Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-06-08 00:00:00

PIRIT OF THE LONDON PRESS. WHAT IS MR. GLADSTONE ABOUT ? The month of March proverbially " comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Mr. Gladstone, on the contrary, goes out like a lion and comes in like a lamb. How he raged and roared in the latter days of the last parliament, whose cud indeed he had a large share in hastening by his violence, How he protested against the extravagance of the ministry, and vowed to stand between the country and the" ruia with which it was threatened by the profligate expenditure of the government. He was to knock off at least two millions. The country was to be sure of one man to keep watch and ward for its finances. Mr. Gladstone was to be a Joseph Hume on the largest scale, with the addition of the highest oratorical powers. Such were the expeeta tions encouraged; what has been the realisation ? The navy and army estimates have passed, and Mr. Gladstone's voice has never been heard. Ministers have walked over the course. They have had all they asked for without a show of resistance, or even a murmur of discontent. Mr. Gladstone's opposition, which loomed so mighty in the closing days of the last parliament, has proved a mere fog bank, a thing of vapour. What can be the mean ing of this ? Has the member for Oxford under gone a metamphorsis, aid been changed into a mist? Or has he; by a hardly less miraculous Process, become an altered and a wiser man by the lessons of the elections? Has he discovered that the country does not like anything in excess, not even the profession of economy ? Or is there some little personal disappointment in the case? He had set his heart on having a follower, profanely called a tail, if but of one point. How he spouted away day after day and night after night. ; wherever a handful of electors could be kathered together, to persuade the good folks that his brother-in-laW teats the man to aid him in saving the nation threatened with ruin from Lord Palmerston's guilty extravagance. The Welsh, however, were quite unmoved by Mr. Gladstone's oratory, and chose a representative just as if there was no question about the salvation of the nation. The consequence is, that Mr. Gladstone finds himself in the House of Commons without a single follower. The Peelites are scattered to the winds, or the few left have been taught to sober their pretensions. Mr. Gladstone finds himself alone, and his courage is not of that sort which rises with an exigency. If the government had been as weak in this as it was in the diss . olved parliament, active, vehement and unsparing would Mr. Gladstone have been in his attacks upon it. Io season and out of season would he have raised his indignant voice against the ruinous extravagance of the estimates. But against Lord Pahnerston's assured majority Mr. Gladstone's spirit quails. He is not the man to kick against the pricks. In Wales, he was told to his face that he was a political craven. Let us rather hope, however, that he has seen the error of his ways, and that his present silence is not owing to the Causes suggested, but to a late discovery of the factiousness of his courses on the budget and the China question. The. turn of the elections, assisted by reflection in the interval preceding the assembling of parliament, may have revealed this truth to the member for Oxford. Whatever may be the fact we have been moved to touch upon this subject by the questions which begin to arise in different quarters—what has become of Mr. Glad stone ? what is he doing ? where is his voice ? Many have asked whether he has slipped out of parliament altogether unobserved—whether he was turned out of Oxford, and other such simple ques tions. Indeed, we. have been expecting to see advertisements in the second column of the Times supplement, imploring information to tranquillise the minds of anxious friends as to the political whereabouts of Mr. Gladstone, and why he is not heard of in the present parliament. It is perhaps, however, best to let well alone, and to be content with Mr. Gladstone as he is. Sydney Smith hearing it observed of one of the celebrities of the age, that he had appeared to great advantage in conversation, said "Yes, there were some splendtd flashes of silence." We ought to be satisfied with Mr. Glad stone's splendid flash of silence in this parliament and to ask no more.—Examiner. SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND THE BOARD OF TRADE. The exhibition of Sir James Graham in the debate on Mr. Horsfall's motion on Thursday, was highly interesting in some respects. The new members of the• house who had never heard the revolving baronet before had an opportunity of judging of his elaborate mannerism, his careful getting-up, and his odd mixture of sour remarks and saccharine compliments. The exhibition was entitled to the respect which should be conceded to a veteran performer. A certain faded air of former power, a want of freshness of views, and a disposition to play the part of laudator temporis acti, indicated that the rhetorical member for Carlisle does not look to a future" being before him. M uc h o f hi s speech was of the kind appropriate to the "Recol lections of his Life and Times." Mr. Horsfall objected to the present constitution of the Board of Trade, and Sir James Graham had recourse to panegyric on the great things done by the past presidents and vice-presidents of the board. The sarcastic baronet talked of Mr. Labouchere, to " his immortal (!) credit," doing certain things. " The immortal Labouchere !'' It is always thus with Sir James Graham's compliments. They seem as if meant for interpretation per antipkrasin His eulogy in this case reminds one of the withered immortelles that one sees at PereLa Chaise. Mr. Huskisson also came in for safe panegyric. That eminent person was severely disparaged in his later years; and while he was in the flesh, we do not recollect that Sir James Graham made any chivalrous attempts to defend him against a legion of adver saries. "My right honourable friend, Mr. Ellice, the member for Coventry, received an historical reference from the recording lips of the retro spective orator. Poor Mr. Ellice was reminded how he -had once been an ultra-protectionist for "native industry; and even a passage from one of Mr. Ellice's former speeches was quoted to prove the assertion of the bitter baronet who repre sents Carlisle. Now, such conduct is hardly fair as between one member of the House of Commons and another. We suspect that Sir James Graham gave no notice to the member for Coventry that he was going to disinter one of his speeches made thirty years since. The exordium of Sir J. Graham's oration on Thursday thus commenced : " Not ,seein g, sir,any gentleman disposed to address the house, I shall take the liberty of making a few observations." Just as if the speech had net been under ineubation for a fortnight ! It was by acci dent that the extract from the speech of Mr. Ellice came into his pocket. His speech, of course, was not an impromptu fait a loisir. It is time, in. deed, for Sir James Graham, after his forty years' experience, to give up li s is " very peculiar" kind of composition. Mr. NE:, however, can easily retaliate by quoting extracts from " Corn and Cur rency," from the declamation by Sir J. Graham against the " rival palaces" of the Duke of Welling ton and Sir Robert Peel (temp 1830); from bis anti popery speeches 1834), from his anti-whig speeches in 1837; his protectionist speeches ix 1841, "with the dismal sound of :he factory bell," the letter opening defences ( 18 44); the "dark" attack on Recorder Shaw in 1846, and the Recorder's rejoinder ; and a few other " extracts,' which could scarcely come under the head of " elegant," although they had been spoken in the House of Commons by the fashion.. able Mr. Thomas Duncombe, and the eloquent ex- M.P. for Edinburgh, Mr. Macaulay- The member for Coventry is by no means inapt at statistical calculatious, and he is as well qualified as anyone else to count the unlucky whirls of the great par liamentary teetetum, during his Bpinninga for forty yearn But the new members get from Sir J. Graham an excellent lesson on Thursday night: The elocutiona ry merits of the speaker, and the personal defects of the senator never rising into a IP4ding statesmant vfere- strikingly exemplified in concocted havangue, delivered with off-hand ease by the mo€t artificial of the debaters of our time —Press. 'RAILWAY GRIEVANCES. A. very short time ago the public complained grievously of the railways ; now the railways com plain of the public or the government, which acts for it. Upwards of 300,000,000/ of capital vested in railways, it is stated, in a memorial adopted at a meeting, held at the London Tavern on Wednes day, of the railway interest, obtain only 31. 12s per cent., while railways in Germany and France pay from 61. to 201. per cent. ; the larger re inuneration being due- to the protection and pri vileges accorded to them by the goverment. The railway interest objects repeatedly to the facility given by parliament to the construction of competing lines, and particularly to bills now before parlia ment of which there is a great number, for con structing fresh works and branch lines of conside rable magnitude. Competition is branded as injurious to the proprietors and productive of no permanent utility to the public. The railways are unjustly assessed, it is affirmed, both locally and by the government; and are further aggrieved by the undue severity of Lord Campbell's Act for awarding compensation for injuries. The privileged Post-office, too, takes away their minor parcels traffic, and reduces their profits. The ultimate prayer is to be placed under some independent tribunal instead of parliamentary committees, and that no " further branches or extensions be encouraged by parliament, except in case of paramount public necessity, until the existing companies shall be at least in the receipt of dividends according to the fair standard of other commercial undertakings." The railway interest, according to the chairman, Mr. Vance, " suffers the most manifest injustice ever perpe trated by any government," and all apparently because its dividends are not on the average more than 31. 12s per cent.; and because some ill-projected and ill-managed lines payno dividends at all. It is a very sad thing unquestionably that railways, which, mechanically, have succeeded be yond anticipation, and are quite wonderful for their general utility and convenience, should have failed commercially. While capital engaged in other enterprises is yielding from six to ten per cent , the capital invested in railways—which has, in common with the gold discoveries and free trade, contributed to raise the rate of profit generally—yields little more than half the lowest current rate of profit. But whose fault is this ? The railway interest charge it on the government erroneously; for the government had nothing to do with " sinking a large amount of capital" in barren lines. " The whole capital was voluntarily provided by private enterprise, without aid or contribution from the State." It is altogether a private undertaking. The Govern ment neither incited nor encouraged the enter prise. It does not now encourage the formation of new lines. The enormous expense of Acts of Parliament, amounting in 1855 to £12,548,715, was only one of the many obstacles the Govern ment threw in the way of constructing railways. They were all overcome by railway projectors, The new road promised to be a mine of wealth to those who could work it. Thousands rushed into the fields just as they rushed to the diggings. It was impossible to get drafts men enough and cl er k s enough to prepare the prospectus. Millions of money were wasted on ill-concocted schemes that never have answered. Even those which have answered the best have in general been conducted, in respect to showy buildings, in anything but a parsimonious spirit. Now, when ill'iounded expectations are, disap pointed, and the eagerness to get 10 or 15 per cent. without ascertaining exactly how it was to be got, is ascertained to have been a speculative error, the railway proprietors and directors cast all the blame from themselves on the government. They have been destroying each other's property, making competing lines (and they are doing it now according to the memorial), at the same time they blame the parlia ment for having granted them the boons they urgently prayed for. They made out a "case for the construction of a rail," " placed estimates before committees," used great exertions to get bills passed, and at length find that" the cost of construction has exceeded the estimates, and the expected profit has not been realised." By their own showing they are to blame, and have no right to demand help from the government. To us the interest seems very much like an encumbered landlord. As he has in his estate a good security for large loans and a good facility for making them, so railway directors had in the capital collected from their original shareholders a good security on which to borrow, and they did borrow very largely. On July 19 of last year, we published several extracts from Captain Galton's report on railways for 1855, including this passage —" Of the total amount raised for the construction of railways, 75,161.2411 has been loans, 52,818,0261. preference shares, and the remainder, viz , 169,604,0171., ordinary share capital." One notice able fact is that from 1849 to 1854 inclusive, the average rate of dividend on the whole of the ordinary share capital con tinually increased, but in 1855 declined. The difference between the sum appropriated to dividends on these shares in 1855, and 1854, is 327,080/. less in 1855, but the difference between the sum payable as interest on preference shares and loans in 1855 and in 1854, is £392,383 more in 185 5—showing very dis tinctly where the increased earnings of the rail ways went. Out of these earnings no lsss than £5,888,857 was appropriated to pay interest on money borrowed, as loans or as preference shares, We suppose that in the year 1856, owing to the continued high rate of interest, and debentures having been renewed in the year, the sum devoted to the payment of interest was still larger, which helps to explain present complaints; connected, as they are, with complaints of. the supposed influence of the currency laws in producing a high rate of interest. The capital was borrowed at the current rate of interest which has always been paid. There has been no repudiation by railways, and the original share holders have only received dividends after they have paid their creditors. In cases where deben tures and other forms of borrowing had to be renewed since the current rate of interest has be come unusually high, the railway proprietors have suffered, like all other borrowers, from the high rate and the activity of, trade, which has increased their traffic and enhanced their gain, has also enhanced the interest they have had to pay on every renewed mortgage, thus depriving the shareholders of the advantages of the general prosperity. The pre ference shares are as much a loan or a mortgage as the debentures issued, and in fact have borne higher rate of interest. Together the two mortgages are 127,979,2671., while the share capital is 169,604,0171; the average interest on all preference shares was upwards of 5 per cent., a©d the average interest of ail loans was more than 41 per cent. The parties who have their money in railway securities have no reason to find fault with the investment. In fact, preference shares are as good a security as is to be found in the market, and, yielding a higher interest, are preferred to Consols. The holders of these shares have done well, whatever may be the fate of the holders of the original share capital. But after the financiers of the great undertaking have thus burdened it and mortgaged it, leaving the men who first advanced their money for the great undertaking with a small dividend, they ask the government for help, and utter many reproaches against it for their want of means to pay large di vidends to the original shareholders. The Irish landlords, sinking under their mortgages, had as good a right to complain of the government—and they did complain—as the railway financers have now to complain. Who they are we care not minutely to inquire; but if the shareholders look close'y into their own concerns, they will find amongst their own directors their chief mis managers.—Economist THE CURRENCY REFORM MOVEMENT. We are glad to see that the spirit of monetary Worm, though trampled u p on an d d esp i se d b y sectio l i which represents the millionaires, is not yet dead; not' do we believe, so long as the existence THE NORTHERN TIMES.--LIVERPOOL, MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1857. • of man, and his physical and moral powers are made to depend upon his mean of obtaining a share of the circulating medium of the country; that the question can ever be hushed into silence, until it has assumed a form, which has for its foundation equity and justice. We have never thought it either necessary or advisable to force any dogmas upon the public to the exclusion of every other man's opinion ; our efforts have, for a series a years, been directed to the exami. nation of a monetary system, which, it is impossible to deny, has been founded upon a mixture of ignorance, injustice, and incon sistency. In ignorance, because it had its origin when the great mass of the people had no know ledge of its operations. In injustice, because it conferred upon a small body of men, privileges, which, by the fundamental law of the country, belong to all the community. In inconsistency, because we have one system for one part of the country, and a contrary one for another part. To one we assign a fixed limit of the circulating medium ; while to another there is no limit what. ever. In one part we legislate that a bit of engraved paper signed with the name of an officer of some company, shall pass as circulating medium for no less a sum than 61 . 6 grains of gold, or £5 ; while in another part of the United Kingdom the same bits of engraved paper may pass current for 123 grains. In one part of the kingdom those pieces which pass for the less amount are considered as a public benefit; while in the other they are considered a curse, and pro ductive of panics, and every other species of disaster. Now what is the reason of all this ? The simple and only correct answer to it is, that there are monopolists in the three parts of the kingdom whi ch generate and mantain these anomalies, because it is to their advantage to do so ; and, therefore, they have a direct interest in perpetuatig them ; but there is an interest far more powerful in its claims of justice than they—it is that of the public ; and so powerful has it became that its voice must be heard on this important question. We know not what course the association which met on Monday at the London Tavern, intend to pursue ; but our experience and the knowledge we have of public opinion on the matter, enable us to form a tolera bly correct judgment on what should be done. In the first place, we would advise the Association against that common error into which so many monetary reformers have fallen, by commencing with some system of their own recommendation, to the exclusion of every other ; for however sound, or however plausible it may appear to its projectors, such a course is productive of great mischief. The first great duty of an Association which seeks to reform our currency and banking laws, is to commence their operations like a skilful surgeon, by laying open to view the seat of the disease in all its various phases ; and delineate its courses of action upon the various parts of the body politic ; to point out where it affects the system, and show the result of its opera tions; this is the first great duty it is called upon to perform ; and if faithfully discharged, we have not the slightest doubt that the country will respond to the call in the most satisfactory manner. A select and secret Committee has been appointed to examine this subject; but their deliberations are conducted with closed doors, so that nothing can be known of its progress until aftes Parliament has been again dissolved, and an unreadable blue book of a thousand pages is com piled to tell the tale. Now, the Currency Association should forestall this : it should make known through its agency .an accumulation of facts, which Government could not possibly i g nore ; and by this means place i n th e h an d s of every member of the house information to guide him in giving his vote upon the question, whenever it may be submitted to Parliament.—Banker's Circular. POLITICAL GOSSIP. The commission on the purchase of commissions in the army is sitting. His Royal Highness the General Commanding-in-Chief has been examined. It is said (United Service Gazette) that his evidence tends. to support the present system. The commission for considering the best means of securing the health of soldiers in all situations and in every particular, have despatched Dr. Suther land and Mr. Ferguson to the continent, to make investigations of the systems of other countries. Notices have been served that select committees to try the petitions complaining of an undue election and return for the county of Mayo, the borough of Cambridge, and the borough of Rochdale, will be chosen by the general committee of elections, on Monday, the 22nd instant, at half after twelve o'clock in the afternoon, in No. 14 Committee room of the House of Commons. On the following day the committees on the Pontefract, Marl_ borough, and Wareham petitions will be chosen. All parties interested are severally directed to attend the general committee by themselves, their counsel, or agents. A parliamentary return has been issued relative to the expenditure in England and Wales in poor re lief. It appears that in the half year ended lady-day last the sum of £1,079,885 was expended for in maintenance and out-door relief in 621 unions, being a decrease of £1,118,770 on the expenditure in the corresponding half-year of 1856. A general feeling prevails amongst medical officers of the army, and in the civil department of the profession, that in meeting out the honours and rewards incident to the late war, military surgeons have not been treated with impartial justice. The principle established by the Commander-in-chief has been, that honours should be awarded only to those medical officers who were present at the battles of Alma and Inkermann. This principle excludes many military surgeons who were with the army the whole of the campaign previous to these actions, and who served subsequently during the whole of the siege of Sebastopol. " The country," says the Weekly Despatch," ex presses very general surprise at what is regarded as the extreme subserviency of the new House of Commons to the Government. It forgets that when parliaments are septennial the members do not look to their constituents, but to the minister at first, trusting that their early peccadilloes will be forgotten before another dissolution. The consti tuencies are greatly surprised that so large a dowry should be voted to the Princess Royal, and we hear that members are much shaken in their de termination by the number and vehemence . of the letters of remonstrance they rece i ve from their constituents on the subject of their extravagance in this vote. We think the government has materially damaged itself by the proposal which it would, perhaps, however, be ungracious towards Prussia now to modify " The Press think's that the Duke of Cleveland's speech on the new Reform Bill is an additional proof, if such were wanted, that Conservatives can regard the subject of parliamentary reform with as much confidence as the liberals. The interests of the former were 3 o injuriously affected by the settlement of 1832, that it is almost impossible any fresh arrangement could leave then worse than it found them. However, " there are one or two observations which fell from the noble duke which, though doubtless prompted by a liberal generosity, seem to be a little at variance with those rights of which his grace declared himself so warm a supporter." What we are to do to retrieve our reputation, or what we are to fight for when we have got our troops and our gun-boats into the Canton waters, we (Saturday Review), cannot discover that any one exactly knows. " The only information we have been able to gather on the subject is from the ministerial organ, which tells us that we are at war, not with the Chinese empire, but with the insti tutions of China,' and further, that the anger of Europe is excited by the bigotry a n d sec l us i on which form the traditional policy of the country.' In what chapter of the law of the nations it is laid down that bigotry and seclusion constitute a cams belli, we have yet to learn Such language as this is only one specimen among many of the filli bnstering morality which, through the medium of the press, is becomming too popular in this country." When we look at the great institutions, especially those of France and Austria—the vivid emulation —the ke en co ll eg i ate sp i r i t —th e prou d remem. brances they i nsp i re i n t h e pupi)g—sud see how this spirit perpetuates itself in the great attain ments and scientific eminence of many of their military men—it is humilating (says the Economist), to think of the opportunities we have lost in Eng land by the want of a similar culture and similar appointments for making that culture an object of ambition. At Sandhurst we languidly educate about 180 officers for the line in from two to four years. We give our officers in general no thorough basis of education—no scientific enthusiasm for their pro fession—and no means of practically evincing that enthusiasm if it be in existence. Yet our army has opportunities for using a general as well as a special culture such as the armies of none of the continental nations possess. With troops stationed all over the globe, amidst nations of all habits and manners, and scientific objects of every kind of interest, there is certainly no narrow limit to the social, literary, and scientific aims our officers might effect, were they such a class of men as are devoted to the bar or to educational and literary pursuits. PARLIAMENT AND THE RAILWAYS The railway interest, or at least a large proper tion of it, has recently become greatly dissatisfied with its position, and has embodied its views in the form of a deputation to government, which waited on the President of the Board of Trade on Friday. It is unfortunate for the shareholders of this part of the national wealth, which now amounts to the enormous sum of £300,000,000, that many of the evils under which it is suffering arises from a system of legislation which cannot be obviated ; such as the enormous sums added to their original cost by legal, parliamentary, and other expenses, which absorbed a very large amount of the ordin ary, and original share capital, and forced the company to obtain additional amounts by giving a preferential interest or dividend ; these are errors which in their present state scarcely admit of any parliamentary interference. But it does not follow that the railway interest has no grievances that may be remedied; such as the rating, taxing, and general management of the property. The deputation urge with great force, the necessity of an inquiry into these things, to see what can be done for its relief. Oae of the complaints raised is that of competition ; but this must, as far as legislation is concerned, be prospective ; though we admit that the most reckless course has been pursued in the construction of numerous com peting lines, and by which several important districts have been left entirely without railway communication. The complaint that the dividend on ordinary share capital is only 3/. 12s per cent., ad mits of several explanations ; for on some lines . there are no dividends at all. It appears to us that this portion of railway property is very materially injured by the rate of interest paid for loins, and preferential capital, in the present state of the money market, which is now affecting every branch of trade and industry, and must, therefore, seriously injure railway property. As regards the tax upon passengers, we think it most impolitic ; and to inflict it upen one part of the kingdom, and not on the other, is a great injustice. But while the railway interest has some cause of complaint to make, there are certain evils which can only be corrected by the shareholders them selves. It is well known that railway property, as an investment, has become: an object of exclu sion amongst a certain class of capitalists, from its uncertain value, and the contingencies which sur round it : and until some kind of consolidation and security against these can be obtained, there can be but little hope of its rising in value : as we have repeatedly stated, railway property is a sealed book to the public generally; let it then be reduced to simplicity, instead of covering it as at present, with a veil of mystery,—Bankers' Circular. MANAGE.`,IENT OF OUR DOCKS. TO THE EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir,—lf the Town Dues are stolen from Liv pool, and if Manchester men are to sit on our Dock Committee, it will be brought about by blunders of our o►vn people, and we shall have ourselves to thank for it. Witness the following in the Dock Committee proceedings on Thursday last— SURPLUS CARGOES.—A letter, was read from Messrs, Seutor and Macmillage, stating that they were the con signees and agents of the ship York, which lately dis charged her cargo of cotton at the Albert dock ; that there were in excess five bales of cotton, for which there were no bills of lading, and therefore no con signees; that the master of the vessel having the best right to hold the overplus, applied to the Albert dock committee for their delivery to him, but that the committee refused ; that the Albert Dock committee thought they would be liable if an owner should turn up, and although the owners of the vessel offered to give the committee a guarantee that they should be held harmless if any claim should be afterwards made, they still objected to deliver up the surplus cargo. A letter on a similar subject was also •read from Messrs. Miller, Houghton, and Co. A long and irregula r conversation took place in reference to the practice of the Albert Dock committee ; and a case which had been submitted to counsel in London, and the opinion thereon, advising the trustees to adhere to their present practice of retaining the surplus cargo, but advising them to get a clause inserted in their next act of parliament to that effect, were read to the general committee. The subject was ultimately deferred until the solicitor should be able to be present and give his advice on the legal points involved in the matter. In plain English, a cargo if five bales short, the ship is compelled to make up the loss ; but if five bales over, the dock takes it. Why ? There is no bill of lading which the captain can show, therefore they don't belong to him; and there is no bill of lading i❑ existence, therefore they don't belong to anybody —for if any one goes to claim, the Docks say, "Show your bill of lading." " Oh, but there is no bill of lading," says the owner. " Then go about your business," say the Docks, and there it ends ; there can be no claimant according to dock laws, and therefore ships must pay losses and the Docks take the profits. Don't you pity poor shipowners? —Yours truly, WAPPING, ALBERT, AND STANLEY. LONDON GAZETTE.-FRIDAY. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED.—E. Rowley and G. Harrison, Birmingham, coach-axletree makers. G. C. Walker and G. Routlidge, Doncaster, Yorkshire, chemists. A. Middle miss and J. Hutchinson, Bradford, Yorkshire, joiners. J. Livesey and W. Ashton, Bury, Lancashire, cotton manu facturers. J. G. Sutton, and J. Sutton, Liverpool, stationers. Ex:lusively for CLOTHING BOYS from 6 to 20 Years, LEWIS & COMPANY iiane:agh street. RIGHTS of RAILWAY TRAVELLERS.--A decision of great interest to the travelling community has been given at the Bloomsbury County Court, in Great Portland-street. Mr. William Finlayson Hunter, a commercial traveller, sum moned the London and North Western Railway Company to the above court for 18s, being the excess of fare he had to pay to travel between Londonand Auchinlec, having been refused a third-class ticket by the booking clerk, although the time tables of the company expressly state " that third class passengers will be booked to all stations south of Glasgow on the Caledonian and Glasgow and South Wes tern lines, by the train leaving Euston-square station at 8 p.m." The facts havi ng b een p rove d by the plai nt i ff, the defence s e t up by d e f en d an t s wa s that they had m islaid a letter written by plaintiff to them, and therefore applied for an adjournment, as the cause of action was not suffi ciently declared by notice. The court, having heard a witness for the defendants, who stated that the reason, no doubt, of plaintiff's having been refused a ticket was that the train did not stop at that particular station, thought this was no defence, as they had repeatedly advertised to carry third-class passengers by that train to all stations south of Glasgow. The court having declined to grant an adjournment, unless defendants would pay plaintiffs day's cost, which was d ec li ne d, j u d gmen t was g i ven to plaintiff for the amount claimed. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-...SATURDAT. LIVERPOOL. BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD. A RIVAL of WILLIAM RUSSELL'S.—A very shaky old man, named Thomas Ai re y, was c h arge d b y po li ce - o ffi cer 734, who said he found him begging in John's-lane, and he was drunk at the time. M r . M ansf i eld : What have you to say ? Prisoner (with a " gentlemanly" smile) : Why, sir, I came to Liverpool to see a son of mine, but I fell ill, and was twenty-one weeks in the hospital, and when I came out I had no money, so I was obliged to turn lecturer. (Laughter.) Mr. Mansfield : What were you lecturing on ? Prisoner (with another smile) :On the " War," sir. (Great laughter, when some one said, he is a rival of William Russell's, and this caused renewed laughter.) Mr Mansfield : Did you try a lecture on " Temperance." Pri soner : Yes, that was the subject. I was, on yesterday, in a public-house in John's-lane, and the people were so pleased . with it that they made me drunk. (Great laughter.) I'm famous in my lectures on the " War"—indeed, I can treat on any subject, but the "War" is my forte. Mr. Mansfield Well, go now, and don't come here again. " ICH a FINNEGANS !"—A SMALL "BIT" OF A LOVE MATCH.—Anne Finnegan, a coarse looking woman, about forty years of age, who was described as the keeper of a public house in Westmoreland street, charged a fellow named John Breen with having broken her windows, demolished divers chairs, and cracked a quantity of crockery ware, promising to do the same for her head, and otherwise committed sundry misdemeanours', contrary to the statutes in such case made and provided, and against the crown and dignity of Queen Victoria, her heirs and sueeessors, and so forth. The history of the hostilities between the powers of Finnegans and Breens, as collected from an elaborate quantity of swearing on both sides, seemed to bs as follows. Mr. Finnegan, according to Mrs. Finnegan's narration, " happened to be sent to gaol for six months, for nearly be at i ng th e roo f o f th e s k u l l off her, and that remarkable circumstance took place about three months ago." "From that day to this" (added Mrs. Finnegan) "I never had pace or ase —asleep and awake it was all the same, as Mr. Breen got into the fashion of beat ing her, the same as her husband used. When he could not kech her on Friday night, he hocked a proker, and beat the windows, tableq, and chairs, in a manner that left nothing morn to be performed in the peculiar line of his operations." [Here Mrs. Finnegan exhibited pieces of wood, bits of glass, some old ropes, and a quantity of other articles, including portions of torn straw bonnets, mutilated night caps, tattered old stockings and some human hair,] She de clared that the " babe unborn," was not not a taste more innocent than she was of an y p rovocat i on g i ve to M r. Breen for having acted as described. A young '' lady," named Mulligan, gave rather a different version of the affair. She said, a daughter of Mrs. Finnegan's had fallen in love with a brother of Mr. Breen's, but somehow, or other, the " gintleman" didn't like the lady by no means. (Cruel Mr. Breen) Mrs. Finnegan was quite dela?. inined to have a match at any rate, and she ever lastingly followed Mr. Breen trying to perswiid him to make his brother marry her daughter. She tormented him " =rain, noon and nice," and the only way he had to get rid of her was to break the windows. After hearing the witnesses pro et con, at great length, his Worship ordered Mr. Breen to find two sureties in £lO each to keep the peace. ATTEMPT TO PLUNDER RAILWAY PASSENGERS.—AII Italian, named Giorani Philippe, was charged with having attempted :o steal a portmanteau and a box from the Lime street station of the London and North Western Railway. Mr. Berry, from the office of the railway, solicitor, at tended to prosecute. The facts were these :—A lady came from London on Friday evening by the express train, on her way to America. She had nine packages of luggage, and she gave directions to the guard in London to look after them. On arriving in Lime -street, the guard asked her if she had her packages all right. On looking over them, seven packages only were found. The guard then went in search of them, and he saw a porter carrying one of them, and a badge porter the other, and he stopped them. The badge porter said the prisoner employed him to carry the boxes. The lady got her things, and went away by the boat on Saturday morning. The prisoner was sent to jail for three months . John Rezom,late chief steward of the M.trco Polo, sum moned Captain Clarke, of that vessel, for a balance of wa g es. The matt er was a di spute d account, ar i s i ng ou t o f the fact that the captain disrated the steward on the grouud of having acted wrongly. The case was adjourned to Tuesday. THE FRENCH LA.DY, MR. GOODERE, AND SIGNOR TOMASSO. On Saturday morning, Mr. Goodere came before Mr. • Mansfield, and said he wished to address a few obssrva tions to his worship in reference to an application that had been made to his worship in his (Mr. G.'s) absence the previous day, by Signor Tomasso, a report of which appeared in the NORTIIZRN TIMES of that morning. Ho much regretted that such an application had been made in his absence, as he would have properly and promptly re pudiated the insinuation. He was an attorney of that court for over twelve months, and he trusted that during that period his demeanour to the curt, and in the court, had been of such a character as became an officer of the court. He had not, by look or action, ever annoyed or insulted any one, and how Signor Tomasso had come before his worship and made such an application he was quite at a loss to know. He would read the report of the application. [He then read the report from our paper.] He continued to say that he felt this matter very deeply, but he utterly denied that he had offered any insult or annoyance to the lady alluded to. He saw the lady in the court on Friday, and fortunately for him the reporters of the press were present at the time, and he could appeal to them with confidence, and to all in court, if he either looked at or laughed at the lady. He did not speak to the lady, for he did not speak French, and he might appeal to his Wor ship from his knowledge of his conduct in court, if he imagined him capable of insulting any one, much loss a lady. He did not even know the lady, and he really could not tell why Signor Tomasso should make such an un founded and slanderous assertion so far as he (Mr. G.) was concerned, and he trusted his Worship would express his opinion on the subject. Here Mr. Tomasso addressed the court, and said, Signor Tomasso is ready to prove every word he said, and to sustain the correctness of that report. I have d currents to prove all, and more than I said. Mr. Goodere : So far as I am con cerned, your application was quite untrue, and utterly unfounded. Mr. Mansfield said, so far as he could understand the nature of the application made to him, it was that you had laughed at the lady. This, no doubt, was a mistake, as she was labouring under con siderable excitement, and you might be laughing at some thing, which she might take as laughing at her. The application altogether, so far as you and the others were concerned, was so very vague that he hardly more than heard it, as he did not consider there was any foundation for it. He told Signor Tomasso if the lady made any com hpleainditdtonoliim t o a f s c a o n u y r se f 0 , u h n e d a a r t i i t o , n but for t a h t e p a r e p s p e i n i t cation. The matter then ended. think h e wthoeurledw, At LEWIS & COMPANY'S, Ranelagh street, BOYS are CLOTHED from the Ages of 6 to 20 Years "A NOVEL IxitsrAwn.—Anew and very ingenious inkstand ha; b-en submitted to our•notice; by a simple but ingenious contrivance, the ink is always kept clear and fluid."—Northampton Mercury.— Sold at is 8d 28 6d, and 313 6d each.—.4dvt. CASH AND DEUD Boxxa —The next important thing to the poss,s sion of cash is, how (when you have got itj to keep it safely, either in the counting-house or at home. The same remarks apply to deeds and other valuable documents. We have seen a large and varied stock of both these desirable articles, manufactured expressly for Mr. E. T. Hall, of South John-street, that challenge attention. These boxes are made on new and admired principles, and possess patent locks, which defy the ingenuity of any " pick-lock" in the world to o o t p h e e n except rs , these n w e i w th s t a hp es i , e o gi n ti a m s t a k i e w y. ale To mu m s e t rc p h ro a v n e ts v , a s lus oli b ci le to i r n s d , —Northern Daily Times, 21st May, 1857. e an ed d . HEALTH or BOULOGNE.—The following is extracted from a letter, tothe sanitary anylf a c v o o n a d r i . - dated Boulogne, May 28 :—" At the approach of the bathing season it t m io s n y obfethiasswfaevlloutorirteeasplacsureeoif resort, ntendin able impressions, which may still remain from last year. The alar m that was caused by the appearance at Boulogne of that severe f orm g an vi d siW to rs contradict as of sore throat which had previously shown itself at Paris, and many other points in the north of France, and has since appeared in several other places, is too well known for any injury to be done to the locality by referring to it. But statistics now show, What, of cour se , could not be known at the time, that it was very far from prevaiing to the extent that was at one moment inferred from a few unfortunate instances to which general attention became directed. On the other hand, since last summer the exertions of the municipality have been strenuously and Unremittingly engaged on the improvement of the sanitary condition of the locality ; and the favourable result of these %xertions is proved by the present low rate of mortality, which is con siderably under the average. lam assured that for several months past there have been no cases of infantine febrile disorders at Boulogne. beyond those isolated instances which occur from time to time in every centre of population, and arise, not from any local cause, but from the very nature of things, and that in this respect the health of Boulogne during the past winter can be advantageously compared with that of several of the neighbouring towns. The mortality during the present year, 1857, has amounted to 315 from the Ist of January to the 26th of May, being at the rate of 755 deaths a year : while in 1856 there were 986 deaths, 384 of which occured between the lot of Jarman', and the 26th of May. The mortality of 1855 exceeded that of 1856. It is clear, then, that the mortality has been diminishing for some years past, while a still more satisfactory assurance is found from comparing it to the pop u l at i on, which, although es ti m ated at x ,7 by the last cen sus , is believed to amount to 40 000. The medical m,39 n lthink it Is of Bonlogne are unan i mous in stating that at t hi s m oment th w e ith imb th h e c health is in a sati s f actory condition, and one i n accordance reputation the locality h as a l wa y s en joyed for salubrity. only a matter of justice at the opening of the bathing season truth to give those interested in Bo u lo gn e an opportunitythus of stating the regarding its sanitary condition, and us removing Which, if not cor rec t e d, m i g ht exerC the number of yi S it Ora. " ise an anfa impressions abie inflames on THE JAMES L. BOGART. At the Birkenhead County Court on Friday last, before J. W. Harden, the Judge, a case came on to be heard in which John Wellesley, one of the colored seamen of this vessel was the plaintiff, and Mr. W. K. Campbell, of Liverpool, solicitor, was the defendant. Mr. Bretherton appeared for the plaintiff; and Ur. Campbell in person. Upon the case being called on, Mr. Campbell objected to his honor's jurisdiction as part of the money was received in Chester, and the other in Liverpool. Mr. Bretherton said he was afraid Mr. Campbell would take that step and if he persisted in it he (Mr. Bretherton) must apply for a fresh summons, for the case to be heard in Chester. After some further conversation Mr. Campbell ultim Italy agreed to abide by his Honour's decision as arbitrator. Mr. Bretherton then stated that John Wellesley, the plaintiff, was one of the coloured seamen of the James L. Bogart, and was also a witness on the trial of Peter Camp ball, the second mate of that vessel, who was tried at the last Chester assizes, and transported for life, for wounding James Christie, another coloured seaman of the same vessel. After the prisoner, Peter Campbell, was in custody, the defendant (who conducted the prosecution) wrote to the Lords of the Treasury that some allowance might be made for such of the crew who may be detained as witnesses on the trial, and he received in reply, that the government would allow them the same wages as they would receive while serving on board any vessel and also board wages. For the plaintiff 16s per week board wages, and 14 per month seaman's wages, and Mr. Campbell accordingly received on his account from the treasury the sum of £lB 16s, and £2 11s 8d allowed him for attending at Birkenhead Police Court and at the Chester assizes, making in the whole £2l is Bd, out of which Mr. Campbell had made sundry payments to the plaintiff to the amount of £lO 12s Ild, which left £lO 14s 9d, the amount now sued for. The plaintiff was then called into the box, and fully bore out Mr. Bretherton's statement, and added that he had called very many times on Mr. Campbell for a settlement, but all that gentleman would offer him as the balance was £5, which he (Wellesley) would not take as he knew more was due to him. Mr. Drew, the magistrate's clerk, produced a letter which had been received from the Treasury, show ing the amount each witness was entitled to, amounting in the wholo to the sum of £66 14s, the receipt of which Mr. Campbell admitted, as also the allowances at the assizes, and, in answer t o th e case , state d that there was not so much due to Wellesley as he stied for, and called his clerk, who produced several copies of receipts, signed by Wellesley, and amongst them was one for £2 Bs, which Wellesley said he had never signed. Mr. Campbell said the original receipt had been sent to London, or he would have produced it. The several items of expendi ture on behalf of Wellesley were then gone into as well as those for cash advanced to him at different times, which ma ie up an amount of £l3 odd, leaving a balance of about £B, which his Honour decided should be paid to the plaintiff; upon which Mr. Campbell remarked that the plaintiff had offered to take £7, and added that be (Mr. Campbell) was not then prepared to pay the £B, but would do so on reaching Liverpool. It came out in the course of the evidence that the plaintiff had been detained ever since the 3rd of April last, in the hope of getting his money, and so badly off was he that but for the kindness of the boarding-house keeper he must have starved ; he also lost the opportunity of going in two or three vessels, and that two other of the seamen, named Chrystie and Johnson, who claimed a balance, had become so reduced as to be obliged to go to sea without what they alleged was due to them. {Surely some inquiry will be made into this case, that it may be reported to the proper authorities ; and we would recommend Wellesley to take proceedings for some compensation for his loss of time during which he has been unnecessarily detained for want of that which he appears to have been clearly entitled to. —ED. N. T.] . SEAWORTHINESS OF MERCHANT VESSELS. A case was heard at the Belfast Police Cotirt, which deserves considerable att ent i on f rom the legislature as well as the public. The ship Harriett Wylda was employed in the Baltic trade, some six or seven months, and returned to Liverpool in an unseaworty state. The captain reported her condition to the owners, but this report was so com pletely disregarded that the ship was ordered to take in a cargo of salt for Quebec. She sailed from Liverpool for Quebec, but, having sprung a leak, she was obliged to put into Belfast Lough. She then received order , to proceed to Ramsay, where the owner resided, and afterwards sailed for Douglas, Isle of Man. During this time not the slightest attempt was made towards rendering her sea worthy, the seamen being employed the greater part of the voyage at the pumps. While she remained at Douglas, four seamen deserted, and these were replaced by others, from Liverpool. The vessel again attempted to proceed on her voyage, and, the seamen pumping night and day, she made some two hundred miles into the Atlantic, when she was again obliged to put about and return to Belfast. Four of the crew here left her, and made a claim for a month's wages. The captain acknowledged that she was unseaworthy, but the owner threatened, if he would not proceed with the ship—still in the condition she was in when arriving from the Baltic—to Newcastle, he wou'd appoint another person to take the command. The Re ceiver of Droits iu Belfast having imposed a penalty of £l, owing to the captain of the Harriett Wylde not having reported the ship, and the magistrate having ordered the men to be paid a month's wages each, any legal recogni tion of the transaction there ended. But what the public and the merchant service are cencerned in is this : are vessels to be allowed to go from Rod to port in the con dition of the Harriett Wylde, without any legislative interference ? Here we have a ship pronounced, by her own commander, to be unseaworthy; yet her crew and cargo are tossed about the sea tor mouths togeth er , and no legal cognisanceis taken o f h er condition. The seaworthiness of a ship, when leaving pen:, is not a question which should b e l eft alone in the h a nds of Lloyds agent, The public have other interests than those connected with insurance. A heavy hand is placed by the law on seamen in case of desertion, and would it not be well that the Legislature should institute some e nac t ment which would pre'vent the lives of seamen being vainly endangered, as was manifestly the case in the instance of the Harriett Wylde ? The case of the Harriett Wylde manifestly exhibits the present imperfect state of the law, and the hardships which it inflicts on the seafaring classes. There can be no reason why vessels engaged in the general merchant ser vice should not undergo something approaching to the survey of an emigration ship or passenger steamer.— Belfast Whig. Exclusively for CLOTHING BOYS from 6 to 20 Years LEWIS & COMPANY. Runelauh street. Mr. John Frost, the C'oartist, is about to visit the north of England for the purpose of delivering lectures. SHIPS CHARTERED BY EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS. —On Thursday, the Emigration CoMmissioners accepted the Melbourne, for Melbourne, at £l5 18 , . 9d. THE LAuossT or LARGE EGGS.—We have had presented to us, the produce of a hen of the mixed Spanish and Dorking breed, a well-shaped egg, weighing four ounces ; dimensions, eight inches by seven.—Carlisle Patriot. GLENLUCH.—As an instance of the rapid growth going on, a plot of beans is in full blossom in Balcarry, the seed planted in March. The grain crops in general look re markably well in the parish of Old Luce, and such is the demand for labourers that every person able to work is employed ; wages are increasing. —Galloway Advertiser. STREET PREACHING.—On Wednesday evening, four street preachers were apprehended by the police, for causing an obstruction in Victoria -street, Manchester, by their open air preaching, and brought up the iollowing morning at the city Police Court. THE FORTUNE-TELLER AND HER VICTIM.—OIIe day last week a middle-aged woman, accompanied by a boy, entered a grocer's shop in one of the second-rate streets of Bishopwearmouth. The object of their visit was an nounced by the youngster, who said the woman was hie rvteodatarto for Australia, t out mother ; and, as sh e was c h ef and dumb, she got her livelihood by t e lli ng f ortunes. The grocer has two daughters —young an d comely damsels withal ; and as the woman o ff ere d , through the b oy, to te l l them all about who th ey were to have as h us b an d s fur the low charge o f s i xpence, of course i t was a b argain, and tshixepgeanpniing girls. orthof m T at a r e im o o l n d ial grocer m ystery being was about thoughtse he might as well have an inkli ng as to and became her willing stave for the moment cunning hag, he" In obedience to her directions produce:! six sovereigns how he would get on when he got there, s so he too hired the and placed them in her hand. She fumbled about w i t h m inute or so, but of co urse th ere could be no danger o f diddling, for weren't the sag ac i ous grocer and his them for a two girls gazing on all the while ? The next part of the performance was the announcement that the sovereigns Must be locked up for three days, at the end of which time the prophetess would return and reveal the result. A box was thereupon produced, and after tying up what appeared to be the sovereigns in a piece of old gown, the woman handed the little parcel to the grocer, to deposit it in ow u a n hoi t e i er l F ubp r o i o d tn a t y itlh , oe w f go la r e rto n acne i re t . w tue o ni the box, which he was requested to lock, and keep locked, o her b box,e L locked Clrdahn have tehhreputed unrolled p n re sononl eide the lingered, r i rag,d and found--six farthings ! The perpetrator of this clever trick is as yet uncaught, and it is believed she' has with drawn to the south of the county. We dig docks—launch leviathan ships—lay out public parks—and even dream of free libraries —bat meanwhile Ignorance nurses her foster daughter, Superstition, and the child continues to grow and thtive amazingly. —Sunderland Herald.