e eil sa . me At i r e rf icrENer or. WAREHOUSE-ROOM FOR FREE GOODS. capl re quest of the W are h ouse k ee pers' Association, y our so licited the approp r i a ti on o f su ch bonded warehou ses l m_ o l n gh se t be un occupied, for the purpose of stor i ng f ree goods.. Customs quence of the want of room. This was granted by the authorities.• Your council take this opportunity of recording their thanks to Mr. S. Price Edwards,thecellecto r, for the readiness Witll which he has alway. endeavoured to give increased facilities to the trade of the port. IKE LAW AS TO THE TItANStER Atii) El:livers 151.. ocensf The report on this subject is still under consideration; but, as it is one involving many very important points, yoUr coun cil have deferred its adoption, with the view of making its conclusions of a character that will be satis6etory to all interests. In closing this report, yout council cannot but ex press their regret that several very important bills have been withdrawn from Parliament, such as the Bankruptcy Bill, the lien for Freight Bill, the Companies Bill, and the Admiralty Jurisdiction Bill, and that no opportunity offered for the introduction of other s ubjects, such as the Registration of Partnerships, the United Kingdom Writs Bill, and the law relating to Foreign Debtors. All these will, hoWeVer, con tinue to receive the Attention of year council, in the line that they May be brought forward next session.. Your council have been favoilred with the continued Valuable assistance of the members for the, borough, Messrs. Horsfall and Ewart, to ;Yhom they tender their cordial thanks. . The Criainsiast said, the report Was now before them, and he should just make a few remarks before he asked Mr. Horsfall to.move its adoption. There were two or three things which he. sheuld like to bring Before the Chamber,, and the most iMportant was the first—the Bankruptcy Pill. The Chamber had that before them over and over again, and he, thought that this year they should certainly have got it through. He.was up in London, and formed the impression at the time, as every body.seemed. anxious to support the Attorney-General in getting on with the bill. The Council had given it great attention, and the Government had listened very attentively to what they had to say, in some instances indeed having made alterations to meet their views. It was a long and very, important bill, and would have still further consideraii;ons There was a subject now agitating the town `veryunroll, Which had been casnally,alltaled to in the report,—it was that of lien for 'freight inward. The bill did not get - through Parliainent, but he had no doubt that it would early next session; and the question was, whether there could not be prepared by next year some plan to give a lien upon outward freight. He merely alluded to the matter now that public attention might be called to it, for it was one of very great importance. The stamp . duties had been carefully considered by the Council during the year. This had been a very sore subject from time to time, for the small charges which the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to pills such as the penny charge on transfers, had be6n very diffidalt to arrange; and even yet, as far as the Caned could understand, there were differences between the public bodies in the town as to the modes of affixing the stamp. Unfortunately this was so ; but the Council hoped that in a 'Short time this would Settle down, and people. Woad iinderitalisl haore clearly what the regulation meant. In. the early part of the session,,Very tkrly .111 this half-year, the budget ,and We Frenchtarit Were considered. . The Council expressed .',. Very decided opmion in general approval of ,the Measure. ' There were some details which it was hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would meet faiity , and satisfactorily. It had caused the Council a great deal of trouble during the year to get these ques tions put into a practical shape; and although they had not got all they wished, still they thought they had been successful to a great extent in modifying some of the proposals of the Chancellor of the Exche quer,—particularly one in whieh he proposed is. export duty on transit goods , 'and 2s. 6d. upon free goods, or all goods . exported. This was tlinught so very objectionable that a deputation Was. sent .to London to rein'onstrate, and they got the ChamiellOr "Of flit Exchequer to do away with that, and substitute another clause, not so obnoxious. They had also succeeded in getting the Chaticeller, in the huts, to Withdraw some .. v ery vexatious charges ttpith working in bond—a long string of betty Chagos, such as 4d. a package for weigh ing st gak, Or any article, and a variety of others—which Iv-Aidhave impeded commerce without increasing the revenue; but in the end, he. was happy to say, the , Chancellor of the Exchequer had Withdrawn the pro posal. The French tariff had heed brOisght under their consideration with the Workifig of it. They had sent notice to the various trades ; and Were rather surprised that so little interest was taken in the subject, for it was one of setions importance. Two or three trades had taken an interest in, it, and he fancied they had been successful to some extent in getting their affairs arranged with the French Government. The Council were surprised that other trades did not move in the same direction -. hoar - - ever,. they had done their duty. The next stibjeet , On his notes was the Paper Duties. This had 'caused a great deal of discussion; and they hdped -that next ses sion arrangements would be Made. Satisfactory was the paper-makers. With regard to the duty, that was not now a question to discuss; but they had taken consider able trouble that the paper man ufacturers should be dealt with fairly, under regulations that existed. This sub ject, at one of their meetings, had called for the remark of the importance of their not meddling with party politieh: He thought they had acted wisely in keeping Aulte cleat of that, and he was sure he should haVe their support in it, as he had alwavS had,-ssfOr gentlemen must recol lect that it was a difficalt 'thing for the President of the Chamber to take the exact position where a political question beglas or ends, and gentlemen oat of &ors should not take offence if the President, in his Seal, *re strained and kept very strictly ;within that rule, as it was one of the fundamental rtiles of their Council. (Hear, hear.) There was a very important question now before the Gorernment, with regard to the sale of ships ; and if they were not very careful they would find that our ships would be sold in London, and not in Liverpool—under Admiralty order of course. But it was very objectionable that they should be sold in London. They wanted them to be sold in Liverpool ; and the Council should give that their attention in the next half year. Then there was a very 'important -question as to the transfer of goods, which was one that they had eoasidered bate fully, and postponed from tide to tiiiie, He was sorry Mr. Robertson was'not there, belt% absent film-domes tic ait iction, or he Would have told them more about it. It was a subject which required very great care, and it is not necessary to say more than that it would have the careful attention of the council. A report on the sub ject had been privately circulated among the members. There was one subject upon which they had great diffi culty in getting information,—that was upon the Customs; land Usages of Trade, and Which a 'committeehad been ,appointed to investigate. He thought it WAs importa S that, in a ' comme r c ial town, ode blanc h of trade or commerce should kno w the t ii Usages of another. He sho Id he obliged to any gentleman, or any of the associat ons who *would give them information on the subject. It was a very important question=a practical questio and one which the Chamber *Mild do gooll by givi . e. its attention to. He thought these *ere all the subj cts he need allude to in passing; and in sitting down h should ask Mt. 'Ronson to read the letter which t ey had received from Mr. Ewart. Mr. Tfolisofilelatl"ST follenvvr- , ss - .--"- ~--, , , - ss- .--• • • New Brighton, Birkenhead, Sept. 6, 1160. My Dr.a.e. Sari,• , --I regret very m uch that it will be quite out of my power. to attend your 'half-yearly meeting on Monday next. I am obliged to go to the Isle of Man tomorrow, and cannot possibly return in time. I would gladly have p ut off my trip until • the folloWirtzt week, but I must be in London on the 11ih, and thente I go on to the Continent. Though the session has been the longest and most arduous since I have been in Parliament, I cannot say that .the real . practical business has been at all commensurate with, it. , The.fact is, that too much was attempted to be i t out fer us at the commeeement. The ceeceittence was that the budget, parliamentaryn r eform, bankrUpt n cy, and 'ether i m portant mea sures (any two of Which would hat's been nearly enough_ for a session) jostled each other innalmost inextri c able confusion. • With reference to 'the budget, it must be a souhosrc,, articles great gratification to the chamber t hat so many of t which yiddUd comparatively E 0 little revenue, and the repeal a Ilib duties on which had been previously, body, have been erased front the tariff book, But in adopting so wise and comp' Chancellor a measure the argot Dy Your Chancellor unfortunately accrapanied it by a system of _Rely and vexatious charges on 'ail imports and sxporte. These e less harassing by suggest yiboguracmhaoirneb:irm ultimate,}'d tb arrangemente"nder thandcommercial that h il a i t t are much Ind( bted to you and the deput a:ion in London foi the Valuable aid you afforded. e r s ig ts in o a f il the P e r o laP'utedr y These charges, however, are annoying enough has at present, by Mr. Gladstone, an and I hope they may before long be entirely repealed. the Bankruptcy is. much to be regretted that th os e tisertli.ntesAreS, B an kruptcy and Companies' Bills - , wer e withdrawn. Y honourable collaue and myself drished to have inildl a clause into the la g tter bill, redUcing the amoun t of shares _ joint-stock banks of limited liability to 820 per sh are, instead of £lOO per share, es sit present fixed by the act. These bills will be re-introduced next session, with, I hope, fewer clauses to provoke opposition, and with a more certain chance of success. With many thanks to you personally, and to the.counell,. for the kind and valuable assistance you have ut 14 1 k times ren dered to my excellent colleague (who may probably liav_e b an opportunity of perstmally.expressiug them) and to myself, e lieve me to be, my dear sir, faithfully yours, J. C. EWART. (Signed) W. J. Toinlinsea, EA., President Chamber of Cominerce, Liverpool. Mr, T. B. lloitsFahh, M.P., then rose and said—Mr. President, I have very great pleasure in moving that the report now read be received, adopted, and printed for circulation among the members; and I trust, Sir, I shall be excused if I feel in duty bound, in the first instance, to acknowledge the last paragraph in the 'report, whith is. expressive of the thanks of this Chamber to my hon. colleague and myself. I beg to assure you, sir, and to assure this chamber that although considerable difference of opinion may exist as to the work which - has been done during the past session, I talse . thisyete as an assurance th a t my h onoura ble colleague and in self. haVe at least attend e d t o th e d u ti es which devolved upon us. (Applause.) Sir, with your perititsion, I will refer first to that most imp or ta n t question to which you h ave now adverted, nam e ly, the Bankruptcy Bill; and' I agree most cordially in the expressions of regret that the bill is not now the law of the land. lam very unw illing to, throw the blame on any party; and yet, sir, I cannot but think that if the Attorney-General had pressed that bill forward at an earlier period, there is no doubt that it would have passed, - and passed in a f or m satisfactory to the country. (Hear, hear) Sir, there is no doubt that the bill niet with o pposition in co mmittee s first and foremost by that Conservative financial reformer, Sir Henry Willoughby, who keeps a very jealous eye over the finances of the country. Well, Sir Henry Willoughby objected to the compensation clause —he objected to the compensa tions which would be necessary, under the bill, being charged on the Consolidated Fund. He said that it ought, in the first instance, certainly, to be made charge able on the fees of the Bankruptcy Court, and if there was any deficiency that then that deficiency should be charged on the Consolidated Fund. The Attorney General,, with great good humo ur and g ood will, acceded -to this 'proposal, and the bill went on satisfactorily till it arrived at the 152nd clause. To th a t ab use exception I have the greatest ' was taken by Mr. Henley. Now , the possible respect for Mr. Henley', an d I think that Attorney-General took a somew h a t con t ' I need view of the nature of Mr. Henley's observations• always have been, and I am sure this chamber must be, in favour of there being ,no distinction between traders and non traders. If any man cannot pay his debts, he ought to be made bankru. Well, sir, Ido not thi nk that to the general principle Mr. Henley ever objected; but he said there were certain matters of detail, certain provi sions necessary properly. underparticular circumstances , to make the bill il l woHe stated one case. For in stance : if a gentleman left a large property to one mem ber of his family, and with certain claims upon it by the other members, the power should not be given-to make that individual a bankrupt if he did not matterim immediately pay ; but that was a all those legacies and I have no doubt provisions.m.been intro duced,sion was drawing to a close. Thes mereht haveiof detail,y to have met the case. But the fact the ses- . raised, and the Attorney-General a f n o d u difficult i es were postponed till next session. But the Bible to get the bill through, n i t learned it‘V a'VCI: l is Attorney- General qu ite el.iriP° retbr s e, will take warning by the bill will not only be the first tob t s h u o bj th ec if t e a v l e l n u t de A d ots to h i e s hr t_he ing_npon past, and tr I trust this session, but the fi rst to r eceive the Royale in a o s s d o u n c t e . d ( n A e r . - pßlial Bill, s e t 0 . ) s t oc k companies. That bill had . ' con T s h o e lid n a e t x e t Companies joint passed through the House of Lords, and was withdrawn at a late period of the session a the House of Commons. But I feel ~M DAILY TIMES, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 11, 18601 bouncrto say—because I consider it due to Mr, Milner Gibson —he was mostekanxion.S . that bill should have passed!, and I believe that, eontairiing aboutrthred hun dred clauses, it was not till the last day of the sessionli-e relinquished the hope of carryieg it through. That bill, I hope, will 'also be re-introduced early, next session. The Clearance Inward for Freight Bill was In- very much the same position, except that it passed inethe Commons, and the difficulty was in the Lords, as there was not time to get it through. It shared the same fate. With regard to the Stamp Duties Bill, I am extremely sorry it did not pass in a more satisfactory state. The revenue derived from stamps is a most important one —stamps amounting to I don't know how many millions ; and it is what is generally considered a very legitimate source of revenue. I have no doubt that if le cham ee ber malted teptesentationS to the Chariceller o the Ex chequer in all probability amend.nienth Will be intro duced next session, and the bill piit on a more satisfac tory footing than at Peeseeit: I come, then, to notice the observations . you made in reference to, the budget. I had .the honour of accompanying the late presiderit of the chamber, Mr. Rebetteemi my hon. colleague, and other gentlemen to the Chancellor of the Exchequer before the bUde o et was introduced ; an d this chamber made representations as to the great variety of articles —between four hundred and five hundred articles— upon which the duty might be abolished . with very great advantage .to the country. Whether it was the effect of those representations, or Mr. Gladstone's own .enlightened mind, certain it is the . duty was taken off nearly all those articles, and I think this chamber has ample reason to be satisfied, whatever was the,origin of the movement. (Applause.) Well, sir, I have been dpbraided—l don't like tointredtice anythirig, like, polities-Lwith voting for that Budget. lehink I should have acted very inconsistently, after being one of a deputation to urge the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take the duty off a certain number of articles, if I had voted against it. I voted, of course, for the Budget. It went into committee, where I had ample opportunities, and so had anybody else, of voting against duties of which they disapproved. Well, the part most exceptionable, to which I did take exception, was those petty charges to which you have referred, I considered them, and con sider them now, most obnoxious thaiges, Most vexatious, most unnecessary -Gear ; lieet,)—for the Chancellor of the Exchequer only said he wanted a - certain aniceint, seine £200,000 or £300,000, and, it would be injustice to Jelin to siippiise, that with his fertile imagination he could not have devieed some other tail less objectionable to every cienteleteial -com munity. I can only Say note, as I said in the House, I was conVilited these taxes could not remain above twelve months;, and if common energy be used by those who feel,ehe oppression, I. have no doubt that next session we may get the whole of them taken off. (Applause.) Well, sir e , this brings me to the French treaty. That has been made much of 'a political question. lam not one of those who . look for the golden fruits that many gentlemen do, neither am I apprehensive at all as 'to the result of that treaty ; but I know, sir,—and there is a gentleman in this xoom who has been giving evidence before the commission now sitting in Paris upon the subject of the French, treaty, and he tells me the feeling there is very generally in favour of free trade, and.tha he has no dolt& that ati mately free trade principles Must prevail in France. Welt, sir, there can be no citiestion as to the policy of this country. If we have adopted free trade here, it surely ds O'er interest to accomplish free trade in other, 'countries ; for it then amounts to what we are all con tending for—the principles of reciprocity. (Hear, hear.) Then I pass on to the charge generally preferred against the late session,—perhaps with some d,eeree of truth—that little, if anything, was done. Now, I think a great deal was done. ne ~Gtiveritmetit felt, harassed with , elee condi& I ne of our poli tical relations, and think a great good has been 'accomplished, by the preservation of peace. 1 think, sir, that the determined course which the Government took , in deciding th a t thisecountry should be defended, was a great benefit. I think that the course which they took in supporting this volunteer movement was a measure for which the Government deserve our thanks ; u se o e w uri th ty al t w he it t h e oit is t n t,e t i g ri ze i r ti a ii l d eo iki nti t t o il ti e t e eo a n t a id . because, say what . w e w ill, -if thi s coun t r y i s no t i n a s w ta T te all of denee, neither Ike doniniesede, manufactures, nor agricul ture ,of the country can prosper. (Hear, hear.) Well, sit,' I *mild just . observe further that all the work is not done in the House o f C ommons . S om e very important committees have sat, and prepared work for the ensuing session,—perhaps none more important than the committee known by the name of the .Contract Committee, and the Committee on Merchant Shipping. Well, sir, there'is one reteremenclatioli d'that Contract Committee, which; if 'carried oneee-and I think there is not a toventneat dare fail to carry it out—must confer a eiteet benefit on the country. I will not ,enter into tile past contracts with steam packet companies, whether they have been right or whether they have been wrong, —but what we all object to is that theV shoild have been granted in peiVate. , (bear,hhar.) oW sir, the recomme ndation which that committee has put forward is thierthet no contract or no subsidy should be given by , any government without the proposal having been laid for a month upon the table of the House of Commons. There, I think, is a security for the people of England that their money will riot be wastefully expended upon either jobs or anything, else. (Applause.) Well, sir, the next subject to which I would refer, and • I fed some difficulty in referring to it, is that of the Merchant shipping committee. I Was a member of that committee myself, and I may say without ;pane that at no meeting of the committee was I absentiiii totinion with maneeethers; hilt I think, sae We het reason to feel aggrieVed at a paper Which I have received, called the twentyerottrth report of the General Shipowners' Society of London, and at the terms in which they are pleased to speak of the labours of that committee. They -sky sing complimentary language, in the outset— ei:ele indefatigable punctuality of attendance, and sedulous attention to the examinations evinced by many members of the coßmittee,—among Whom they may, without invidious selection, particularise the hon. member for Sunderland (Mr. Lindsay), Liver- pool .(Mr. Horsfall), North Nertlitinitierland (the hon. INIr. Liddell), Mill (Mr. Sorties), and Tynemouth (Mr. Hugh Taylor). Year cmpmittee bears willing testi mony 10, nor can they express too highly their sense of, the uniform personal courtesy extended by eel the liOn. members 'to your committee, and the witnesses examined at their suggestion." Now, I Must decline; for oile, to receive 'any such com pliment, Ilebanse, ill the next paragraph the committee are charged with unfairness; and, sir, it is a very extra ordinary charge to be brought forward, beonse it is a charge utterly w ith ou t foundation. lam happy to say , and I hope the chamber will bear in mind, that this is Merely the report of London shipowners. I draw wide tlirdistiection between Liverpool,shipowners and Lon• don shipowners, because one has long advocated prin ciples totally different to the &her; "Vent. Conimittee are bOund to state that, feeling compelled to regard the report under review less in the light of an independent, impartial, and just dedUction front the evidence actually given by such trittieStes, than as an unfair, hOWeVer able, attempt to sustain foregone conclusions, they deem it a matter of grave and serious complaint that, although the select committee expressly recognise the justness of the principle of giving a true verdict acco r di ng t o th e evidence, by printing iii 'the margin of th e i r re p or t the number ' ef Awe , reply given by the witnesses on st bee testimony the inferences drawn asseniet to be founded, the report actually, and contrary to the usual practice and to the very terms of the preamble, is published unaccompanied by the evidence. Inferences are drawn which would be found unsupported by a full and impartial consideration of that evidence; and opinions and recommendations are given frequently in direct opposition to the suggeptions of witnesses most entitled to respett and consideration." And farther " It is evident from the very last printed resolutiom of the 'honourable. committee that a draft report, as amended, together with the minutes of evidence and appendix, be the report of the committee to the house, —that it was the intention of the hon. members com posing that committee to afford the opportunity . for testing, by reference to the evidence, the accuracy their calculations, for which -yoiir Committee contend ; but it must be gceitallY evident that the course actually adorned is notonly in itself unfair, but is eminently disadvantageous to impartial examination." Now, what is the charge which they have preferred against the committee—fifteen gentlemen, holding every shade of politics, Protectionist, Conservative, Liberal, Whig, everything? Why, it is a charge of unfairness. The explanation is simply this t —When the emilinitth bad agreed Upon their eepdrt, they naked how, loiig would he netessarY to print the report, accompanied by the, evidence, and they w ere to l d five weeks. The y were told that grettt anxiety was manifested on the part of the shipping interest that the report should be published forthwith. They co nse q uentl y g ave orders that the report and evidence s hould be p ublishe d to g ether, es quickly as possible; but in the Meantime, to satisfy the wishes of the shipowners, the xeport, which could be peitited .in five days, without the evi donee, should be circulated. (Hear, hear.) And the Vis the charge of unfairness which this London Shipowners' Society thinks tit to bring against the com mittee. But the real secret lies deeper than that. There is something like a wily hit running through the whole of this report,—a sort of Protectionist dislike to the principleS of Free-trade, which, to some extent, are necessarily upheld 'in that mod: and, sit, I de riot hesitate to say amore itufair,----no, I Will not Use the language they have tholight proper to adopt,—but Ido not hesitate to say a more ungrateful return for the e xertions of fifteen gentlemen of the Ho use of Commons was never exhibited by any society. (Hear, hear.)e. Neese sir, I have ventured to occupy the attention of the Council to a matter which may appear personal; but I really co uld not consistently sit down here as a m ember of the chamber, and as One of the members for the borough, With a charge of unfairness resting upon me. (Applause.) Well, sir, I hardly know it is necessary I should enter upon the details with regard, to those trifling charges, those harassing charges, which Mr. Gladstone has put upon the commerce of the port, except for this one rea son, I am anxious to bear my testimony to the exertions borne by your president, by Mr. Bauchi and IV Mt. Forwood, to lessen the evil, as far as practicable, which these charges do entail upon this commercial commu nity. They were repeatedly in London, most energetic and anxious to .prevent the evil which has unfortunately taken place. 'Well, I cannot sit down without express-, ing the great gratification which I feel at the grow ing commerce of Liverpool. (Applause.) It Was my duty to move at the close of the session for a return of the value of the exports and imports at the twelve principal ports of the Kingdom. That return was issued and it may be gratifying 'to gentlemen toltnow that whilst the value of imports is not given, the value of the exports from London has increased by the •sum of £1,349,000 ; whilst the value of the exports from Liver pool has increased £11,000,000: (Hear, hear.) Now , I don't say this for the purpose of raising any feeling of jealousy between Liverpool and London, but it is au evidence of the growing prosperity of the port of Liver pool, and I trust of the country also.. (Applause.) It only remains for me, Mr. President, to thank you on my own behalf, and on behalf of my excellent colleague, from whom I have a letter to that effect, and the gen tlemen of the chamber, for the cordial and zealous sup port which we have always received in support of our duties. (Applause.) WILLIAM BROWN, Eeqe said he had very few obeer- : vations to make. His honourable friend (Mr. Horsfall) had so fully explained to them the position they were in, in many of the twenty-two important subjects which had been under consideration, that there was not much more to add. H e perfectly agreed with Mr. Horsfall in thinking that they owed something to the Chancellor of tber Exchequer for having removed the duties from 600 or '7OO articles; but that was hardly sufficient, in his estimation, to compensate for the embarrassments in •• •, • . Which he he had involved :the common transactions of lite. eouid hardly go into your counting-house, awl read your leaeitS, teiltett, having . to Qonsult ; your attorney, and know how, to proceed. 14e had told the Chancellor of the Exchequer that he had f;fty ye,irs in this town, and had never reinerribered any Chdtkellor the Exchequer so embarrassing the transactions Of life at Ms. :Gladstone bad , To the .letters . which be (Mrs Er'cifini had addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer he had se - ttairily a received replies ; but he fancied that in these the • qift3Stion bad. been fenced rather - than answered. With respect i 64 fif:e Prtmeli treaty, he thought it was the beginning of most portant concessions on the part of that nation. pie had reason to think that the Emperor of the French was really a free-trader ; he thought so before the Criniean war broke out, and he thought so still. The Emperor of the French had, however, great difficulties to contend with, but as far as he could carry it out with his subjects he was a free-trader. They might feeollect the time and trouble which *as necessary to induce the people of this country to become free-traders; /Anis Napoleon's goyeinment being more despotic than our own, would no doiiht take a less time, so that it would be fonnd, when the treaty ; came into faller operation it was really based Upon .principles of free trade. This was the real policy of Etigland-4o take from other countries whatever they could furnish it with at the lowest cost, and to allow them to take in return what they might require and we could spare ; it was to consider the interests of her Majesty's subjects. However .little, therefore, we might have obtained by the French treaty, it was a step in the right direction; and he had no doubt that it would lead to more. After the very, clear statement Mr. Horsfall had made, he need not trouble theiti With anything more, and he felt cer tain, from what that gentleman had said, that *hen in Parliament next year, .the utmost exertions, would be used to get rid of those petty inconveniences and embarrassments which now tended so much to embarrass trade. He thought that Mr. , Gladstone ought really to be ashamed of hiniself to embarrass them so much on the twopenny transactions of life ; and he did think, that although as a Chancellor of the Exche quer Mr. Gladstone had them sonic good, he had also cost them a vast deal of money by the inconvenience and loss they had had to put up with. He hoped the French Treaty Would do some good in keeping us at peace with France ; and, .after ,all, that was one very important Hiatt r for totisideratiOn. Men would pialce great sacrifices PreserVe their cotintry, but, taking the great mass of mankind, there was a much greater desire to preserve peace, and this would be most effectually done by uniting the material interests. He did not know exactly what the treaty was to be, but he understood that the deputation which went from Bradford were perfectly satisfied, also another from Staffordshire; and although there were many things which might be more satisfac tory, and in accordance with the wishes of free traders, they must be content for the present, and hope their friends in Parliament would press the matter as far as possible. He thought they were also indebted to Government for the interest it had taken in the volunteer movement ; he believed that it was the best security foi peace; and anything that cottld be done to prevent war mast be adopted. Ile felt the tkat *e should never haVe received that letter front the French Eniperor if it had not been for the volunteer movement. His policy might have been to pay us a visit to satisfy his own army—for he is hardly his own master—but the volun teer movement had prevented that, and far a long period to come we should be able to carry on our commercial pursuits uninterrupted. He concluded by seconding the motion of Mr. Horsfall. -- The OnAnotArr said he AVotild next call upoji the chairmen of the iarioas conimittees to gibe some mfor illation as to what had been dniie. Mr. Boocx in addressing the members, said he wished to make some remarks upon the position of. the Cus toms Committee, in relation to Mr. Gladstone's budget. It had gone forth to the public that that Chamber was in some degree implicated in the embarrassments which have been excited in commercial transactions by that, budget. He wished now to state that the exertions of that Chamber had been directed towards a removal of those embarrassments, , He, certainly thought Mr. Gladstone had merited the thanks of, the country for renioving the imposts iipon several articles, aed td hirn it was a matter of extreme difficulty, to discover how the man that could remove such taxes could impose others still more aggravating. It was true that he stated a principle Which it Was not difficult, to see—that, inasmuch as he was removing the duties from goods which had hitherto assisted the revenue of the.cotintty, the bonded system still having to be Contintied, it was necessary that he shoillel hart an income from some source or other to maintain that system. That was the reason alleged for this obnoxious portion of his budget; and prima facie it was perhaps a reasonable statement to make. But . be (Mr. Bouch) agreed with blr. Horsfall in saying that a man with the comprehensive Mind 111 r, OladifOne . possessed. might hate deViied innke ether incide of raising about £.150,000 less objectionable than the one he had adopted. He did trust that the energies of that Chamber, and of the commercial world at large, would be exerted in obtain ing the removal of those inconveniences at the earliest possible period. Again, let it be understood that the members of that Chamber, so far from having any thing to do with the imposition of those taxes, had exerted themselves to procure an amelioration of them. With respect to the surveys of goods exported frotii the port, he thought the subject a much more im portant ode than at first sight it nlig,ht seem: They had fora long time been Mottling under a tilfrstent in this toxin which was so very insufficient for the ptirPoseg of the port that it was a remarkable thing they could have put up with it so long. For six or seven years that Chamber had been labouring and endeavouring to im prove it, but, owing to the contest, or ra th er th e con tending interests of the three bodies concerned, they had not hitherto arrived at any proper solution of the diffi culty, and, at that moment, they were not a great deal advanced. It was true that those three. resolutions— " 1. That the Dock Board shall license a requisite num ber of competent roaster porters, and appoint surveyors: 2.. That, surveyors shall, be stationed at eaclasle,Qk or diss diet td be appointed by the board. That the iriaster porter shall fUrnish to each consignee an account of the landing, &c., of his goods, and shall provide certificates in case of damage, such certificates to be countersigned by the surveyor of the dock or district"—would go far to remedy the evils he had mentioned, but he very pinch feared they would not be carried. He iltetiglit it fight; howeiref., most emphatically to de clare that the Chamber of Commerce had arrived at sense of the value of those resolutions after the most patient consideration ; and he would deeply regret if the subject, after being considered by the Chamber of Commerce for six or seven years, and their labours, should be lost, which he feared would be the case if these resolutions, or something analogous to them, were not carried. The chairman had wished him to allude to a letter received front - the Dock Conimitte that d a y, The letter was as follows Mersey Locke and liari;or Baird, • Solicitdr's Departfilent, Liverpool, 4th Sept., 4E6 address you as one of the parties who, last autrini memorialised the Board of Trade against the approval by r of the revised tariff of Liverpool town dues. That boarcl,i may remind you, after some communications with both parties' suspended their consideration of Pugh tariff pending ~, then application to Parliament, promoted, b' the trustees of t h e late Duke of Bridgewater, and t h e MerseY and Irwell l . tidn.CdnipanY, Pak an *la having for its object the exempti on of the trade of the Mersey , a bove Eastham and Garston, from the payment of the dues in question. The terms of that proposed act were the subject of much negotiation between the parties; and it was ultimately p assed by agreement, in the form of a tr ansfer, b y way of sale, by this board, of the dues receivable within the above limits to a new body of trustees, called "The Upper Mersey Dues Trus tees," whose functions will commence on let January next. The passing of that act removed all objections of its promo ters to the revised tariff; and this board are n4w desirous o f obtaining the final approval thereof by the Board pf '.•rade withbttt further delaY. • • dd I arti, theiefore, instrUcted to intimate to all the me m o . riulidts thus, that the Board. of Trade will be requ ested to signify their approval of such revised ta riff, unless, bef ore the Ist October next, cause to the cont rar y , and to their satisfac tion, shall be shown by communicatio ns addressed.t o them, either directly or through the medium o f this boar d. — / sir, your very obedient servant, JOHN N ORTH . To the President of the Liverpool Chamber of Comme rce. About this, letter, he would sa'y that it was rather a painftil subject to tilldde tO. 11oWeirer, rig chairman of the conimittee before which this s ub j ect was brought, and at the instance of their presen t chairman, he might say that, as far as he could reme mber, the Doc k Com mittee issued a tariff prepared by themselves, many of the items of which, at a glance, seemed to be anomalous. In one instance, a very large memorial, very numerously signed, was sent up to that Chamber by the parties dealing in certain minerals which are used in the manu facture df alkalies, and it *as found that the objecti ons were so strong that the book Committee at mice gave way, and acting under the belief that.lhey would require it, the Chamber suggested th at the Mums made to the dock-office, including all the amounts of imports of various articles, should be given to the Chamber, which would appoint a conimittee to put itself in emu niunicatiori *ith the committees of Other associations, and thus they should arrive at something like a correct conclusion about the tariffs which were to be issued. At the same time, it was agreed that the income of the Dock Committee should be carefully guarded, but that the various items should be rated with reference to their value. Now, up to this time no action has been taken since the date when. the letter went from this Chamber to the Board of Trade (on the 15th December). Th e Chamber had been accused of neglect in not attending more effectually to this subject, but it had stated in it s letter : td the secretary of the Board of Trade that reasons ivhicli weighed with the Chamber induced it to make the suggestion that time sho uld be g ranted fo r the re-consideration of the question, and td be furnish e d with additional information from the Mersey Dock Board:. NOW nothing could be done by that association or any other, unless they were met cordially by the Dock Committee. He represented the West India Chaniber of this town—he was the president of it—and he would just instance one anomaly On hogsheads of sugar they had paid 4d., ever since they were first imported; but the rate was now to be is. a ton, which was 150 per cent. above the usual rate. It was quite true that the Dock Committee supported their intended change by saying that the town dues upou.East India sugar had been ls. a ton, while West India sugar had been enjoying an exemption. But there was a reply to that, And a very, fair one. West India sugar was imported long before East India sugar, and it did not follow that because a new article had a cer tain rate put upon it. the rate of the old one should be made the same. He mentioned this to show that before these rates passed into law, there should be some further arrangements entered into bet Ween the committees. He thought that the time allowed—which was between that day and the first of the next month —was too short to arrange a question so difficult. Mr. T. B. FORWOOD said, after the remarks which Mr. Bouch had made upon the subject of the town dues, he felt called upon as a member of the Mersey Dock Board to say a few words in reply. In a sense they were but servants of the commercial community, and it could - never be their desire to do anything dis advantageous to the commerce of the town. Although not a member df the finance , committee he could say that the Mersey Dock Board had given this tariff of the town dues a considerable amount of atten tion, but they were tied in a peculiar way to obtain from these dues, for the dock bondholders, a cer tain aggregate amount of income ; and in revising the tariff, in accordance with the Act of Parliament, they had to steer a clear course, so as not to damage the amount of revenue to which they were committed. When they took in hand the revision of the tariff, many repre sentations were made for a large reduction of dues. The dues on salt, which were formerly 6d. a ton, were now reduced to 3d., a reduction reaching an amount which the Board could not sacrifice without adjusting the tariff on other articles in such a way that the revenue should not suffer. There was a difficulty ix taking the ques tion of value as a basis. They all knew that engar might be put down as of the value of £5O per ton. The dues on that would amount to ls. or ls, 6d., while the (igYh r o E S - 41t, C';'011 as reduced, were 3d per ton. He might . .the Case of a bale of silks. Th'cty, could not -bale of silks worth ••r , • 4son . in, the proportion' that thee- ceild Alm The concerts for the Kiklict of. Marlarne Jullien are ehester goods,. a chaige Of fs, per • p k . 1 .4 7. lb- t e exciting . great intere s t, aril will, We tntinoate, move not Pock Board had endeavoured to, give ever:- publicity to ot2ly hiwyy attractive to the audiences, we eit'.,traptiAllir .the faci,of their being engaged in the revision of the b e n e ficiai Jullien herself. The gfildP'6i flAfec'3l a'n trimly gentlemen had . attended and' Made re- formances of t (oboe ), and S , .vendsen (flute), pre.sentationsirom the sitar trade, the Mediterranean wherever these artistes n'uld ?t n . ? heard, have elicited trade, as also some gerltlenatir,interested in motels—and the mot enthusisastic praise. i 'S - a• - sta Maria," there had been considerable ehariges ; in fact, no mem: and. Sanctus," winch will be sung ty fire thorits of the ber of the Chamber could take t i p tryss' present tariff and Philharmonic Society, are the pieces which, sat Sc seethe revised rates, without observing the iniPioYement James's Hall, made so great a success. bad ,becti made. The other question to *hick Mr. . - touch had billridetl hal also been before the MefieV Board, the question of yeys.- Ire fialt deeply interested in it himself, and coittcfejeti very much in Mr. Bouch'S views. If they could gob a mtetti of public surveys, in the way suggested' by 1,11 VoCk Committee, he believed that it would be one of the greatest improvements in the way of landing cargoes at this part which we had experienced for a number of years; hilt it would be known to the Chaniber that there *mild be considerable opposition to the project. Some members would be' prepared to say, in the first instance, that the Mersey Dock Board were taking a great responsibility in appointing surveyors to adju diiiate on questions .between the shipowner and the consignee, of the ea q; but for his part he thought there would be no etifficillty in arranging details, and that the responsibilities might tie met by suitable arrangements. Mr. Forwood then entered tipon the subject of the vexatious charges on the transaction Of commercial buSiness imposed by the budget. The bill of lading was now taxed at Is. 6d., and a very high charge it was, and a very serious inconvenience it caused to trade ; but it was the best substitute at the time which could be proposed. It would produce the Chandella Of the ExcheqUer, he dared say, a large amonnt of revenue. It was / however, a great incon venience to the trade; and lig *e's glad to hear, as a considerable shipper, Mr. Horsfall thoifeit that this and ether petty inflictions might be set aside. Mr. R. A. MACPIE felt personally, as one of those who had memorialised the Board of Trade on the town dues, indebted to Mr. Bouch for introducing the sub ject; and he did not think, the explanations given by Mr. Forwood were completely satisfactory. What he wished to ascertain first was, what is the nature of the arrangement made with thoSe opposing bodies, with the Duke of Bridgewater's trustees, and with the interests up the titei He wanted to know if there was any thing in that arrangenietit which required their atten tion specially. He should like to kridtt what was the course which' the Chamber recommended the vatiuus interests to adopt, with the view of getting anything injurious in the tariff rectified. Mr. DARBYSTIIRE, in reply, said the tariff had been made public for several months—in fact, it ought to have been sent to the Board of Trade some months ago'; but, in consequence of different parties not being pre pared to give their opinion, the Board of Trade had allowed it to stand over till the Ist of October. Surely the sugar trade should not have overlooked it; the Dock Board would have been most happy to hear what could be said on the subject., The board would be sorry td treat arty interest With discourtesy; they were desirous of promoting the interests Of the port at the slope time that they must protect the interests of the boridhdlders: They had requested the different bodies to forward their views, and the time had now arrived when they had to give their last notice. The only way would be for the committee to take immediate action, and state to the Dock Board their views upon it. With regard to the arrangements with the Duke of Bridgewater's trustees, he believed those.were in the act of Parliament, which was open, for ,every member $.O consult, The Dock Board had nothing to do with ihtni ;it was out of their nig J ± XLLTE T coNcEßrs 1Y THE h POELHARMQ.NIC HALE. ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Last night 4 grand reception was given to Miss R. Howard. filiSa Rosina Howard, ail American actress of cele brity; made her first debit is England at this theatre last eveging- hi the character of Aline, in the play of " Smiles and Tents ; or, a Mother's Prayer." Thi s drama is of such excellence as to demand more than a Passing notice, and we •thetefore give a resume of the plot : —Aline (Miss Rosina Howard) is the daughter of Robert and Daine Laielea, who lire near Penrith, where the' scene opens. Her father receltes notice that in consequence of failure to pay his landlord, he must quit his little farni and homestead forthwith. Aline appears, and joyous as a young bird s with a face wreathed in smiles, speaks of her happy home; but she soon discovers the de jected air of her parents and is unable to divine the cause. Bide - keen, an army officer of wealth and if Illaertine (Mr. Blakeley), desires topoesess the charming Aline, a'rad hear ing of the distress cif her parents purchases from the land/oad a new lease of their preniiaes; and presents them with it for purpose of currying their Liao*, and carrying out his unholy object. In this, however, lie is thwarted by the parish ettrate, Rosslam (Tirr. Dentith), whet acquaints Farmer Lawlet with Blackain's object in being thus generous, and obtains her father's leave to send her to London, out of the reach of Eilackain. She goes, bear ftig with her a mother's blessing and prayer for her welfare—F:nmer L. meantime destroying thc lease which was to have beenthe price of Aline's dishonour. 1 Wandering Davy, a shepherd's bby (Mr Watkins), I appears in' this opening scene, and is almost entirely occupied in playing the shepherd's pipe (one of the sweetest instruments, by the way, that we has heard for a long - 61110 i and is the messenger who accompanies Blackain and returns Naith the lease to Lawler. In the next act Mine is in London, where she works faithfully with her needle, and ninbes a comfortable kupport. She is discovered with Lilly toter (Mrs. It. ti companion and play-fellow at Ilentlth, a giddy thoughtless girl, who, since her advent to London, is completely carried away with the show and gaudiness of city life. In London, Aline also meets a lover in the person of Arthur, the young Earl of Penrith (Mr. 11. Neville) by whom she is instructed and who contemplates marrying her. Assuining the garb of an apprentice boy whenever he' - Visits .her; she does not know of his wealth and title; but finding him a true and devoted lover she agrees to become his Wife. Having edu cated her he supports her in a style Mane befitting the intended wife of a nobleman than was that in 4thieh he found and loved her. Iler father at this juncture arriVes in London in search of her, and find ing her surrounded with such comforts and luxuries as present themselves to his.vieW, wrongfully supposes that she has become the Earl's Mistress, and discards her. The Countess, Arthur's mother (Miss Edwards), discovering her son's attachment to Aline, reftteta to sanction their. contemplated union, and forces Arthur to promise marriage to a lady of title. Davy has also come to London, and seeks Aline and visits her .freciatently. He discovers the intended marriage of Arthur With th'e titled lady, and informs : Aline of it just at the time Whed the chinch hells announce the contemPlated eeferdonk; Aline looks ou't of the window, which she had been reqkie.,sted not to do by Arthur, who had but lately taken his leave of her, and sees the bridal , procession moving into the Church. Discovering Arthur to be . the groom, she', Utters a. scream, and falls to the floor suddenly, deprived of ; her, reason.' 1/day conducts - her to her father's home ' in .Penrith, having ohtaiVed control over her, and inducing her to follow him, °fay by the music of his shepherd's pipe — his invariable co:npanion.- Her father has returned home meanwhile to his dying wife, who is anaious to behold Aline again before she leaves this world, and ; iii order that she may not know what he supposes to be Aline'a dishonour ' falsely tells her that her daughter is coming home--he knows nothing of her being a maniacunder the charge of Davy. The parish curate, learning the farmer's statement of the matter, prepares Dame Lawler for an interview with Aline, who has arrived, at, her father's cottage a " poor, witless creature." Navy upbraids her father for re fusing to acknowledge her and declares her innocent. By playing his pipe again he yestores het to reason, and Arthur, arriving at th is j uncture, brings nets of his refusal to marry the titled lady on hearing Aline's scream at the window, although oil the point of entering the church for that purpose, and declaring his love for ha announces the sanction of the countess to their union. The 4‘.azotannent is of course the happiness of all parties, including Lilly, valio again returns to Pen rith, having foiled the villain Blackaiii in his attempts to win her, after his unsuccessful ruse to poSaess Aline, and betroths herself to Davy, who was her former lover: Miss Rosina Howard possesses a pleasing and excel lent voice. The song " When the moon on the lake is beaming" was gracefully sung, and with effect. She not only sings well, but she is a clever and talented actress. Mr. Henry Watkins, whose recent perform ances. at this house were so much admired, performed the character of Wait:tiering Davy. He was repeatedly and deservedly applauded, . ifs he looked and performed the comic shepherd boy to perfectio n . This play was followed by a " Pair of Pigeons , "' and the comie_extra:, vag,anza of "Don Giovanni," in which Mr. a Honey and Miss Goodall appeared. To-night the pieces are "The Child of the Regitneat," " Somebody else," and " Mephistopheles." power. Mr. SirMe thought the only way to deal evith ttie question would be to refer it to a committee, and as the gentlemen representing the Dock Board had said it would be willing to give every information and satisfac tion, he could not imagine that there would be any difficulty in making such an arrangement as would be satisfactory to every reasonable person. lie would therefore move—" That this question be referred to the Costonts Committee, with instructions to take it into ininiedid.te Consideration." His reason for sending it direct-to the committee Was the shortness of time which was allowed before the matter would be finally settled with the Government. Mr. MaCFIE rose to second the motion. In doing so he felt it his duty to the sugar trade to say that it had gone regerlarly to work. They had applied to Mr. Milner Gibson, ,president of the Board of Trade, and they received fibril him a characteristically courteous and . satisfactory answer. They were • first informed that a veto had been put upon the duties; they were then informed that the subject was to be referred to a committee under the 'act of Parliamtnt, and they were told that they would be summoned to Parliament, and have an opportunity of stating their case. He believed that the Dock Board had made some arrangements upon the subject, but he did iftit know exactly what they were, Ile merely wished to satisfy that Chamber that there had been no neglect on the part of the sugar trade. As he was upon his legs, he would like to say a word upon a matter of local interest; and that was the supply of water for the extinguishing of fires. He thought they were now perfectly well informed that the present state of the matter was very unsatisfactory. Might be ask the favour of that subject being taken into con sideration by the committee of the Council, in order that they might co=operate with the Town Council, the Dock Board; arid Other public bodies interested in the matter, so that they might 4ei a re:gdlar alidetifti c i e nt supply of water in such cases;. or, if it was not possible that a fire-engine might be provided on the spot, or some means devised fcr quickly extinguishing a fire. Allusion had been made to the French treaty, and upon that sub- , ject he would say that he was in Paris some time ago, and had the honour of seeing the commissioners, and he was sure from their straightforwardness that their pro positions would be such as to gain a very favourable acceptance from. the Government. He was thankful that the arrangement of the negotiations were now in such able bands; The chairman, in his opening remarks, said that the sugar trade had been applied to, and had given information abodt their riositidri de respects the treaty. He could not say that they were yet perfectly satisfied, but he could say that they had had correspon dence with the negotiators, and they found on their part a disposition to put things on their proper basis. But until things were finally arranged, neither the sugar trade nor any other trade would have a right to say whether they were satisfied or not. In common with others, he had to expresS the eatisfastion they had felt for the attention the borough members liad paid to cer tain things brought under their notice. He believed that Liverpool was very much indebted to its two m embers. Mr. Foawoon said it would be a pity if Mr. Macfie should have his attention diverted from the considera tion of the duties on sugar by the arrangements which had been made between the Dock Board and the Bridgevhtei Trustees. .That arrangement was by an act of Parliament fixing the Un-river dues, and which in fact had nothing to do with the town dues, either by implication or other Wise. . Mr. &vie - EL HILL igid—As a young member, he thought the close of the chairniari's opening address, though last, was not least in importance ' dad that the comm itt ee sitting on the question of the usages and customs of the trades of the port, instead of beginning with the terms of :payment in particular trades, might have adopted the question of brokerage. No doubt it lay at the foundation of many merchantable transactions, and was a concomitant of most contracts, and as custom, if it did not occasionally contravene law, was used for the fuller and freer interpretation of it; be begged that the committee referred to would seek infor mation on this subject, and he would willingly ask members of the ttade. he was eitgaged in to give infor mation. It had been well remarked, in all negotiations of difficulty, " a man may not look to sow and reap at once, but must so prepare business as to ripen it by degrees." As regards the strictures of the London Shipowners' Association on the report of the Parlia ' mentary Committee on Merchant Shipping, they were deprived of their sting, when it was remembered that the complaint about the evidence not being printed with the report was groundless, the testimony of each witness having appeared daily in the Shipping Gazelle. The motion for the adoption of the report was then put and carried, after which Mr. Sheil's motion was put and also carried. ` Mr. CHARLES HoLLAND suggested the desirability of the various associations communicating with the com mittee whin. the Chamber had appointed, and with the committee for the examination of this tariff, The CUSIRMAN—A very proper suggestion, and one which should be attended to. After asking whether any member had any other question to bring forward, the chairman went on to say that he bad now to perform a pleasing duty, Of proposing a vote of thanks to the borough members. At the conclusion of the report some allusion was made to Mr. Horsfall and Mr. Evart, still, he thought that that meeting would hardly be satisfied with that Without passing a vote of thanks. He did think that their thanks were essentially due to those gentlemen for the attention they had paid to the inte rests of the trade of this town. He had always received from them the greatest kindness and assistance in Lon don, PO much so, in fact, that he had always considered it to be a pleasure to be there. There was one subject Mr. Horsfall had alluded to, namely, the report of the London Shipowners' Association ; but he thought that the Liverpool shipowners would not take the same view as they had done. He felt very much indebted to Mr. Horsfall and Mr. Ewart, and he begged leave to pro pose that the warmest thanks of the meeting be tendered to them. Mr. CHARLES HOLLAND, in seconding the motion, said he thought it was the very least the Chamber could do to express to the members for the borough the very great esteem in which it, held their services. He thought he could fairly claim for Liverpool and that Chamber thp privilege of being represented by two gentlemen whO certainly had given an amount of time and attention to commercial subjects, which was not exceeded by that of any other members of Parliament, and he thought we were highly favoured in this respect. Mr. DARRYSHIRE said that since the last meeting, a deputation had gone to London, and had had an interview with Lord John Russell and Mr. Woodhouse upon the River Plate affair, and he believed that they had been instrumentally the means of bringing about the result which has taken place. Lord John Russell had carried out the views of the deputation as far as possible, and the war had terminated. Mr. CHILTON, jun., said he felt sure the Liverpool Association would not endorse the opinion of the London ShipOwners' Asertiation. Mr. Lamport and others would in no way sympathise with that report ; for his own part, he would say that he thought the committee bad been rightly served for trying to please unreasonable men. . Mr. HOUSFALL ; in returning thanks on behalf of his, hon. colleague and himself, expressed their deep gratitude for the vote of thanks with which the Chamber had honoured them. As regarded the Shipping Committee, he did think that it was a most important duty to the shipowners of Liverpool that be should serve upon• it. it was a great satisfaction to him to know that there • was no evidsnce given before that committee equal in intelligence to the evidence they received from Liverpool. When the evidence of the Liverpool gentlemen was com pared with the views of most of the shipowners of this town, he thought they would agree. The committee of London shipowners conceived that the committee. of the House of Commons was merely a committee of ship owners, forgetting that the committee must not lose sight of the other interests of the country. The committee of the House of Commons had felt that they must give every relief to the shipping interest, but not at the expense of the lther great interests. He concluded by proposing a vote f thanks to the chairman. The motion was seconded, and carried unanimously, ; this terminated the proceedings. THE MARKETS COMMITTEE. The Jistial *eddy meeting cif this committee was held yesterday, at the town -hall; Mr. Alderman Woodruff presided. The other gent lemen present were Messrs. Johnson, Nickson, Haydock, Ridley, I. B. Lloyd, Barton, and Shimmin. The minutes of the lasi nieeting having been read, a report was submitted to the com mittee, showing the amount of cash received from the various markets for the week ending September 2nd, from which it appeared that the receipts for the past year was £474 16s. 6d., while those for the pi/evions year were X 26 - Bs. 4d. ; and upon such a satisfactory return, it was observed by Mt. Johnson, that thelntici pations of the committee had been fully realised, and that it would still further be found, that as the market accommodation was extended, the receipts wcitild pro portionately increase. A special statistical report was also read from the superintendent of the markets, of a return of quantities of meat and fish seized by the borough inspector, during the year ending August 30th, 1860 :—Central, George Read, 51,448 lbs. ; Southern, Joseph Lloyd, 5,349 lbs. ; Northern Edward Jones, 62,608 lbs. ; total 119,405 lbs.; Fi sh, Andrew Tyrrell, 102,476 lbs.; and the quantity seized during the past weck, was 300 lbs. of meat, and 21 lbs. of fish. This report also referred to the several department connected with each market, and concluded by stating that the working of the markets had been satisfactory, and the conduct of the men good. THE HA.RKETS RECEIPTS Th 3 following statement will show the increase and decrease of the receipts in cost of the - markets belonging to the Corporation, and under the jurisdiction of the committee for the past year 1860, compared with those of 185 g. Central Markets :—St. John's, increase £1,044 Is. 1c1.; fish market, irftrease £314 Ils. 6d. ; weighing machine, increase £8 Os. 10d. North Markets :—St. Martin's, increase 174 Os. Id. ;,Pownall-square, decrease £l6 10s. jid. ; Haymarket, decrease £3O Bs. Oil. South Markets :—St. James's, increase £32 19s. 9d. ;_ Cleve land-square, decrease 113 4s. Sd.; Gill-street, decrease L 1 18s. 6d. EVICTION OF A MARKET TENANT FOR USING ILLEGAL WEIG wTS. The Superintendent of the Markets reported that on Thursday last, George Taylor, greengrocer, of St. John's market, was summoned before the magistrates, and was fined £5 and 4s. Gd. costs for a 41b. weight which was 7ozs. light. He had previously been fined twice for the same offence: on June 24, 1850. 10s. and 4s. Gd. costs, and again in November, 1854, when he had been fined Z 5 and costs. The CIiiIIIHNN read a resonation of the Council adopted on the 7th of March, which has been most con spicuously placed in all . the markets, to the effe..it that, " if any tenants of such markets shall be convicted before the magistrates three times of using illegal weights and measures, he shall be served with a notice to quit, and shall not again be allowed to become a tenant." The Chairman said, upon that our course is clear ; we have no option in the matter. Mr. NICKSON—IIas that bye-law ever berm rescimded by the enactment of any other ? The LAW-CLERK —"got that I am aware of. Mr. JoaxsoN--In how many instances has it been put in operation ? The LAW-CLERK—I cannot say ; but in one I think. The CHAIRMAN—I am sure it has been used once. We have to give him the usual notice to quit. This committee cannot be a respecter of persons. After the Magistrates' decision we have only one course to pursue. Mr. RIDLEY expressed his regret that a man so re spectably situated should have been guilty of stuh an offence, after receiving a caution. But the more re spectable the tenant, the greater the necessity for acting upon the law. It was then unanimously decided that the usual weekly 'notice be given to Mr. Taylor, and that his present holding should be advertised for public competition, 'subject to any alteration for improving the site the com mittee might decide upon. The use of Gill-street Market having been granted to the 14th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers for drill purposes, the business of the committe was brought to. a conclu sion. The refreshm en t s a t M r . M a y er ' s fete at Pennant were House, supplied by Mr. David Anderson, of the, mzenants, suppti Dining Rooms, Castle-street. THE VOLUNTEERS AT NEW BRIGHTON- —On Saturday, Captain Grey's artillerymen assembleii in considerable numbers at the fort at New Brighton. for the purpose of praetiFing with the guns. Four detachments were told 'of, and twenty-four rounds were tired in double, and salvo'order: It is said that commands were never more satisfactorily carried. out by the Royal Artillery than on this occasion by the , Volunteers, who appeared to be perfect - as far as the manual pait of gun _ nery was eoneerned. As the evening adva.uced, Captain Ctiiiiribers's corps commenced s kirmishing . on the shore, and gibibited great proficiency. It is our unpleasant, duty to record that two accidents resulted from the duties of the evening. One person's finger was blown off ; and another was injured, but not seriously we believe, on the face. F Tn ot o s:N the P r c e N e . e - n -- t A in : p r re ea v te e r . annoyance than a had steel pen can A h . ardly.bc met with—the f ou nt,ain pen, Just introduced by Rudhall d m i e ffi n c t i s il t t h v e is n t e o w and Co., is the best we have ever seen. By a simple but effec tive contrivance the ink is retained in a fountain, by means of N„. /14 i u „. f . ;?1 , :g T 0.4 11 a second inverted barrel, above the writing nib, and this barrel can be taken out at any time, so the pen can be kept perfectly clean without, any chance of being corroded. Another feature i n this pen is, that one dip in the ink will last for five minutes' quick writing. The pen itself is of th e fi nes t description, and i n merchants' offices, banks, and indeed in every place, it Rill be found to till a want felt by every one up to this time. We have tried this splendid pen, handed to us by Mr. E. T. Hall, south john-street, and can pronounce it perfect, and we are EtliC all Wito use it will give a full verdict in its favour, ~:: .•~ . . THE WATER COMMITTEE. The „ tisual weekly meeting of this committee vlas held' yesterday . ; at . the, Town-all; Mr. Hodson presided. The other ttieniyn; of the committee present were— Messrs. Chart§ R. Jeffery; Beloe, Woodruff, Crellin, and &Weft The following reports were then 4ubm , ' itted th the coirldiittet by Mr, Duncan, tilt; engineer , , gridn "I have for report the following the informadon of the committee . "Filters : Three of these iiJ4re been cleaftel out the course of the past week; the others vtill be sittril..arly treated in the course of the present week. On the other portions of the works there is nothing of moment to report. Alt the matters in and have been of the ordinary character. The average rain-fall for the week has been 6-20ths of en inch. "The depths of water in the various reservoirs under their respective overflows were, on the morning of Saturday the Bth inst., as under Scnt. 8. Sent. 1. ft. in. • ft. in. .0 6 6 Rise. Fall. ft. tn. ft. in 0 0 ... 0 6 B.osldlesirorth Rake 0 R 0 0 ... 0 9 Anglezark 0 01 . . o 0 o . steady ltivington Prescot (No. 1) Prescot (No. 2) 1 )1 I 3 0 0 ... 0 8 "On the pipe line there is nothing to report. All all remains in good condition. Quantity of water received frein Rivincrton during the week ending September 6, 1860, Into liemington 4.1,931,970 „ Audler-street „ Park ilia Quantity of water pumped from the wells at Bootle Green Law. Windsor the discussion, would it not be better for the committee to ask the engineer if he had, or had. not, anything ec i say to the matter. The CUAIRMAN--The committee can have• no etirc tion to that. ENCIigEER — I will read' over all the evi&rref-, and if I have anything to say in reply, r will send it in writing'. After a brief conversation, the committee di7idbci. upon . the amendmat propcsed by Mr. Woodruff, when there appeared ar tke A t „,„ ( /,,,,„, —Messrs. Crellia, C. Turner, WoodrA", Bennett, and tho Chairnr.n. • For tki Atfortio: of the .11,,Wrt —Messrs. Jeffery and 136‘c. Tht report was tile - fent - referred sack tcr the n'a mittee IS TIM 'LOOM IO BE' IPITELISHED A discussion then arose as to whether the reporters , were to be furnished with a copy of the report; in the course of which Mr. JEFFERY moved that the report. with copy of all the evidence taken before the sub-committee; be handed to the reporters for publication. 31. CHARLES TURNER had not the slightest desire to withhold the publication, and did not object to atn motion, provided it was a distinct understanding that,' the whole of the report and the whole of the evidence were published, and not have it "cut and. culled " about —a piece here and a piece there. Mr. BELOE did not believe that any newspaper would put the whole of it in, and suggested that they should be supplied with the report. Mr. Wool:ultra inquired who was to pay the owners of the newspapers for putting it in. Mr. JEFFERY, however, persisted in his motion, but on a division, every other member of the committee voted against it. After some further discussion the subject dropped. Mr. CHARLES TURNER said that as the report was referred back to the sub-committee, he should object to that committee setting a precedent of the press having pcssession of any documents until they had been adopted. Mr. Alderman Bennett concurred in this view, as did also the other mem b ers present; therefore, the publics ion of the o ffi c i a l report cannot, for the present, be placed before the public. The committee then adjourned. CORONER'S COURT.-YESTERDAY. Yesterday the Coroner held the following inquests : On the body of a child, four years old, named Mary Redmond, the child of a labourer who lives in Leeds street. On Saturday night, the clothes of the child caught fire, and she was so badly burnt that she died on Stu day. It appeared the affair was accidental, and the jury returned a verdict accordingly. On the body of a boy named James Meally, aged eight years, who lived with his grandmother Barbara Meally, in 3 Court, Blundell-street. On Thursday evening the boy got on a stool to put some bread on a shelf, when he fell "off, his head coming in contact with a brick, and it seems the poor little fellow received such injuries that he died in consequence. Verdict accidental death. LIVERPOOL POLICE COURT'.-SATURDAY. (Before Mr. RAFFLES.) COMING FROM THE GARDENS. --- Two well-dressed young females, named Mary Davies and Catherine Edwards, were charged with having stolen a gold watch value £6 from a young gentleman named Thomas Holland. The prosecutor said he was coming from the gardens the previous night, when he met the prisoner Davies in Brunswick-road, and had a tite-4-tete with her, and, going on to Moss-street, they were joined by the other " lady," and all proceeded to Devon-street, where they entered a public house and had some rum. When they left, the prisoners walked one at each side of him. and soon after he missed his watch, which was screwed off the chain, and the latter was left hanging on his button. He caught hold of the prisoners and kept them until the police came up ; the prisoners were searched, but the watch could not be found. In reply to Mr Raffles, the witness said he was not quite sober ; he could not imagine what became of the watch, except that it was passed to some one in the public-house. Was there any one there but you then? Yes, but not near us. Mr. Raffles said he did not think the evidence sufficient, and discharged the prisoners. A BAD LITTLE BOY. THE REPORT. The CIIAIRMAN — ShaII we take the discussion in the presence of the reporters ? Mr", Jeffery and. Mr. Alderman Woodruff exclaimed "Most certainly !" Mr. Bewe—The report has been read, and its adop tion moved and seconded. There will be no occasion for its being read a second time'. Mr. WOODRUFF thought it should be read again. BELOE replied that he only wished to save the time of the committee, and he had no doubt that it was all fresh in the Memory of every person present. • Mr. Alderman Beicstrt —Let it be read. The Town-clerk then again read the document under discussion. It was very lengthy, and based upon most voluminous evidence taken before the sub-committee, in reference to the late fire at the Stanley Dock warehouse. it went into every minuthe in connection with that lamentable occurrence; and after giving every detail, concluded by passing a censure upon Mr. Duncan, the water engineer,—the want of discipline in his staff, and stated that should stich another circumstance arise, they should hold him responsible. [As the committee has again declined to have this document published in its official form, which has hitherto always been the case, we shall refrain from giving a More extended digest, and thereby avoid the Yak of falling into the errors so---londly complained of, of giving a garbled or incorrect versionl. • Mr. CHARLES TURNER said he wished to make a few rernatksaipon the report. It stated "that the keys and the hydrants were kept locked up at the Stanley Deck warehouses." The key was kept with the superinten dent in his house at the dock, and it would net take three minutes to get the key at any time. He did not think it right that such allegations should be made against the Dock Board. There were two oi ;three instances in which the report, as he thought, was not borne out by the evidence. But while he agreed in the report to a great extent, he could not agree with the censure that the last paragraph east upon Mr. Duncan, the engineer, because it certainly was not borne out by the evidence.. Mr. Alderinan BENNETT, after a few introductory remarks as to the importance of the question nude con sideration, said he thought the whole report, with a little explanation, was quite clear and perfectly in accordance with-•the-asidence....Mx.. Bennett tho, at considerable length, reviewed the report, and read the evidence that had been adduced by the several witnesses, to justify the construction the committee had put upon it. Mr. Alderman WOODRUFF, in moving au amendment, said he could not agree in the gross censure which had been east upon Mr. Duncan by the last para graph of the report. Why cast all the censure upon Mr. Duncan ? He then went on to exonerate Mr. Duncan, from the blame attached to him through the inefficient supply of water at the docks, and concluded by moving, as an amendment, "That the words censuring Mr. Duncan be expunged from the report, and that instead thereof insert words to the effect that the committee bad heard the evidence with great alarm, and call upon the engineer immediately to snake such arrangements as will prevent the recurrence of such a state of things for the future." Mr. BELot wished to know whether such an amend ment could be put without notice ? The Town-clerk—No. Mr. WOODRUFF—I am surely at liberty to dissent from the report and move an amendment, especially when the sub-committee was divided, and its adoption was only carried by three to two. The Tows-Ceram —You can move that the report be referred back to the committee, Nyita your suggestions. Mr. BELOE—Why did you not move it in committee. Mr. J. It. JEFFREY spoke in favour of the adoption of the report, and argued that the censure was perfectly justifiable, as the evidence went to show that one of his own men had turned a tap through ignorance, by which the water had run into the sewer, instead of being available for the purposes of the fire. He suggested that, instead of there being only one key that would turn the water off or on, the police should be armed with similar keys (as the tire-brigade had for the hose) in their belts, and that they should be well instructed as to their duties; and likewise, that instead of the key of the hydrant being kept at the Dock Ware house, the police should have it in their possession. He said he did not think the censure contained in the report was more than was required. It was admitted by ail that there was a great want of discipline in the engi neers' staff. He did not think any gentleman who had heard the evidence given could but have been struck with the great contrast that existed, physically and in tellectually, with the witnesses called from the engineer's staff, and those called belonging to the police force ; and no person - would be convinced that, had the engineer ten times the ability and ten times the intelligence he had, with such a staff, such inefficiency, be could not get on with his duties. He fully believed that the words of censure contained in the report—so ably drawn out by, he believed, his friend Mr. Beloe— were not too severe upon the engineer, or that they were contrary to the evidence whic h had been laid before them ; therefore be should, unless he wished to throw the mantle over the truth, feel it his duty to give it his support. Mr. CHARLES TURNER, in reply to Mr. Jeffery's sug gestion, with regard to the, keys for the hydrants at the warehouses, did not think it wo uld be p rudent to let the police havelthe run of the docks, in which there was such a vast amount of v tillable property. If even it could be done in the warehouses, the Customs would step in and prevent it s being done in the bonded ware houses. He did not sec that the key could possibly be iu better hands than the superintendent, who was a responsible servant, and could always, in the course of two or three minutes, be had in any case of emergency. Mr. WooDRUFF took exception to the word " impar tial," as used by Mr. Jeffery, and stated that he was as equally " impartial" as ever Mr. Jeffery was, although perhaps he did not so often mention it. The CHAIRMAN had no doubt that they all went there to do their duty, without any feelings of friendship to one side or the other. Mr. BELOE, as the chairman of the sub-committee, next proceeded to reply, he having in the first instance moved the adoption of the report. He said, whets the propriety of the investigation was first mooted by Mr. Turner, three parties were implicated—the Dock Board, the Watch Committee, and the Water Committee, and each of these three bodies had had their representatives there that day. The Dock Board by Mr. Turner' Mr. TURNER—No, no; I always divest myself, as far as I am able, considering the position I hold at that board, from all feelings when any matter connected with that board has to be discussed. Mr. BELOF,—Theu there was Mr. 'Woodruff, the champion of the Watch Committee, and cacti of w_l a li t itn t h h ad been most desirous of refuting aliY blame i th . ey might think had been cast upon them bylreport. The whole_. question was, who was to blame . The evidence clearly showed that, in the first instance, the a engineer fire was not discovered by the the poliee , , v b a u te t r bt• and for there not beine - a sunPlY of was to be blamed ; and having reviewed the whole of the facts as detailed in the evidence and in the report, he concluded by expressing his utmost indifference as to whether the report was adopted or not, but expressing his opinion that it was fully justified by the evidence which had been adduced. Mr. Alderman BENNETT wished to know whether, as new and extraneous matter had been introduced into A bay named William Caldwell, about 12 years of age, was charged by his mother, a respectable-looking woman, who lives in Clare-street, for having stolen El 19s. from her. The woman appeared much troubled at the boy's position, but said she could not avoid acting as she had, for she had tried ail means with the lad, but to no purpose. He had stolen E 2 from her a short time since, but she forgave him. She could not get any good of him, so she thought the best thing to do was to bring him before the magistrate. The lad refused to say anything to the charge, and he was remanded for a wed.. with the view of having him sent to a reformatory. YESTERDAY. (Before Mr. RAFFLES.) HAT "BLOCKING." Thomas Higginson and Mary, his wife, who appeared to be decent persons, were charged by police-officer 725 for being drunk and for having assaulted him. The officer said on Saturday night he• heard a row in th e street, and on g oin g forward he saw the prisoners and some other people fighting. He separated them, and all went off except the prisoners, who not only refused to leave, but turned on and assaulted him. The man said he was going home with his wife when they were met by a lot of drunken blackguards, and says one of them, "Your hat wants blocking," and at the same time he gave it a " pound" on the top that knocked it over his face, and then he hammered away at it until he smashed it into pieces (showing . it), and nearly broke his skull into the bar gain. When his wi a interfcr.id. one of the ruffians bit her a blow in the mouth, and cut her lip. When he asked the officer to take them into custody, he took themselves instead. The officer denied this version of the story, and the bridewell keeper said the rrisoner did not make such a statement at the station. Both were (trunk at the time. The female prisoner, with zealous simplicity (addressing his Worship), said : Well, sir, what would you say or do if a man came up to you and broke your hat over your eyes ? Mr. Raffles : I don't think I would turn round and assault a policeman. He - ined the man les and the woman ss. A RUFFIAN PROPERLY PUNISHED. A respectable young woman, named Elizabeth Moyle, who lives in Princess Terrace, Windsor, charged a ruffianly looking fellow named John Kelly, for having *assaulted her. From her evidence. which was sustained by two other females, it appeared that on Saturday night she was passing at the end of an entry in Windsor, when the prisoner and another man came out; the prisoner behaved most indecently towards her, and when she resisted him, he caught her in his arms, and flung her violently on the ground, and tore her under garment. off. The policeman who had charge of the prisoner, said he was the terror of the neighbourhood, and had been in prison recently for ill-conduct. The prisoner said he broke the temperance pledge, and did not know what he was doing. Mr. Raffles : You are a dangerous character, and this is a very aggravated case indeed. I will take care that you don't annoy the neighbourhood for the coming winter. I sentence you to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. I KNOW HIM EXCELLENT WELL—HE'S A FISHMONGER." George Cooper, a tall young man, described as a " horse dealer and li,litnonger," residing at Nantwich, was bronght up in custody on a charge of having violently assaulted a female, not present. It appeared the injured woman is at present in the infirmary. Mr. Cobb, who appeared for the prisoner, asked the officer if the woman was drunk at the time, and he answered that she was not sober. Was the prisoner tipsy ? He had some drink. When will the woman be able to appear? The doctor says to-morrow. Do you know that they were robbing him at a brothel ? He said there was an attempt to rob him. Mr. Cobb : I will be able to show that there was an attempt to rob him, and that he was only acting in self-defence. The woman is not seriously hurt, and this is a.respectable young man, a fishmonger and horse dealer at Nantwich, and wants to attend the fair at Ormskirk to-day. He can procure respectable bail, and as the woman is not much injured, I think you will allow him out. Mr. Raffles I will take two sureties in £2O each, or one in Z4O, tor his appearance here on Wednesday. The bail was procured, and the prisoner discharged NOT A REAL "BRICK." William Rayeroft was charged with having assaulted a sailor named John M'Carthy. It appeared that on Saturday evening the prosetutor and sonic females were in the neighbourhood of Vauxhall-road, when the prisoner came up and created some disturbance. He was put away, and on going a distance off he flung a brick at the head of prosecutor, and it struck him on the eye. Surgeon Jones said the wound was a bad one, but he did met think there was any danger to life. The prisoner denied having thrown the brick, but two additional witnesses, who saw the affair, proved that he threw the crick, and that it hit the prosecutor. The prisoner was fined £5, or in default of payment two months' imprisonment. MORE KNIFING. John Jennings, a shoemaker, who lives at 11, Circus-street, was charged for having assaulted Catherine Stanley. Mr. Block defended. It. appeared that on Saturday night the pri soner met the female in the street, and accused her of haying called his wife ill names. She denied haying done so, when an altercation followed. She then stated that he struck her with something sharp on the back of the head, and then hit her on the front of the head with something else. Surgeon Jones said there were tars severe wounds on the girl's head—one an incised wound on the back, and a contused one on the frost of the head. To Mr. Block he said a piece of sharp iron would inflict the incised wound. Two or three witnesses were called to corroborate the evidence of the prosecutris, and then Mr. Block called two or three on behalf of the prisoner, but his worship said in all cases where knives were used he would send the parties offending for trial. The prisoner was com mitted. ROBBERY FROM A LONDON ATTORNEY. A young man of respectable appearance, named Vivian Lewis, wan brought up , charged with having stolen Lao b e longing to Mr. James linker, an attorney at 10, Sydmond's inn, Chancery-lane, London. The prisoner was a clerk in Mr. linker's employment, and some days ago he was sent to the bank with £BO, but in pace of taking it there he ran away. A revert of the case was forwarded to Liverpool, and on inquiry being made it was found that he had unlisted in the 32nd Regiment and had been attested. The circumstance was re ported in London; and the prisoner was given into custody. The prisoner was remanded for the present. POLICE PROMOTION. Mr. 111‘Culloch. who for many years past has been an active and respected officer of the detective force. has been promoted to the office of Bridewell Keeper at the Essex-street Station. His intelligence and knowledge qualify him for the situation, and the promotion is judicious and well deserved. (Before Messrs. L. PEEL, N'S J. B. LLOYD, and R. BENN.) SEAME WAGES. Two sailors, named Robert White and William Mann, sum moned Captain Isaac Middleton, of the ship Plantagenet. for £3 Os. Bd. each, and under a clause of the Merchant Shipping Act they claimed £ 2O each, for hayin g been improperly dis charged. Mr. Bremner appeared for the defence. The brief facts.of the case were these : The mon shipped here on the 2nd June for the West Indies and back. They arrived at Kingston on the Ist July, and on the 2nd were sent to hospital, conse quent on illness. The ship sailed to the Spansh main without the men, but returned again, when the men presented them selves to the captain, and said they were able and willing to proceed on the voyage, but he refused ,o take them, alleging that he had got two men in their place. They were sent home by the Huard of Trade *authorities, and arrived in Southampton on the 27th August, and the Plantaganet anis ing here on the 29th. On the part of the captain it was alleged that the men were legally discharged before the shipping master, as they were not able to proceed on the voyage ; and the endorsement on the articles, it, was contended, was sufficient proof. Mr. Anderton (acting for chief clerk) said tht re should be a medical certitieate that the men were not able to proceed or. the voyage. After much discussion, the magistrates decided on making an order for the amount of wages claimed, but refused to give any compensation. f p s r' BnowN and BACON most respectfully a nnounce , to their err. tomers, and the public generally , that they keep a large and well-selected stock of articles requirea for Family Mourning; and that all Funeral and Mourning orders arc attended to with the greatest care and economy.—Magazin : 81, 83, and 153, Bold-street.—Ade. DEATH or A CHILD. —On Saturday morning. a child of three months old, sun of John Gaffney, shipwright, Grange Lane, Birkenhead, suddenly died in his mother's arms. An inquest will be held on the body to-day. LlvEitroor, ROYAL INFIRMAltY.—Return for week ending September, Bth, 1860: Admitted, in-patients, 3S ; o ut-pa tients, $8; surgical casualties, 46 ,E Discharged, c ured, 1 7 ; xe lieved, and at own request, '2O; made out irregular, 0 ; dead 5 ; p a tients, 2 ; remain in the house, 1 76. For the ensuing week (visitors) : Joseph Sin; • , an d C. B. Robinson, Esqrs • physician, Dr. v ose; „ surgeon , Mr. Stubbs ; house surgeon, Mr, R. r i sen ; junior house surgeon, Mr. H. ,G. Raw don ; chaplain, Rev. Edward Poole; treasurer, Mr. C. Wilson. POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY.—The first meeting for the ensuing session of the Liverpool Polytechnic Society was held last evening in the theatre of the Royal Insti tution, Co!quitt-street. The audience was large and respectable. After the usual formal business the hono rary secretary, Mr. John. Abrahams, read a paper on street railways, illustrating his remarks with models and drawings kindly furnished by the borough engineer, Mr. James Newlanas. The lect urer showed the incon venience attending the old means of travel along the streets of our densely populated towns and cities in a humorous mariner, and gr aphically described the general comfort to rider, pedestrian, and the tradesman in his shop from the introduction of the improved street railways, which—inau gu rated at Birkenhe a d—is being extended to Liverpool,- Manchester, London, and other places through the energy of Mr. George Francis Train. That gentleman was present during the evening, and at the dose o f thy lecture a discussion took place. 14% ----:-- 82, /63,2.10 4035,100 10.134,200 6,589,500 ------ 21,179,800 103,943,010 Quantity of water in 6tore, week ending Sep ember 1, 1860 Do. do. September 8, 1860 16,720,276 188,105 Washing out mains, sewers, &c. Watering streets .... 104,431,115 Delivered pit Bootle unmixed mixed 7.,500,000 16,300 2,516,300 101,914,813 t,509,000 9%414,815 101,514,815 gallons. rrOortion or lllTingtott W Veil water as 82 to IL TlifE LATE FIRE AT TILE sWfLEY ROCK.—TRI; SCR- COMMITTEE'S RETORT. Mr. Alderman WOODRUFF requested, before thc busi ness of the eciminittee was commenced, to ask a question end make a; few remarks in reference to the report brought up from the sub-committee at the last meeting. The report was then brought up and its confirmation was moved. Se/end spcechees were made on that occasion, and he (Mr. Woodruff) had intended to make some remarks and to move an amendment. It was, however, agreed that it should stand over for considera tion until to-day. in order to allow time for each of tke members to go through the evidence. The reporters were told that such was the fact ;. and it was distinctly understood by all that the report, and all relating . to it that had taken place, was to be considered as private, and nothing was to appear iu print. The reporters seemed to acquiesce, but a garbled and incorrect digest of the report had appeared, and what he wished to know was, by whose authority that report had been supplied to the press Mr. JEFFERY-Of whom do /on ask the question ? Mr. WOODRUFF—Of the chairman, of course. The CHAIRMAN replied that he saw it in the papers, but donid not tell how it got there. Mr. BELon said he quite agreed with Mr. Woodruff's remarks, and he had a distinct recollection that the request was made to the reporters not to publish the brief discussion which had taken place. But what he complained most of was of the gross errors that had been published in the version he had seen—errors which were calculated to do a great deal of harm. In the actual report there was nothing whatever about the inefficiency of the reservoir, nor did it contain one word of blame on the Watch Committee, There was nothing of the sort on either one point or the other in the report itself. In justice to all parties, he thought the report should not have been published until it bad been discussed and either adopted or rejected. Mr. Alderman BENNETI said, looking at the resume that had been published, it looked as thought it had been given to some member of the press by a member of the sub-committee. nd. eat bi er, so ern of ost ..:~• ~. I