The Northern Daily Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-10-30 00:00:00

tIIE CURRENCY QUESTION NO, vu. DEBTOR. To proprietors' capital, Balance carried down. .... £14,553,000 .. 3,178,019 PROFIT AND LOSS, 4211.r.41Lia' EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. / Vi t i r t -r-40Y0cates of the existing system of currency may Pfkt OY Olea . • • folksA , t4ti tu ,, s e. . They may bring forward in its sup th . t e L lie ‘.O, of, specious arguments, that would fill a CREDITOR. . ------ e l'eatib b i ~(.4 of olden time. But there is one thing By excess of assets over liabilities PutlePited m an ` . They cannot convince any intelligent, un tie faci e ; t i 7. ., Who will take the trouble to grapple with that h as "p a good tree can bring forth such evil fruit 'mit B ,Alone / 0i /Cad ers. , • L et me appeal to the common senee of By balance brought down, being the amonnt appli d. Of kmt , Here is an Act of Parliament that invests a cable to dividends, e d , escried in the present ezae 43 , l . Y , i ew e ' t , il 'Pany with the terrible power of striking . returns as " The Rest ..... ~.., -- rat ilog fr , " 0 heart of the commercial community, by -- pros of, to • te 7 the most legitirow.e traders such usurious The Bank being authorised to redeem its own notes with the ... I Petit , e3t a 8 must sap the foundations of our great 'llia '" • Th e • legal tender notes of the Government,.. (or, as they might be I t. t . ta iter„ capital of this company is only fourteen denominated taxation notes,) its specie payments would be ded until £14,475,000 of its promissory notes ,'an half of the capital of the London and virtuall y sus p en qap ,_,. "'ern Railw a 4%ti o ' reath er . y Company ;—a feather, and lighter were thus paid off, and cancelled. Ever afterwards, the gold coin and bullion in the issue depart- I, aal l y eaiti : . When weighed against the mountain of our ment would exactly correspond in amount with the promissory ti ! I Y 4 dieed „,,., Yet, this otherwise insignificant company t e ' N l ,' .' , Eil this terrible power;—and, worse than that, ret ' Pe"e ' l t • When the notes thus issued fell below the requirements of NI 44- it i 0 exercise it or shut up its doors. .-• tr,,d, ~,,,,, ,„,, 1 ,h,„„ 0.---, • -. • - kel. 31 1 an • • • ' pi• & .1-- • tar, , , i l, Whim. .. iniquitou Act of Iv- 1,,,-....• £17,731,019 £17,731,019 £3,178,019 ,ra,aa LUG oaualng uepartment, tit(' I Bank would apply to the Government from time to time foi 1 le n it .e 6_ 4ll ltii c i ' •• I -an adopt with safety, when an extiaordi pryt ,!_ler el le h is ., r _edurfog its stock of gold. loans of national or taxa Government and cancelled, Pr °n th 6 circumstances, it is compelled by law either to NO, or to "°1 regardless of the torture inflicted by the Bank. For, under the operat l'il'orfyn Proc laim to tho wnria th.. -4 ;. :,.....___.:Lt- ~, currency retainpa hv tho n., m notes, to be restored to the .s the public returned them to the in of this system 7 ;the amount of the . - Iti , t o t ri-,,ments. th e .•e result of • Vll,l set o f o e '.mil an d °44. When we adopted it "we sowed to the ...„, 1 -...‘, now 4 g thi s 1 ,as a natural consequence, (even while ,,, I am is,i,_ . s etter ) (1 0,: m. 'tover o _:. we "are reaping the whirlwind . . ll,' afttit,t-,oPeolents may be resorted to in the present crisis velessfops to' enable the good ship of our British coinn%r e c i e . i• l t, Parn contend against the wind and waves of an i l ot t e, the tii4 4 the corretirae approaches when the all important ques t, li'view to its eY must be taken up by the Government, patio!, h ~,, f " r manent settlement on the safe and solid th, - Juorrri ' national wealth. ipi:itlesti on :. 9 11 Post has recently informed its readers that t e ,l.teld ea , "v "assuming dimensions of serious niagni- ti n tosaio . not f o p • l , rto engage the attention of Parliament t : t i td sy ito n a : e i n . it is to hopedbe il that the defects of the ex 147etlevii.,;', be earefu . n aired into, and a remedial atil t . ''''' and passed in y to e a q law with as little delay, as h. a"trii ih . ?ro., 4 . ti alati int, let currency reformers speak. Irpgard it as rts..," P itlio: l3 , from a high quarter, that a certain pressure in r" 1 , ill ,s`b i 8 now required by the Minister, to assist him P ',411,6 1 , 1 _ Act that has introduced doubt and alarm into every k t, 'lde ' 4B itless i'Lilt•-.l"' ; i8 a general . 'i .--l' ib 9ore reiable sonrces of information thar rk7l64;ioletr°Politan citemporaries. Hence it is, tlijctedin'och importance to the above announcement . 40 - i stliri e !,bln its columns. Much, at all events, is gained by 1 4 ' 0 14‘ 8 . 1 .?o, that the defects of the existing system can be taster,werlooked, and the adoption of a remedial measure s tie1 a ,,„,.., 4 4 ° 0 therm . "' , till,' to the - co r e, desirous, in the present letter, to confine N'14,,,. nsideration of his one question—How the act ' tlir oto ig°6 de atnended so t as to meet, in some degree, the bi to of , k ti , ore. w4 our daily increasing commerce? 1 0 4 8. a singular statement in Herepath's Journal, of ti °" ti ' t he effect, that any sound improvement need not ale,. 'fos s 4 ''. e Yet, because money cannot be cheap for some 4 4.' ° ri le 0 ' a ' a account of the extraordinary expans i on of 4.. h o ' 4 t,. 0 1' 6 „ 84 31 the writer, " we have, by the . greater exile_ Inteleo„"r intercourse, shortened the periods of returns, 1,, 11S41.tbe increase of trade swallows up capital much ' this vi . ', ,. can Make it." t it ° t ti lgi-1, 7 11 °, and there can be no mistake about its truth, 4 6 1 , 4 . iS ti , e aPftol the writer means money), it is evident it 4 tl7 4l the" ' d ark shade of an inexpansivo currency, that i lts: Petah "'dark sunshine which we ought to be now enjoying t hri 7k et pl ace °l that extraordinary expansion of our trade that Odelt istii,_ Within the' last few years. How sad the thought, i i Ile t o ii extraordinary expansion of our trade, which for oft, to e ° „P ° for a speedy alleviation of that pressure, which irt'rNerßef:relY felt by all who are engaged in the operations mjTillively'' Without money, trade cannot be carried on atle i,, Or (Mccessfully. q t ! ° °o - f r f a jjdlY increasing from natural . cruses- from the TN atti'ece trade principles, and the increased facilities of ti,,"i'e 0 ,, ,?tternal communication. to t'll,3'iti get be a corresponding increase in the amount of t stl ) : 4 °, 4-4 0 e , u .: at ion. This is notoriously not the case, owing i r etoi,,,eler e ,rat laws which limit the increase of our . money il lt .. ,1 °F 1 , - „ e ' l ° uPPly (that we may be able to obtain and ' 4 ll ll e llge c) t - i s s ' Particular article—gold— . which article the same Ileh r :' to , ° sell at one unform price of £3 17s lqd per W6i t ',.it . i -verY foreigner who may wish to buy it. e t it ou 48, that an extraordinary increase of our trade , 444 :0f f ,,, t to bring with it an extraordinary in. litl'ast4i;gr Wealth, ceteris paribus, brings us instead, Ivili i t i • porpanic which robs the merchant of indeed,t t a" i t e at' th ii th eY tnust be extraordinary profits,' flirt h-N4:lath'urious rates which our merchants and mann ri'te4,;qaleicarr c ompel! d to pay for the discount of legitimate ,: `, 41 1' Po i i .r er • In f e act such is the topsy•turvroess . of o l u ot, "irte ot a ' l° o, that our ' hope of improvement lies in the l 'os.:„‘° o p of our trade and in our refusal of orders. Not s.st,ti'late the ll- °Peratives are Not over-worked or over-paid. lot t i' e4 in „Tv material of our manufactures cannot i li i- e t 4 'ai red 'lope ens quantities. Not because we have m o n rld Lep t ,° : si.., 4lo caliCo than there are people in the widew k to ir'„ or o , r e fustian jacketi, than there are bare bac . s f I llt, th 'uati 4 1 °1. ° °f all the other necessaries and luxuries o 4 ' ha ve . e 4 are men, women, and children to consume. t, elll ; tlY h aldlene all this, there can be no over produc:ion— -144 , t ,s eor , d, I say, then, that our hope of improvement tptiiesieo,....4 'ailment of our trade ; not because of its undue 1 dtlt,, I >, ),,, ° r it is not unduly expanded —but simply, and l 'iti l lstl a -ea l ti °° an Act of Parliament, passed in 1844, t I co: castieity of our currency, and forbids it to --- ' thil k ; verbWth' a ud-to expand with the expansion of our trade 'Op,O"'t, if :' aeBious •to put this matter in a proper light, a , 4lap It wa s 0 'e ll . Properly understood by the masses, we should ‘11,11,W, x.radical reform of the currency. l ist,' 4 jillitteed, before I conclude this, series of letters, to , 46 4 1 : 1 , of ro „ al. ° 'Promised, that " It is possible to devise a "IV; topt;.°°Y unvarying in i's symbolical value; n° — INZt:lllett:eting tee the same thing—so as to be always a tf '%•.b ut r ° f r value of all exchangeable c?m - la ~4 6 - re g - o v o a c T B Y . nn always in amount with the quanttlies l i ht 4 0 416 . to the market." . 4 iri t Of : /lt kne I shall a t once, proceed to consider how Volis ' ' 8 44 9 ' tea uy a - t o o ean be amended , so as to le ;-0.'4 lag , cet aMercial prosperity. Ny . ~-",.: 4 ,7 it now stands, £14,000,000 of the currency t 'vt. 11.441 :: •- t " same foundation—the credit of the State. l'ls,retli4:ifkrease or diminish, but this portion of the cur 14e6 2 unalterably the same ; therefore, we may have -4 4 , •uc tie NI, let tAi Yat one time—too little at another. a °l Y l ko toi lt der of our currency rests always upon the ",!1.ri0;.1.--elliefly on gold, The scarcity or abundance °Os h _. , '°4 -2"k`a depends entirely on the law of supply and f t „Nt"aerat„ i7,,.., 44 tinae5, in a perfectly legitimate condition o i l n !tL tlrl datr ou 0 ° :, the demand exceeds the supply r , and then tho''' , .tt ke ' our currency begins to give way, and, as is thi 1 ., 141 7 ( ae ot, the immovable foundation of £14,000,000 'tt e ,‘ it iiii , that cut be depended upon. It illl ce 4el \ v a state of tldngs calling loudly for the in itt W t ° I G ov tit ernment. ".°4 4t 41 1, 3 4 a dhere to the principle of a double foundation, I lt .. b oi l , Yk aid to "Pat it to the altered circumstances of the l ilt t , rs et ‘l ,O the varying requirements of trade.. If these 4 ' 4i ti''' k od the B a k f England is to continue to . be k thl li ttl it 4 ,l 4l ey a . l4°° ,. 4l „ Dak, let n it o have the power of contracting , 4 1 Pet 7 h avre i 'ro on the other hand, they are expanded, let 41 ' ' t ton t - L e Power of increasing it. Or rather vest this N ty , ra pe at 'lig and expanding the circulation in the 6 _ 414 0 ° ,...t1ey •"irge, by enablin the Bank to supply every ll one Iretpo;:ilt reasonable rates, who requires it . f t or sa t t l i e sfac efi ory toks7 4l7 ith, 41 °f eettimerce, and can deposit „,k,„044 4 ``',l3 directors 41;4.'''' sa lll i h -llte atly tend ; e utilise the valne of money, and 47000 t . l : o 4e ne lA iliolltifluc o tu'a q t_io t n t the rates of discount, 1 1., tiii*e. 44 of nay former le s ers in .. 1 141 C I ° 4 ll ' lt be accomplished, seeing the metallic founda tlN ° , l t l i. "Yelid the Ora of the Government and the f o t tlt% 'e 1 control r than the laws o ~c .. 4 ., -As ,aWs of nature are stronger 4. . 41 1 1. ' Y er. 4 At of Parliament can invest th„.ll k „ .te o , i , J , rue ; but an C Pt t : 1 11, 11 14/ t, 4 ' , 411 d the Bank with the power of contracting . P. me) , 1 eV eUltlstances may require, that portion of Zoft .. 11 'Pti .'11 Ist ,ll ' l4 . lel l tests on the credit of the State. If the b tl6 ,a; til'a Ce; t . itu t. a telY authorise the_ issue of £14,000,000 0 %4 ,4 , need entirely on the credit and wealth of the tkAt k v 144 t twenty, forty, or sixty, or . one hundred kh letlo,Y r ob . , 1 11.1 ,1 0,(!ois t 114,,.iithtere is a safe and practical limit to which this i siig n a , i 4tio .s h be extended, namely, the amount of the trlttst44 '' of the country, or, 9, 114 a terti no say about SIXTY tk4,,Ptilttl..enta.n.ki„be 4.thorised to borrow this amount from the L t tl lt v aie llt . "'et the Government have the power of issuing . q s ,... t ri - x V hOl ol.ttlational notes, and lending them to the Bank. Z t1 ,;1 .17 ‘.1 4 00 5- 'lntt now due , by the State to the Bank, say . OtALtdely ,„,' b 0 cancelled by the issue 0fX14,475,000 of these a z ...*11,,". ° 1 11, 1 snob supplant £14,475,000 of our present I," t i lta il ,.."!tof '-'1,11e(611. These notes haded over to the . Bank in 414 t"Sitieia°vernrnent debt, the lost return of its weekly .e 4, 4 . ' , . Ilttt stand• 7 ' , Mt for the week ending 3.Bth October, 1856, , thus 1,..—. fall she of the amount necessary to circulate the wealth of the country I lation of . As oast experience shows us that, with a ciren rout .60,000.00 j, we have always abundance of money, and as the taxation of the country amounts to abets £00,000,000, it would give us a margin of £30,000,000. Before our commerce could increase, so as to absorb this great surplus, we should doubtless have discovered that gold, as the foundation of our currency, was not indispensable to our -"--- —that, in fact, wo could get on very well with welfare The Act of 1844, thus amended —or, if you like, repealed— the Government would become de ,facto the bankers of the nation, enabling the Rink, as occas i on m i g h t require, to— issue a paper currency ) based on the wealth, and never exceeding in amount the taxation, of the country. Such a currency, re ceivable at all the public offices at its full value, could not by any possibility fall to a discount. Such a currency being legal tender would be convertible—not at the counter of the Bank of England—but at the shop of every jeweller, every draper, every grocer, every baker, every provision dealer, every any thing you please, in the United Kingdom. I say it would be . convertible at all these places into everything that the heart of • ' . . 1 man can Ilifirrnnnn With these notes the Bank would honour the cheques of the Government, and so repay the loans it had obtained. n any that I Set afloat by the agency of the BAnk, they would circulate freely (I now quote from a letter in the NORTHERN TIMES of the 21th instant). • ° They would circulate freely within and only within—the limits of the United Kingdom." * * * " No one would dream of exporting them, for though possess ing a value at home, like our postage stamps, like them they would be valueless abroad." Here let me pause to recapitulate and explain. I propose, first of all, that the Government shall pay off the debt due to the Bank with £14,475,000 of the new notes, varying in amount from £1 to £l,OOO. And, in the next place, that in addition to these notes, Government should be empowered to issue annually notes of similar character, to the extent of the estimated national revenue. A large portion of the taxes and customs would certainly be paid in these notes, and cancelled by the Government as they were received. Tho portion remaining in the hands of the public would, of course, be deducted from the next annual issue. Fur example : Suppose—Taxation 1856 • • • Notes received in payment of taxes £40,000,000 Notes remaining in the hands of the public 20,000,000 £60,000,000 Suppose again-- , Taxation 1857 £60,000,000 Notes remaining in the hands • of the public since 1856 .. Notes to be issued in 1857 not £20,000,000 to exceed 40,000,000 £60,000,000 Let us now suppose that such a law was in operation for the week ending 18th Oct.; and that during that week the Bank had availed of its provisions, to replenish its coffers, so as to admit of the rate of discount being safely reduced to 4 per cent , at the commencement of the week the Bank owed the Government £4,040,590. This amount might be invested, by the Bank, in Consols, on behalf of the Government. The Bank holds £11,103,896 of Public Securitie9, on which the Government would lend to the Bank £11,103,896, and, to make up £20,000,000, deposit with the Bank an additional amount of £8,896,104, all in the 'newly created notes, thus . . . anticipating £20,000,000 of the money to be raised from the taxation of next year, After the Bank had exchanged the tz,irav,rlv or me promissory notes in its namong impart ment, for an equal amount of the Government notes. in the Issue Department, the last return of the Bank would then stand thus : ISSUE DEPARTMENT, Notes issued.... £21,155,445] Gold coin and bullion • £9,231,185 Legal tender notes 11,924,260 £21,155,445 ARTMENT. Gold coin and bullion Legaltenderuotes '4,47.5,000 £23,706,165 !PARTMENT. Assets. Bills discounted 19,054 088 Gold and silver Government ee- , curities 11,103,896 £33,238,021 BANKING DEPARTMENT. Government.. £20,000,000 Less value of se' curities held notes, remain ing on band afc.er transfer -11,103,896 ing 2,550,740 by Gov to the issue department &c Unsecured debt — "due Ito Govt. £8,896,104 Private deposits 10,481,220 and investing 4,040,590 in Seven dayi and Consols on ac other bills /85,192 of the Govt..., -- Gold and silver £18,510,150 Total liabilities .£20,362,516 coin Excess of assets Bills discounted 19,054,088 over liabilities 17,731,019 £38.093,5331 PROFIT AND LOSS, DEBTOR. To proprietors' capital.. To balance carried down £38,093,535 ~e 14,553,000 . 3,178, 019 cREDITOR By excess of assets over liabilities £17,731,019 ...017,731,019 By balance brought down, being the amount applicable to dividends, described in the present returns as " Tho Rest." £17,731,019 £3,178,019 According to the foregoing, the unsecured liabilities of the Bank amount to £20,362,516; the cash in hand, to £l9 039,447, nearly equal to the liabilities. According to the last official return, made up under the Act of 1844, the total liabilities amount to £15,507,002 Cash in hand • 3,080,037 Deficiency £12,426,965 _ . " Look here, upon this picture, and on this !" Shall British merchants, manufacturers, and tradesmen "feed on this fair mountain," or " batten on this moor?" If, in my " presentment" of the two,l have clothed the one with a verdure which does not belong to it, or denuded the other of the beauty it possesses, let my opponents expose the cheat. They have my figures before them ; if they can, let them prove them to be false. But if, instead of doing so, they say that I " talk in very obscure language of the necessity of resorting to an extensive issue of inconverti/de legal tender paper,"—that I am advocating " a more ruinous, revolutionary, fantastic scheme of currency than has ever been dreamed of since the leather (iron ?) money of Lycurgus was first invented."— If, instead of opposing my arguments with facts, they first misrepresent them, and then say " that few persons will read them without a smile of derision," I can only say if thi, s be their mode of procedure, let the public judge between igt, and by its Verdict lam content that my theories shall stand or fall. Ono word to your correspondent of toeday, who calls himself "A Currency Reformer," and I have done for the present. Has that 'portion of our currency (Row amounting to £14,475,000) which rests, not on gold or silver, bat entirely and exclusively on an unmarketable commodity, namely, a debt Quo from the Government to the Bank, and which is, therefore, inoonivrtible in his sense of the word—l ask him the c m rcncy so cir cums t ance d " b e en met has that po! .. tion of by the world with a whyshou t s of o reprobation u la the e: z tension contempt ftth ? s a—mG-leo ttow net. Then, foundation elicit such a burst of world-wide indi o and learn, " Mr. Currency R.eformer," tbatthicl:efigamentaalfownoirsthnoat argument, and assertion Is not proof, thousand of your flimsy plausibilities. Go and learn the first principles of the doctrine of the currency ? the alphabet of the science of money, and then come and teach us Low tp reform our monetary system. • There is no instana.o iceord of national or taxation money —limited by the annuai incowe cc ti State—failing to per form well and truly all the functiono of national money. As "u affirm the contrary, pray give of inhere, and the how National taxation money, such as I have described in tlik letter, is uo " shadow substitute" for money. It posse s s es all the qualiti es and ch a racteristics which necessarily belong to First. SIGNIFICANCY. It is a sure and certain sign of the value marked upon it, whether it be £1 or £l,OOO, and though intrinsically worthless, it will circulate freely for either of these, or any of the intermediate sums which it pro fesses to represent. Second, - CONVENIENCY. Being divided into various amounts from l upwards, to suit the convenience of the tax payers, it has a considerable advantage over the present paper currency, which compels us to use costly metallic pieces for all sums under £5. Third. SECURITY. The security of the State, which. pays it away in return for value received, and which at the time of payment engages to receive it again in p a y ment o f taxes, at the v a l ue th n put upon it. Fourth. CONVERTIBILITY. The fact that the amount issued never exceeds-the annual amount of taxation, and that __..,„ l arge in full the whole of that taxation, constitutes its value as a medium of exchange, g ives it, in practi ce , a ll the force of an Act of Parliament making it a legal tender, and tlA•efor, of necessity insures its convertibility into every com modity that can be.purchased within the circumference of that circle from which the national income is derived.—l am, sir, J. AV. it will discharm yours, &c , Liverpool, October 28, 1856, TO THE EDITOR OP TEE NORTHERN TIMER. Sir,--As a looker-on, deeply impressed with the vital impor— tance of the consequences with which this subject is pregnant, it is with intense interest I contemplate the heavings and st! uzglings it is making to emancipate itself from the dark iron bound recesses of its strong prison -house of antiquity, whose walls aro prejudice—whose foundations are custom—whose locks, bolts, and bars are a subtle combination of legislative enactments, of gross ignorance, and of unsound education. At the same time, it is not with the least concern for its ultimate deliverance from the barbarous phalanx which is still arrayed again st it in its deceitful and gaudy attractions—for the captive spirit must sooner or later burst the bonds of its gates of brass, and come forth clothed in its native garments of grace and beauty, distributing the like to all around. On the whole, I have been much gratified with the expositions of your corres - —for even the fallacies of the one have a tendency to poude:it he meri At the same time, though highly favourable to prudence and wisdom, I am free to own that I can see no merit or propriety in the advocates of a great cause appending their demands to a of any kind. "Better half a loaf than no bread" say cc in prornis y fiit the recipients of a sinall.bcncrit, not for the promulgators of a great doctrine to say. For my part, while lam willing with thankfulness to accept any boon for my country's weal, I most unscrupu lously denounce the cringing facVning wisdom that would lick the duet in any case, and the unmanly beggarly spirit that dares not ask for aught but your half-and-half measures of milk and watery consistency. Take my language as purely figurative, And I say, war to the death—if it must be so !—Blitons ! Ask for your and expect your up a treui bliug petition, as though in an over-reaching spirit you were seeking for more than that, and which would be alike unworthy of an enlightened people.—l remain, your obedient servant, Liverpool, October 27, 1856 SPA RTAN TO THE EDITOR OF TILE NORTII2RN TIMES, " The proof of the pudding is in the eating of it." Sir,—As one of the weaker vessels, I make no pretensions to logic, which is considered the sole privilege of the " lords of the creation." There is, however, something so simple i❑ this question, that I feel perfectly qualified to make a few observa tions thereon, judging merely from analogy. How is it, let me ask, that bread has so universally in all ages been considered as the staff of life, and held in such high estimation ? Is it not fair to conclude, that it is owing to its sterling worth ? In juxta position with this question, let me now ask how it is that gold has, in all ages, likewise been held as the most costly and useful article for facilitating trade and commerce? And is It not most logical, and most fair, to arrive at the same conclusion, as in the other case? The experience of ages gives a verdict against your modern innovators—with their abtruse argu ments—could this universal opinion have been so long maintained on 'any other ground than its practical available usefulness ? Play excuse the vulgar quotation above—for whit can we have better than the proof we have, which far exceeds your untried theories, if it does not at once fully refute them ?—I remain, yours, Liverpool, October 27, 1856 MARIA. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. MR. CROSTHWAITE AND MR. MILLWARD N ORTHERN TIMES.--LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY. MUNICIPAL OR: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION WHATEVER, in any part of the United. Kingdom ; and also shall for EVER BE DISABLED TO HOLD, TXEHCISE, OR ENJOY ANY OFFICE OR FR , INCHIS to which he then shall, or at any time afterwards may ba cutitled, as a b'irgess of such borough, As IF sum -- (5 and 6 William IV., PERSON WAS NATURALLY DEAD." C. 76, s. b ) This.:s•stringent enough in all conscience. As I read it, any person may sue •for the penalty ; the briber may turn against the. briber, or vice ve!•se, without incur r i ng any l ega l rtspotisibility f o r his own ints(leeds ; and every p erson cog nisant of au c.c. of bribery. may obtain a penalty from each party to it, with full costs of suit, and, at the same time, for. evr disfranchise a couple of rogues.--I am, Sir, your obe- client servant, Liverpool, October 23,1856 P.S.—I observe that this infamous paper has obtained admission to the Lyceum. Its 'appearance there is highly disereditikble to the committee, to the s':lareholders, and to the room. A - filthier ragnever disgraced the press of Eng land. VINDEX any person to give, or forbear to give, his vote in any such FEARFUL EXPLOSP'N OF A election, such person so offending in any of the cases afore.a SHIP iid, shall, for every such Offence, FORFEIT THE SUM OF FIFTY POUNi)S of lawful money of Great Britain, to be reco vered, with full costs of suit, by any one who shall sue for the same, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster; and any persons offending in any of the cases aforesaid, being lawfully convicted thereof, SHALL FOR EVER BE DISABLED TO VOTE IN ANY ELECTION FOR SUCH BOROUGH, OR IN ANY PRUSSIAN. The West Bute Dock, Cardiff, was on Monday. the scene of a terrible and fatal disaster. At about half-past five o'clock the lower part of the town was Shaken by a concussion so violent as to lead to the impression that an earthquake had occurrec4 but on enquiry it was found to have been occasioned by the explosion of carbaretted hydrogen gas, escaping from coal, on board a large Prussian barque, called the Frederic Itetzlaff, lying at No. 7, coal tip, on the east side of the dock, which had resulted not only in the destruction of the vessel, but also in the killing and wounding of nearly the whole of the crew. It appears that on a coal-trimmer, named Clode, going on bo. ri to commence his work,, he found the hatches down, although the crew had on Saturday night . beau desired to leave them open ; ho made three attempts to strike a light with a match, without success. He then called for a candle, which was brought by one of the crew, when the gas took fire, and a terrific explosion ensued. The bystanders de .. sct•ibed the scene the time, the Eheet of flair fully gran.], for being quite dark at NVO 8 seen frait s' ging of the Turner TOM HUTCHESON, THE GLASGOW THIEF Regarding this swell thief, a notice of whose conviction and sentence to four years' penal servitude at' Liverpool, appeared in the ifail of Saturday, we have the following particulars :--Tom was one of the most adriot of his class in the western metropolis, for though he must have been practising his "profession" for a long period, be has con trived to escap e p retty well. Young, about five add twenty, remarkably genteel and good looking, and with more than ordinary taste in dress, he was about the last person liable to suspicion. He once kept a spirit cellar in a small thoroughfare which passes from Adam's Court lane into St. Enoch's square, and, while there, 'many robberies were known to have been committed in the immediate locality. At last he got into the toils, and passed from convictions at the Police Courts to the County Court, and, having ripened for the Supreme Criminal Court, he seemed either to have changed his mode of life or to have become more watchful. The - f 18;53 saw Tom the proprietor of a smart looking in Dike street, and it was his frequent practice to drive in to the bszaftr of a morning in a neat dog cart, and p trehase and drive away his stock of fruit for his shop. In short, he seemed luz.t such a man as would be apt to be taken for one who must succeed—a kind o f shopkewer, who sported his gold watch, drove van and his own bargain, and was certain to become actable by his own industry. It was all deceit ! tapped from a Cowcaddene rich and rest One day about this time artibtis while passing down Buchanan street (omnibuses were his favmtrite resorts for prosecuting his callinO, and scarcely hatl he alighted when a cry of " Stop thief 1" was raised, IT an old lady in the vehicle had missed her purse, containing a£s bank note and some loose money. Tom darted through a court leading into Queen street, the re treat of Jackson on the . Sunday morning he was caught ia the jewellery robbery at Itait's. The omnibus guard was at his heels like an antelope. Tom, finding himself pressed, contrieed.to pitch the purse and money from him into the hop of Mr. Kennedy, stationer. He was run down in Court, and taken into custody. He retained as his ent a legal gentleman who has since been elevated to a sheriff's seat, and he managed to get the case disposed of before the Sheriff and a jury, and Tom got off with nine or twelve months' imprisonment. On the following year, he might hare been seen in a light new summer garb, stiff collar, waterproof coat over his arm, and an umbrella in a or and in a g t en thee black glazed co ver i n hi s r i g h t h and, seated in a crowded Gg a Falkirk hrs may Tryst, Yout9 , o r u b r e o r e t ic ß o a m i n w i a h y u s Station, orelbowin g u• n rally among crowds of business men, himself looking, and looking admirably, the h'nest pushing man of business. Those who knew him, knew better, and in stinctively buttoned their pockets and felt if their watches were safe, for it was evident he was at his old trade still. The sequel is known, from the projected Olympic masked ball in Glasgow to the Borough Sessions at Liverpool, and thence to the convict hulk, there to pull a long face, melt the hulk chaplain. with his penitenv, and put his tongue in his cheek all the while, and anon to be seen at the next Falkirk Tryst looking as young and commercial-like as ever —for a four or a siy years' penal servitnde would seem to be a mere pretence,—Glasgow Daily Mad, MURDER OF A CHrLD BY ITS MOTHER AT DOVER. On Sunday morning last, about seven o'clock, informs. tion was given to the Dover police, that a dreadful murder had been committed by a young woman named Frances Wallace, the victim being her own illegitimate child, a little girl about five years of age. The accused is described as an honest and industrious woman, who obtained her living as a laundress. and the father of the child was the husband. of the accused's sister. It is believed that the latter was not aware of the intimacy yvhich had subsisted between her husband and her sister, and that the fear of the fact being divulged to her has operated in no small degree upon the m h a i s n ( w l i o t f h t h i e f, he ist unfortunate ew c r in e aotnutrhes. formed I r t is med an rumoured that acquaintanceah with the with sec wh o a ret of her dishonour, and at the s•sine ti me di sc l osed tQ hi , she a youngman m was on very intimate terms. So fully did she confide in him, that the name of her child's f a th er — a revelation which she declared had never before p asse d h er l i ps. Prom some na she e dßi ig entrusted i a carpenter, to him cause or other it appears that she has recently been im, pressed with the idea that Bligh intended to reveal the secret to her sister, who with her husband resides in Loos. don, and the dread of this exposure, it is supposed, has so weighed upon her spirits as to induce her to commit the appalling crime of which she stands accused. She had had. some conversation with Bligh on the Saturday night, as they were seen together; the nature of it, however, is not known, although from her exclamations immediately after she bad committed the murder it would seem that some— thing in connection with the dreaded disclosure must have pissed, and she was labouring under the impression that Tilizh had gone to London yesterday by the Sunday excur sion train for the purpose of tering the sister. Nothing further is known as to the motive and very little as to the dreadful fact, beyond the discovery of the child's body, upon the mother herself raising an ala-m, with the head nearly severed from the trunk. The woman was Seen the same morning at five o'clock by a lodger, into whose room she entered tor the purpose of making some friendly en,, quiry ; and nothing of an extraordinary nature was thew noticed in her manner or appearance. From that time until shortly after seven she was not seen by any one ; but at the latter hour the neighbourhood was alarmed by her screams. She had run ou', of the house, and upon some of the neighbours c - miing towards her, they discovered Te th hh a iel t d, her a nh neighboursn d thats we re e rt on nw c a o e s v n covered with blood. Upon being asked what was the matter, she cried out t e h f a rho t no s nt h s e re h oo a u d mp murdered her o ace d , re f a o d u f n u d ny the cu c t h a il s d I t y er in in g g' in th th e O w c i e th upi i e t d s b th Y ro W at al s l head only just hanging to the body. A case -knife covered with blood was lying close by, and the body was still warm. The nearest surgeon, Mr. J. G. Ottawav, was quickly in attendance, but of course he was unable to render a n y assistance, as a wound not a quarter so extensive, would ha ve been sufficient to deprive the poor little thing of life: The child was in her night clothes only, and appeared as though, she had let her bed but a short time. The unhappy. woman, as soon as she was in the hands of the police admitted her guilt, but assigned no reason for the crime. From the first moment of her being taken into custody, n li terally ap:ono t fl o tthah l f e ee a bl v hil e oeci i i t ti : however, she has appeared to be in the greatest mental distress, and her ejaculatiops have been expressive of affee tion for the murdered child, and abhorrence of her own guilt.. She has made no statement as to her intimaay with Bligh, or to what has ever passed between them witj. reference to the child. It is said that, previous to this dreadful occurrence, she always manifested the liveliest regird for her little one. It has been assumed that she contemplated committing suicide after destroying the child, and that when she had exeuted the first portion of her plan her nerve failed her; but nothing has tratterelred justify such a supposition. The prisoner belongs to thav tiol er, where she is well known. She was e xa m 'magistrates,ned before th e magistrates, a nd f u ll y comm i tted for trial. She was Eisiisted into the court by Mi ss C oram, t h e daughter of the superin-; tendent of police ; and before a chair could be brought for her she had fainted. None could look upon her without - experiencing a sensation of pity, so utterly did the sense of her awful position appear to prostrate her. As soon as she was partially restored to consciousness, the depositions were proceeded with ' t hut the prisone r did not entirely rally during the whole of the proceedings. She fainted away more than once, and reclined during the whole of the time against the daughter of the superintendent, apparently more dead than alive. She did not ask any questions of the witnesses, nor did she utter a sentence during the time she was under examination, except some 'ejaculations expressive of her guilt. says that The ßn al A n h t , l°l a i nl Tlic INVENTOR or POSTAGE generallySTANEB.-- o p e O r S t t a a i ß n e ly St t a h M ey pS w l e s refirst b ascribedroght i n t o - , use In England, in O - ffi ne ce l r ' , 7l l.t u t e el'ant Treken ber, of artillery, peti . b b a u c t k a a S s to lB e 2 k 3 h , o a lm s zam 1 ... toned the Chamber of Nobles to t l io B39 fai. propose to the r -.averment to issue stamped papers.' specially desitnecl to serve for envelopes for prepaid letteM "The fact," it adds "is duly recorded In the ' talnutes of th e Ch am b er, under date of the 23rd March, ° 1823. The proposition was warmly supported by Count de Schwerin, on the ground that the invention, if th us used, would be both convenient to the public and the oost-office, but it was rejected by a large majority," Hanes (New York) M erc h an t' s M agaz i ne . INADEQ ACY OF FORBES MACKRNZIE's A.or.—The pro. ceedings at the Scotch police courts are a l most daily •• us proofs of the inalequacy of Forbes 1 illacken ; - giving 7 .. a a bill to suppress drunkenness. A few days ago, iD ;ess than fifteen 'minutes, parties were amerced at tb , z, c Glasgow, to the amount of £52 1;',; entral-office, in spirits without a license. Th e o ia 1 because of selling racter w h o presented themselves as i n f • , male and female * apparently respectable as well ringers of the law, were amusing feature in one of the as the reverse ; and an Irishman, who had been Lases was a request by an old few days to gather the previously fined, to be allowed sum of £l5, in which he was found liable. As a matt a . r o f course, the means by which the amount of the tine was to b e raised' were the profits of tkb illicit Lilt profitable traffic. We have a fall appreaiatlon of the motives by Which the supporters of Forbes ititb.ckenzien bill are actuated, bat it is impossible for an 7 person wh o attends th e pol i ce courts to fail to observe t'nat drunkenness u nder then operation of the act, to say the least of it, hag esed; and no one will be bold enough to deny that it is only since the passing of the act referved to that caul; of illicit traffic have mul ig also true, that whilst the police are vigilant, atiplied. It nd properly so, in their dete ti con of this 2p ec i es of crime, there are very many instances in whieli a deterniination to make a case exhibits an amount of dross-swearing which, as a matter of coure, must be perjury either for the prosecution or the defence. This is truly a lamentable state of matters, and perhaps affords the be s t argument that could be adduced far a parliamentary enquiry into the effects of the operation of the act, We have no desire to afford facilities for drunkenness ; on the contrary, we are anxious that proper means should be adopted to suppress it, but we are very much afraid th at s i nce the pass i ng of Mr. Mackenzie's act more injury to the morals of the community has b een effected th an ex i ste d un d er t h e ac t o f Rome Dr,i„,,m,nd, %lied xasuic DEP • •£23,70 ,185 s 23,706 185 * 1 ) 4, ‘‘t,j• -uilj •4 4 BAIVIE/NG Dr t)t)lsit 4600;. „ 448 ' • £4,040 590 4044 d • • 10 ,481:2 20 1/4 414 , .... 985,192 Nll4biliile,‘ ----------- . tis 507 002 phil wets ' ' 44 1)ii• - 17,731,019 ....._ t 33,238,021 r~ THE TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir,—Mr. Daniel Crosthwaite boasted, upon a certain occasion, that his election to the Town Council of Liverpool was the triumph of intellect over ignorance ; and our excel lent mis-representative must certainly labour under the fond impression that his opponents we wanting in the ordinary attributes of common sense, if he thinks, for a moment, that they are likely to be deluded by the very lame attempt be has made to evade the stigma of "misrepresentation" that I have cast upon his name. When Mr. Crosthwaite, at Mr. Longton's meeting, on Friday last, stated that Mr. Millward had been obtaining promises of support from captain electors, by reprooouti.-.5 M.. 06it6 no the fa icua of AIL. Crosthwaite, the latter gentleman knew that he was convey ing an impression unfavourable to thyself, and Calculated to injure the prospects of Mr.-Stitt. It is useless for him to argue that he referred only to a Mr. Millward, as my brother is a south comparatively unknown, and my nosition as the hon. secretary to Mr. Stitt's committee, would, as a natural consequence, attract the imputation upon myself. That it did so, is proved by the eagerness with which a number of my personal friends sought my presence after the meeting, and, fortunately, enabled me to meet Mr. Crosth waite's assertion with a prompt public contradiction. Th e trick is, therefore, a despicable one, even if a Mr. Millward did surreptitiously obtain promises of votes, but I am, fortunately, in a position to prove that such was not the case, and that my brother, in soliciting the votes of Messrs. Riot and Penkeyman,' did not attempt to deceive those electors by any misrepresentation. Being informed on Saturday last that Messrs. Flint and Penkeyman were the deceivedgentlemen, so pathetically referred to by Mr. Crosth. waite in his eloquent speech, and, further, that a grand aseault was about to be made upon my veracity, I deemed it prudent to place myself in a state of defence against the contemplated flank movement of the enemy, by arming myself with the following letter, wherein the personal friends of Mr. Crosthwaite speak for themselves:— "When Mr. Millward solicited our votes for Mr. Stitt we told him that we would not vote against Mr. Crosthwaite. Mr. Mill ward then informed us that Mr. Crosthwaite was already in the council, and did not require our votes, upon which we consented to support Mr. Stitt ; but Iff.r. Millward did not for one moment insinuate that Mr. Stitt was Mr. Crosthwaite' s .friend. " THOMAS PENKEYMAN• (Signed) " THOMAS CADMAN FLINT." October, 25th. And now, sir, you will please observe that the above letter was written and signed on Saturday last, but in the Daily Post of this day, Mr. Crosthwaite triumphantly produces another letter, purporting to have been written yesterday, in which Messrs. Flint and Penkeyman are made to contra. diet their own written declaration. I will not presume to say that the document produced by Mr. Crosthwaite is a fabrication or an extortion, but will merely refer your readers to the above clear and distinct assertion of the gentlemen whose promises, Mr. Crosthwaite publicly stated, were obtained by representing Mr. Stitt as his friend. Mr. Crosthwaite likewise informed the meeting at Mr. Halliday's, that the deluded electors wore then " all right," and would be amongst the first to poll for Mr. Longton. In reply to this open assertion, I can only state that Messrs. Flint and Penkeyman have distinctly stated, that if they do not vote for Mr. Stitt, they certainly will not vote for Mr. Longton ; that, in fact, they will not vote at all—and so the matter rests—and so much for Mr. Councillor Crosthwaite and his electioneering tricks. In conclusion, permit me to inform Mr. Crosthwaite, that I am quite as tenacious of my rood name as he is of his own ; and that I can afford to laugh at his harmless attempt at a little Joke about the "cap fitting;" assured, as I am, that if his " intellectuality" is, next year, brought forward for a " new trial" in a " superior court," I can name another cap that would admirably " fit him for the occasion."—Yours, &e. CHARLES MILLWARD. Egerton, 28th Oct., 1856 BRIBERY AT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES Sir,—One of your cotemporaries, who seems to think that ribaldry, closely allied to blasphemy—stories more than bordering on the obscene—and falsehoods a thousand times refuted, are all fair weapons against the Papists ; one, mireover, who deems himself privileged to indulge in most infamous libels against liberal candidates for Municipal honours, has counselled his party to bribe and drench the Burgesses, without stint, scruple, or apprehension ; inas much as, according to him, the Municipal Act contains no provisions against bribery and corruption. The advice of this Gamaliel is, in short, to do anything—everything —that is vile and base, rather than permit Radicals and Papists to achieve a triumph. I hope the Tories, as a body, have the grace to be ashamed of their champion. Ilis religion, whatever it is called, must be a precious thing, if it produce no better fruits than those which are exhibited in him ; and his politics can scarcely be better than his creed--judging his ends by his means. Lest, however, any of them should be induced to follow his atrocious counsel, under the idea that they can do it, as he tells them they can, with i'rn. punity, I beg to inform them, through your columns, that his statement is as gross a falsehood as any that has ever appeared in the Liverpool Herald, and that is saying a great deal , The Municipal Act contains the following clause : `f That if 4Py person who shall have, or claim to have, ix; veto in any election of Mayor, or of a Coun cillor, Auditor, or Assessor, of any borough, shall, after wising of this Acc - , 4, by way of gif , age or tid any money or othry :n gir o t r , other device, eernvipcleo,y Or employment, n a t g , re o agree or =tract for any money, other reward whatsoever, to g i ve, or f or b ear t o g ive, his vote in any such election ; or if any person , by himself, d m or any person employed by him, shall, by any gift or re ward, or by any promise, agreement, or security for any gift or reward, corrupt or; procure, or o i ler to corrupt or procure, LIME STREET WARD 70 THE EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN TIMES. am a vcry humble burgess of Lime-street Ward —one of that class which, I suppose (from reading a ConServative paper), is designated " Canaille "—and I have a strong desire, with your permission, to say a word or two, through the medium of your columns, to my " Canaille " brethren. I wish to apprise them, if they are not already acquainted with the fact, of what they are about to be subjected to ; and I do this that they may be prepared to combat the temptation, and that they may not allow theffiselves to be trepanned in an unguarded momeut. It is well known that . Mr. Lloyd has no chance of successs, if fitness for the office of Town Councillor is to be the test that he and Mr. Jeffery are to be subjected to. The Conservatives do not want us to tell them how superior Mr. Jeffery is in every necessary acquirement fjr consti tuting an useful member of our Municipal Council - ey know this, and yet they say, "we must have Lloyd in at any price !" That is not exactly their meaning, which, if r i g htly ex p resse d, wou ld rea d thus— we must keep Jeffery out at any price. And why are they so desirous to keep Jeffery out? Because they are conscious that he would keep a watchful eye upon the expenditure of the money extracted from us in the shape of rates ; and because they know that he is the uncompromising opponent of jobs concocted for the benefit of the few, at the cost of the many. These jobs are the pet hobbies of some of those who are deputed to the Town Council to protect our interests, and they cannot tolerate the idea of any one entering the Council Chamber who is likely to spoil their rides, and to interrupt their usual proceedings; hence they are determined to leave no method untried to defeat the popular will. And as they are aware we elect Mr. Jeffery by the lid of our reason, they are about to attempt to drown that faculty in beer—all.potent beer they trust will destroy our reasoning powers, and cause us to " sell our birthright for a mess of pottage." The old adage says, "to by forewarned is to be forearmed," and I have faith in my brethren, that they will be found proof against every attempt to divert them from carrying out their convictions--that nothing will deter them from being early at the poll on Saturday morn ing, and registering their votes in favour of the candidate who is one of the people, whose interests are identical with theirs, who is not to be brow-beaten or intimidated into a desertion of those interests —to secure such a represen tative. lam confident that the "canaille " (there is a foreign smack about that word) will buckle on their armour, and be proof against beer or bribe.—lf you insert this, Mr. Editor, I shall be your obliged servant, TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir.—Having attended the meeting of Mr. Lloyd's friends on Tuesday last, and that of Mr. Jefferv's on Thursday, I had an opportunity of hearing each gentleman's version of the cause of the rupture between themselves, and, through them, between the two political parties in the ward. Since then, I have looked daily through the newspapers, expecting to see either an attempt on the part of Mr. Lloyd to deny the strong evidence produced against his side of the question, or a meeting announced at which he would re-assure his friends of his tru hful ness, by rebutting it. Neither of the above courses being taken, the public are left to draw their own conclusion, viz., that Mr, Jeffery's stateinent is unanswerable. Indeed, the able and straightforward way in which that gentleman put his case, supported as it was throughout by a train 01 circumstances, all tending to strengthen it (whereas Mr. Lloyd's case depends solely upon his own word, unsupported by any probabilities), has left the public no alternative but to conclude that Mr. Lloyd has sacrificed his right to be considered truly honourable, by telling only so ',such of the truth as served his purpose, leaving it for his opponent to tell the whole. Allow me to draw your attention to two or three points worthy the attention of the electors. Ist, Is there no difference betwee❑ a declaration of non-intention to oppose Mr. Lloyd personally, and a promise not at any future time to do so, even under altered circumstances? I think Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Reay have sought to make stock-in-trade of this, as if the electors were not quite competent to judge for themselves, and draw a distinction between the two really different positions. 2nd. Did not the reading of the correspondence clearly prove that Mr. Lloyd told a deliberate falsehood, when he replied, " I don't know," to the question, " what is the matter between you and Mr. Jeffery ?" when, at the same time, he was in possession of the letter in which his invitation was declined, and the reason for declining it detailed. 3rd. Whose version of the meeting in the lobby of the House of Commons bears the light of day ? Mr. Lloyd says he does not know upon what business Mr. Jeffery was there—certainly not the same as himself—and yet the fact is that he (Mr. Lloyd) saw and read the note from the Chairman of the committee for opposing the Town Dues Bill, requesting Mr. Jeffery's presence upon that business, and Mr. Jeffery's reply thereto, and still be had the effrontery to make the foregoing declaration ! Looking at the whole affair, it must be acknowledged, that any person who, would so unblushingly make statements so wide of the truth, is certainly not entitled to be considered a fit and proper person to represent any ward in Cauncil ; and that, as the matter now stands, Mr. Lloyd is positively opan to the imputa tion.—l am, sir, A LOOKER ON Liverpool, October 28, 18.56 BURIAL CLUBS TO THE EDITOR, OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir,—The requisition to the Mayor, which appeared lately in your paper, to call a public meeting for tile purpose of interesting the commercial community in the manage ment of Burial Clubs, established for the benefit of the manual labouring population, iuces me to send you the substance of a letter, which I published some years ago in the columns of one of your cotemporaries. In that letter I stated the desirability of some common burial ground, for two or more of our large towns, such as Liverpool and Manchester. By fixing ou some spot, midway between them, I stated we should, at once, get rid of the inconvenience of intermural sepulture, and avoid that unnecessary exposure of the ashes of the dead, which arises by reason of our, at present, overcrowded graveyards. This evil has since been considerably de creased by virtue of the compulsory closing of some of our churchyards, as burial-grounds. I suggested that there should be a small annual funeral rate levied upon the ratepayers to pay the expenses of ail funerals, whether of the rich or of the poor. I named that such an arrange ment—whereby each man would provide for his own interment, and for that of his family, and for that of his poorer neighbours—would do away with the pomp of an expensive funeral, which now, not unfre quently, robs the living, in order to pay an unmeaning and useless honour to the dead. I named, moreover, that the plan would supersede the use of burial clubs, and thus destroy—what it is in thought humiliating to realise, but which we know from past facts to be absolutely true—the great incentive to murder for the sake of the surplus burial fees, beyond the absolute cost of the interment. I still think that this arrangement might be carried out; for, although at first there might be found some who would prefer to manage the funeral ceremonials of their relatives, with a greater degree of pomp than my plan would permit, still, these parties might he allowed to follow the bent of their own inclinations, the public officer paying them in cash, the cost of a funeral which would have been provided for them in proportion to the rates which they had paid. I, moreover, suggested that, out of the funeral rate, a fund might be raised to compensate those who were interested in our church yards and public cemeteries. This is a feature which should not be overlooked, for, by attention to it, we should not only disarm a large amount of opposition, but secure a large amount of positive and influential approval. I have now written all I need write, I think, on the subject, and if you deem it worthy of a place vour paper, you will oblige, by He insertion, your obedient servant, Li verpool, Oct. 07 1856. THE NORTHERN. EscAr or Corators.—A number of convicts of the bagne of Civita Vecchia, in the Roman States, having succeeded in cutting a hole through h wall in the bagne, five of them, , Who a l e under se - atence to hard labour for life for of the band of the famous brigand ough it in the morning of the 17th, thernselvni in a building called the Palazzo Apostolico, in which clothing and other articles are stored up for the French troops. There they disguised themselves in uniforms of Finch engineer soldiers, and, taking pick axes and sp a d es on the i r s h ou ld ers , wa lk e d out. Every one, of cou rse clear off, took them for French soldiers, and they got --• having ,formed part pa.satore, passed thi r ght,_ while the blazing fragments of the air like rockets; the ill-fated vessel teak fire; •s it was the hour when rai!Way and dock labourers were assembling 'for work, the flames were speedily extinguished, and measures taken for the relief of the wounded. It was found that one of the crew had been killed on the spot. The mate of the Beitisli o,;‘, Pandora, lying at No. 8 tip had been killed, while standing on the deck, by a beam falling on his head ; the first mate of the Prussian barque had been blown into the water• of the dock, from whence be was rescued by the crew of a vessel lying near ; the second mate had been blown through tho side of the round house on his bed, and was found lying ol the quay on his bed ; he was taken to the Infirmary, where it was found that he had sustained a fracture of the pelvis. The remainder of the crew were suffering from the effects of burnsand fraCtures, and an engine was promptly brought on the adjacent branch of the Taffe Vale Railway, some carriages were attached, and eleven of the sufferers were conveyed to the infirmary, where they were promptly attended, not only by the house surgeon, but by nearly the whole of the madical men in the town, who volunteered their assistance. One of the unfor tunate men died soon after, making the third death from this sad occurrence. Six of the others are labouring under fractures as well as burns, and one is in such a state that his death is hotirly expected. The coal trimmer, Clod°, though in the hold, escaped with some severe burns, and was removed to his own home. Some idea of the force of the explosion may be formed from the fact, that one of the anchors, weighing about 35cwt., was blown over the forestay, from fifteen to eighteen feet high ; it then fell into a barge along side, which it sank. The coal tin was blown nearly to pieces, and the railway was covered pieces of wreck, the maintopmast was blown awa+•, and, in fact, the vessel was blown to pieces ; not a vestige of the deck remains, Her stern is blown out, and her stem also,while the sides are completely shattered. She was quite a new vessel, and this was her first voyage. She has sunk in about twelve feet water. The windows of several houses in the Bute Dock road were broken, and the report of the explosion was heard at places fully three and four miles frson the town, as well as at sea. In fact, it is the most terrible thing of the kind that has ever occurred at Cardiff. VIE- LEEDS WIZARD AGAIN On Monday Harrison, the Leeds Wizard, was again brought before the police magistrates, at the Leeds Court House, charged with committing a rape upon Eliza Croft, and with obtaining money from her under false pretences. The utmost excitement prevailed in the precincts of the police•cffice, and the court was densely crowded from ten o'clock until half-past four. On Croft being recalled, she stated that the offence was committed between six and seven on Friday night, the 17th instant, and repeated the statement several times, saving that she was never at Harrison's house in the daytime, and that at the time the offence was committed it NN as dark, and that a candle was burning in the room. Evidence was called which proved that Harrison was from home from one o'clock till eleven at night on that day, and that the girl was in Harrison's room between eleven and twelve in the morning, after which Croft said the offence was committed in the morning. At the close of the examination Mr. Ferns, on behalf of the prisoner, asked the bench if, after what they had heard, they thought there Was any case? The bench replied that they thought there was, and should remand the prisoner until Thursday. On being removed from the dock, the prisoner was hissed by a great number of women in the gallery, and the crowd remained outside some time to obtain a glimpse of him, in which, however, they were disappointed. THE NOVEL RUSSIAN CALCULATION TO TILE EDITOR OF TIM NORTEIERN TIMES Sir,—The',novel mode of proving multiplication, which you publish in your paper of to-day, is nothing new, although your correspondent seems to give the Thissians the credit of the discovery. It is to be found in any work which treats of the theory of numbers, and must be familiar to every student in mathematics. If your correspondent will refer to the introduction to Frauccear's Algebra (en excellent French treatse), ho will there learn why the product of any two numbers should exhibit ,he property referred to. There is, however, one Ifact which your co rres p on d en t h as ev i dently not been put in possession of by his Russian friends, namely, that the so called proof is only a negative one. Should the remaind :rs not coincide, the sum must be wrong, but if th ey d o co i nc id e, it may still be incorrect.--I am, sir, your obelient CALCULATOR. servant, Woburn-hili, West Derby, Oct, 28, 1856 MYSTERIOUS DEATH On Tuesday morning, at ten o'clock, the body of a gentleman was found in the river off Irougate-stairs. Tower,and immediately hauled on shore by a dredgerman. Inspector Menston, of the Thames police, and his boat's crew, were immediately afterwards on the spot, and removed the body to the dead-house in the 'rower of London. The inspector took possession of the deceased's papers and money, and made an inventory of the same. There were twenty-four sovereigns, a B auk of England note, a return ticket by the Dundee steam-boat, and several letters addressed to Mr. W, Wilson, No. 6, Vic toria-street, Nethergate-street, Dundee, in the deceased's pockets. The body was soon recognised to be that of Mr. W. Wilson, a respectable merchant of Dundee, who came to London in the steam-boat from that town on Friday, and was to have returned in the same vessel the following morning. Mr. Wilson was about forty years of age. A sil ver watch was found in his fob. It had stopped at twenty minutes past eight. Mr. Evans, the superintendent of Thames Police, is engaged in making enquiries into the circumstances. MAINE LIQUOR LAW.—MEETING AT MANCILESTER.--. The evening public meeting at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, of the United Kingdom Alliance, drew together an audience of between 4,000 and 5,000 persons. The platform, gallery, and the greater part of the hall were crowded. Sir George Strickland presided. Sir Walter Trevelyan and Mr. S. Pope made long speeches., The want of labour continues to be felt in New South Wales. The cry is still the same for " strong, able men to fell trees, split and fence, build stock yards and rough build. ings, plough, mow, reap, sow, milk, attend to cattle and sheep, break in horses and bullocks, and, in fac', to turn their hands to any work that may be required of them, nor to object to make themselves generally useful ; female ser vants to cook and wash and dairymaids are much required.' The land question will be discussed in the new Council, and a satisfactory arrangement made to render small farms available for the man of limited means. Railways are also to be extended. These will employ no smal amount of labour. New public works also will doubtless soon be commenced.—Australian and New Zealand Gazette, THE FRENCH VINTAGE.-The Gazette de Lycn says 1— .‘ The results of the vintage are now more and more easy to be judged of. It is not in this neighbourhood alone that this remark has been made. The Guienne informs us that in the vineyards near Bordeaux the hopes at first entertained from the state of the vines have not been in general realised, as in many localities the return has been less than was expec'ed. In fact, the B )rdeaux country has given but a small yield. In Lower Medoc the result is a little better than that of 1855 ; the quality is superior, the wine bu'Ong both colour and body. In Upper Medoc the failure is general. In the Blaysis the duality ia good, but the yield is small. Both in the neighbourhood of Lyons and of Bor deaux, the result is less th an th e appearance of the growing vines promised." It is said, says Smith and llder's Overland Mail, that the officers of the Qaeen's army, are to be permitted to enjoy a share of certain staff appointments which have heretofore been bestowed exclusively, or almost exclusively, upon the officers in the company's service. The truth is, that the continual demand for military officers, to he employed in civil, political, or other extra regimental capacities, is draining the company's regiments down to a paint of abso lute inefficiency. It is proposed, therefore, in case of the demands of the public service requiring the employment of a larger number of military officers in detached situations than the company's regiments can supply, without serious loss of efficiency, to employ from time to time officers of the Qaeen's army, who have passed in the languages, and have otherwise proved themselves well qualified fo; such employment, EXTENSION OF E.9.ST LANCABIIIRE RAILWAY TO THE WEST ii‘DING.—It is in contemplation to form a 'new ymcaottzpainsylewirosteakeenni,:itupeebry has railway from Colne, in continuation of the East Lar,c.a,t shire, to be connected with the Great Northern at Brad commenced, and, together with a numerous staff of ass i st io s , are making great progress in the preliminary survey, which is of course required to enable the company ai T h h v e a to judge of the feasibility or otherwise or opening a snore direct communication between the East Lancashire district and the West Riding of Yorkshire . The extension, East a L v ill.: a a s w h i o r r e th ß . if formed, will bring Colne fifteen miles nearer to Brad ford, and eleven nearer to Leeds, besides offering greatilr, facilities for goods and passenger traffic frora T,44` o rpoo. and Other towns, to this neighbourhood. It is considered that the railway would be a paying line, and would open new sources of traZic within the di s t r i c t, in whici thewe may say th ere i s a very strong] p ro posed Communication. in favour of