The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-02 00:00:00

worts to sink down the poor of this country still deeper in the mire of poverty and distress. The anti-corn law agitators have resolved henceforth to " dissociate themselves altogether from political parties, and to adopt the test of a man's promise to support the total repeal of the corn-laws as the criterion of his fitness to be supported as a political candidate." We hope they will act on this resolution. They could not have hit upon a better expedient for defeating their own ends. The Stephen Whitney, Captain W. C. Thompson, Which arrived here yesterday, has brought New :York Papers to the 13th ultimo, being one day later than those brought by the Hibernia. We have been politely favoured with copies of the Morning Herald and the Daily E x p ress o f May 13. W e l earn th a t th e mercantile affairs of New York showed no symptoms of im provement when the Stephen Whitney sailed. The abuse of the credit system was fast producing its opposite extreme, and business was confined to the limited circle of those who possessed a cash capital. The licentious conduct of the insolvent banks and merchants was fast putting an end to the remnant of that credit which, but a few years since, was enjoyed almost universally. Trade was consequently decaying, and the interest of money falling. Very little was doing in the stock market. The shares of the United States Bank exhibited a' trifling improvement ; but the transactions in the market were of the most limited character. The cotton market also evinced small ope rations without r any important changes in rates. The rate of exchange on England was at 108 per cent. In flour - the market was dull at New York. The receipts had not been large since the opening of the Ca nal, but the price was drooping. The rate of freight was'rather declining, which favoured the market. T he Montreal Herald of May 8 states that there had , " e en a report prevailing for some days that the Special Council had thrimn" out the bill for regulating - the cur rency betiieen the Upper and Lower Province's; and as the Bank of Montreal had, on the previous day, declined taking. Upper Canada hank notes in toto, it Was presumed that the report was too well founded. Bank drafts On New York were quoted at 21-, and on London at 10 per cent. premium. Intelligence had reached New York of fresh outrages in Florida, on the part of the L►dians. A large party of them had attacked Capt. Rains, of the 7th infantry, Who was returning, with eighteen men, from a scout. Four of his men were killed, and five wounded, Capt. Rains himself having also been severely wounded. . - Several other attacks had been made by the Indians, Who, i n many cases, had destroyed much valuable pro- PertY. There appeared to be every probability that Florida would suffer for some time longer from the predatory incursions of the aborigines. This is not to be wondered at, considering the efforts made tv exter minate them. The Baltimore American says that a well-founded rumour was in circulation at Washington, that Mr. Kendall, the Postmaster-general, had tendered his re mgnation to the President. It was also rumoured that Mr. Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury, and Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State, had likewise resigned their offices. In the Northern States the season is described as exceedingly forward. There was every promise of an abundant harvest. In Ohio there had been a consi derable flood, greater than any that had been witnessed since that of 1832. Van Rensselaer, who was sentenced to six months' Imprisonment, and fined 250 dollars, to remain in pri son until the fine was paid, for his violation of the neu rality law, has had the fine remitted by the President. William Lyon Mackenzie, who was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, from the 20th of June last, has also, it is stated, had the residue of his punishment re mitted. At length—at the last hour—we are enabled to gather the sentiments of Government with respect to the important subject of Irish Registration. On Thursday evening, Mr. Pigot, the O'Connellite Soli citor-General, brought in 'a Bill, " to remove doubts With respect to the qualification of voters in Ireland," and to create a court of appeal in cases of disputed decisions. Bearing in mind the object for which alone this bill was brought in—via., to obstruct the passing of LOrd Stanley's m - easure—we weiepripared to ex pect dishonesty in its framing, and that it would; either directly or indirectly, leave untouched the evil of which it professes to be a remedy. In this expectation we are not doomed to he disappointed. The bill of Minis ters is purposely framed so as to ensure its rejection by the Upper House of Parliament, if ever it arrives there, as well as to leave open, should it become a law, seve ral fertile sources of the demoralization and perjury in operation under the present system. _ We shall not at present enter in a comparison of the relative merits of the two bills. The one—that of Lord Stanley—merely affects the mode of registration, and leaves the question of the franchiSe untouched ; that of the Solicitor-General for Ireland affects also the mode of registration, and deals —tenderly, it is true— with some of the evils of the present system. But, With true Whig cunning, the measure of the learned Precursor includes a clause, insidiously introduced, by which, under the pretence of " *loving doubts" as to the qualification required under the Reform Act, the true construction of that act is to be declared in direct opposition to the decision of the Judges—the franchise to be virtually lowered—and the door to fraud and perjury propped opeiz, by an express enact ment, to all whose pliable or seared consciences will permit them to enter. The clause in question allows the term " beneficia interest" to be interpreted, by the voter and the assis• tart barrister, to be the value which the premises, after deducting rent, can be proved to be of to the claimant himself ; not, as at present ruled by the Judges, the value which any other party would give over and above the rent reserved. It will be evident that such ample room would be given, by this interpre tation, to bard swearing as to imaginary value, that one of the greatest evils of the present system—its reckless perjury—would be increased by being thus, in effect, legalised. A man has only to swear that the mud hovel which he occupies on lease is, together with his own labour bestowed on its patch of potatoe ground, producing him £lO per annum, after paying his rent— that his labour, in fact, is worth £lO a) , ear—and he becomes qualified to be on the register as a county or a borough voter! Can such an astounding proposi tion, which is neither more nor less than an approach to universal suffrage, be listened to for a moment ? Of course it cannot ; its authors know that it cannot. And yet, without this dishonest clause—which is the twin brother of the celebrated appropriation clause— no measure for the correction of the gigantic evil, which demoralizes and degrades Ireland, will be al lowed by the Whig Government and the Romish priesthood to pass into a law ! If it be the fact,.as it evidently is in the opinions of Government, that a £lO franchise in Ireland is too high, let it be lowered; let us have, in Ireland at least, a franchise which is not expansive according as the conscience of the claimant is more or less pliable. Let what is insidiously, or in the Whig-Radical phrase, virtually lowered, be done by an express enactment, so that honest men may by law enjoy the privileges which false knaves are now allowed to snatch. Let the evils of the registration system be corrected at all hazards, and then deal with the franchise. But no—listen, reader, to the avowal of a Whig Minister ! Listen to Lord John Russell. "If he could see that Parliament would be disposed without reference to party to establish the franchise on fair grounds, so as neither to diminish nor abridge the franchise which it was the design of the Reform Bill to grant, be would assist in framing a measure for that purpose." If he could lower the franchise he would do so ; and what is his alternative ? ,He fears that he cannot, and he is ready to allow the claimant to achieve by fraud what he does not possess by law ! He fears he cannot get a low franchise accurately laid down, and therefore, is not able to " recommend his honourable and learned friend to go any further than he now proposes to do." " Evil, be thou my good !" It must be obvious that such a bill is a mere weapon wherewith to fight Lord Stanley out of committee. We think the attempt will not be successful ; yet, should this trick fail, the game will be played out of doors which has already failed within the walls of Parliament; and it shall be our care that the electors of Liverpool at least are not misled. Perjury and fraud in Ireland are the acknowledged aids upon which alone the Whig faction lean for a wretched and de graded existence. They have declared by this bill, and by the mouth of Lord John Russell, that they will either have perjury or a popish democracy. Let them dissolve upon the question, and the Protestant con stituencies of England will crush them beneath the weight of their honest indignation ! DISSOLVE, LORD JOHN-DISSOLVE ! ENGLAND S READY! The editor of the Mercury is certainly one of the most slippery antagonists it has ever been our fortune to encounter. No sooner have we detected a sophistry or fastened a charge upon him, than, with infinite cunning, he contrives to wriggle from our grasp. No sooner have we checked his confidential swagger, plucked him of his borrowed plumage, and left him as naked as an unfledged gosling, than we find him pert as ever, gabbling, with undiminished volubility, a fresh tissue of flimsy absurdities. Blending together the most outrageous conceit and the most profound ignorance, his policy is to bully, to quibble, and to misrepresent by turns, until, by the strange jumble of incongruous matter which he infuses into his diatribes, he has managed to bewilder alike his reader and him- seit. On the last occasion upon which we had the honour of receiving our contemporary's abuse—and his abuse is the only honour which he can confer upon us—we were attacked chiefly upon our own quarrel. We had in our own behalf alone disturbed the equanimity of this self-complacent personage. But, unfortunately, we volunteered to apply the knout for a gentleman who, had he not been constrained by a thorough con- ;empt for the offender, would, we doubt not, have spared us the unwelcome task. Yet the Mercury is angry because we gave expression to this feeling; and, well aware that no challenge of his could bring down upon him such a visitation, is .as fluent in big words as a bully who has got a vow in heaven." He has thrown his slime at the gentleman in question on pre vious occasions, and been allowed to crawl on his obscene path uncrushed, as such a thing would have been by a meaner tread. He has been allowed to breathe the same air for a time, and to perpetrate his vapid impertinences unnoticed ; and, because his min gled nauseousness and insignificance have hitherto preserved him from annihilation, he indulges in the empty braggadocio of former insults, alike unresented, and presumes to arrogate equality with a . man whose pursuits are too lofty to permit him to notice seriously so contemptible a scribbler. Would that we could convey to the Mercury a sense of his utter insignifi- cance, as regards every quality of mind and intellect, when compared with the gentleman in question ! We shall not< attempt to follow our contemporary Tough the various windings by .which he vainly en- deavours to creep out of the dilemma into which his ignorance originally brought him. Our object in no ticing at first his slanderous and impudent effusions was, to shew the false and unfair basis upon which Lord Stanley's bill was attacked by the Mercury and such as he. We-pointed out the distorted medium through which its provisions were viewed. We proved that ob jections were brought against that bill which might, with equal reason, be brought against the present sys tem ; and that, in many important particulars, so far from decreasing the facilities of registration to a bona fide claimant, it had a contrary tendency. These, the main features of our case, the Mercury has quietly dropped; and his present diatribe of two columns and a half is composed of a series of paltry cavils, spread over so large a space, and so interlarded with patch work of other men's absurdities, that it is hard to find out which is the original mercurial brass and which the lacquered ware borrowed for the occasion. We will give, however, an instance or two of our contemporary's mode of arguing. We showed him, ,n our last notice, that Mr. M'Neile was, in substance, correct in stating that Lord Stanley's bill brought the registry to the claimant's door, and pointed out that clause in the act by which power is given to the Lord Lieutenant to provide additional places for holding the registry sessions. Our contemporary, however, has a distorted vision, which will not allow him to see any thing in its natural shape. Accustomed to the shifts and collusions of whig legislation, he cannot believe that a clause in an act of parliament can be interpre ted in any other than a tricky sense. There is a con dition, he says, which we have " carefully kept out of view, and which nullifies the clause, or, at the least, renders it of partial and uncertain operation." And what does our reader suppose is this condition which we have so carefully kept out of view ? Why, that the Lord Lieutenant, previdus to such additional place of registration being appointed, must be shown its neces sity by a petition from a meeting of magistrates. Lord Stanley has concluded that wisdom is not intuitive even in a Lord Lieutenant, and has requested the magistracy to point out when and how the power given to him by this bill should be exercised. Had his lordship's bill said that "it shall be lawful for the priests so assem bled, being not less than five, or a majority of them, to petition the Lord Lieutenant," we should have heard nothing about the clause in question being nullified by a " condition ; or, perhaps, it would be convenient for the barristers to hold their sittings in the chapels at once, unless that locality is too near the burial places of some of the Tom CasSidys, whose votes it might occasionally be convenient to renew. Again, our contemporary accuses us of falsehood in stating, that by Lord Stanley's Bill the onus of proving an objection is thrown upon the objector, and states in proof of his assertion that " the 21st section requires the claimant to prove his claim in all cases by the pro duction of his title deeds." Why so, we repeat, does the present Reform Act. Our assertion, as the Mer cury is well aware, had to do with parties objected to and not with claimants, whose position is not at all altered by the 22d section of Lord Stanley's Bill, so far as regards the necessity of offering proof of qualification. The objector is, by Lord Stanley's bill, for the first time, expressly required to prove his objection. The Mercury, with his usual trickery, quotes the wrong section of the act; but that is a small matter in his way. _ _ Having perpetrated a column of sheer cavilling, our contemporary flies off at a tangent, and lugs in to his aid the Spectator, the Atlas, Mr. Sharman Crawford, and the Northern Whig. Our contemporary is per- fectly at liberty to adopt as many of other peoples' ab surdities as he pleases. We have only to do with iinself, but we cannot omit to notice the ridiculous idea, which he puts forth as Mr. Sharman Crawford's, respecting the form of notice required to be sent in by a claimant under Lord Stanley's bill. "We have be fore us," exclaims the Mercury, " a notice filled up by Mr. Crawford, for a £2O leaseholder, comprising no fewer than 26 particulars ! !" A mighty great curiosity such a notice must be ! We can only remark that the very simple one, quoted by Mr. M`Neile at the Amphi theatre meeting, is all that is required by the ninth clause for a freeholder; and that with respect to a leaseholder, the only material alteration required by that clause, is " the names of the lessors and of the lives in the lease." It would be easy, by a stretch of in genuity, to suppose a claim, part freehold part lease hold, for lives as well as for years, which would re quire a considerable number of particulars; but to a great extent the same kind of dovetailed qualification would require a complicated form of claim under the present law. The opponents of the noble lord are re ally put to sorry shifts when they find it necessary to resort to such miserable attempts at delusion. We willingly close here our controversy with the Mercury upon this subject, and are perfectly satisfied with the relative position in which we stand towards him at its conclusion. But we are compelled to say a few words upon the personal portion of his attack upon us. The Mercury asserts that he is now confirmed in his " suspicions as to our identity !" What, we ask, has the Editor of the Mercury to do with our identity ? We are no more an " anonymous assail ant" than he is. We wear no " mask" which we are unwilling or ashamed to withdraw, under any circum stances; and our identity for any honest object is as perfect as that of our contemporary. It is quite possible that the Mercury may wish to bring to his aid, in any future contest he has with us, a little of the personality which is, with writers of his class, the ordinary substitute for argument. In wind ing up his angry tirade, he says, that if our " de tection" " be accomplished, all his revenge will be to publish our name, with half a dozen lines in ex planation." We cannot but despise alike the head and the heart of a man who is ready to resort to this despicable mode of warfare. We have, as Editor of the STANDARD, controverted the false positions of the Editor of the Mercury. For anything that we know, his name may be " Legion ;" we care not for his name, and we cannot imagine why he should care for ours. In one particular we trust he is correct, with respect to this disputed point. We can, he says, " assume the tone and language of a gentleman ;" and we have not, privately, sufficient knowledge of our contemporary's ability to do either, and his public exhibitions, espe cially towards ourselves, would not warrant us in making the assumption. ATTEMPT OF MINISTERS TO CURTAIL THE FRANCHISE OF FREEMEN. We have heard much during the discussion of Lord Stan ley's Irish registration bill of the hardship of some of its provisions as applied to the poorer classes of voters. That measure was denounced by the factious priesthood of Ireland, and by their tools, on both sides of the channel, on the especial ground that its operation would tend to curtail the franchise in counties, and to throw obstacles in the way of registration, both in counties and boroughs, which a poor man would not be able to surmount. We should, therefore, naturally have supposed that in any alteration of the regis tration in England, as well as in Ireland, the same anxiety would be manifested to foster and protect the rights of the humbler classes, and to extend, rather than restrict, the franchise. But mark the futility of such a supposition, and the dishonesty of this corrupt faction, as displayed in a measure brought in by Lord John Russell, to the operation of which we beg to call the attention of our readers, and es pecially of those who happen to be freemen of Liverpool ! The bill to which we allude is entitled " A bill for the registration of parliamentary electors," and proposes a num ber of alterations in the present system, very few of which we think are likely to be adopted by the legislature. Got up, as the measure is, to obstruct the bill of Lord Stanley, we were prepared by the whig lordling's former intimations, to expect that it would contain an attempt to assimilate the English to the Irish system, by doing away in some degree with the necessity of annual revision; and accordingly we find that attempt made after the following fashion : By a clause in the bill just introduced, his lordship proposes to establish a new class of voters, Who, when once registered, are to be exempt from having their right to vote called in question before the revising barrister, unless the ground of objection shall have arisen subsequent to the period of regis tration. Parties wishing to obtain this immunity—to obtain in fact a perpetual right to the suffrage—are required to send in their claims to be allowed to establish their " qualification absolutely ;" and in case they succeed in this, no matter whether on sufficient grounds or not, the revising barrister is to write opposite to their names, upon the register, the word "established," which secures their right from any further attaint, provided they still retain the qualification—good or bad—for which they have been thus " absolutely" registered. The object of this clause is, professedly, to prevent frequent vexatious objections being made to voters already on the lists. With its policy we have nothing to do. If honestly calculated to do away with the evil of vexa tious objections, we should not hesitate to support it, and we might believe that it was honestly intended to do so, had we not cause to suspect a lurking dishonesty in every measure which comes from the hands of the present base and shabby crew. But will it be believed that from this boon— this protection offered to . the regiStered freeholder and the £lO inhabitant householder—one class of voters is studiously excepted ? Will it be believed that, from a boon held out by these " friends of the poor man's franchise," not any fifty pound householder, or beneficed clergyman, but the poor freemen of our boroughs, are rigidly shut out The free holder, the leaseholder, or the householder, once " absolutely registered," may not afterwards have the value of his lands, his lease, or his title questioned, whilst the poor freeman is left to fight year after year before the revising barrister, and to defend his franchise, as best he may, from the attacks of an unprincipled objector ! Of course this is the whig version of even-handed justice. The enslaved bogtrotter, whose conscience and vote are car ried in the pocket of a Maynooth priest, to be used for the vile purposes of a vile faction, must be protected in his frau dulent franchise—be allowed to put his own interpretation upon the meaning of an act of parliament—personate dead men, or qualify out of a mud hovel not worth as many pence as he swears it is worth pounds : but the freemen of England will receive no such protection from those liberal gentlemen who claim to be, par excellence, " friends of the poor man's franchise." The lower classes of the £lO householders of England, who are especial favourites with the whig faction, must be protected from the annoyance of being told that their £lO beer-house, for which they qualified, is not worth £lO a-year after being converted into a dwelling-house ; but the freeman, whose title to a vote is inalienable, may be dragged before the revising barrister by any provincial Cop pock, any given number of times, although he may have proved that title over and over again. The poor freeman is no favourite of whig radicaliim, and therefore he receives none of its protection. Let our townsmen—let the freemen of Liverpool and of England—ponder upon this despicable and shabby attempt to withhold from them the privileges offered to other classes of voters. Let them add this to the catalogue of former in sults received from the whig faction ; and when one of that base and dishonest crew attempts to beguile a freeman of his judgment, with hollow pretensions of respect for the con stitutional rights of the poorer class of voters, let him point to this measure as a damning evidence of the cowardly and treacherous malignity which rankles in the heart of a Whig, whilst plausible and false professions are upon his lips ! CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.—We are happy to notice that a meeting of planters is convened in the metropolis for the following important purposes :—To submit to them the important services rendered to the island of Jamaica by the Church Missionary Society in extending religious instruction amongst the population there—the very heavy general expen ture made by the society—the very large proportion of it incurred in Jamaica—their consequent inability to continue that expenditure upon the same scale—and the necessity of withdrawing their mission unless assisted by the body of Jamaica proprietors. ST. SILAS CHURCH, PEMBROKE-PLACE.—The foundation stone of this church, about to be erected thro' the liberality and exertions of the congregation of St. Jude's, will be laid this morning by the Rev. Rector Campbell. The site se lected is the vacant ground adjoining the large house lately occupied by Mr. Muspratt, on the north side of Pembroke place. Some delay has taken place in the arrangement of the preliminary steps, but we understand that the whole will now be proceeded with to completion, and the poorer inhabitants of the district have now a prospect of shortly worshipping together in the church of their fathers, as we are informed a considerable proportion of the seats will be free. List of cabin passengers per Stephen Whitney, Captain W. C. Thompson, from New York :—Mrs. Sarchey, D. C. King, Henry Livingston, J. Q. Aymar, Augustus Aymar, Peter Sharpe, 11. S. Sharpe, New York ; William Apple ton, Albany ; Col. Hare Powel, Mrs. Powel , Saml. Powel, De Veaux • Powel, Baring Fowel, Hare Powel, John H. Powel, Miss Julia Powel, two servants, M. J. Miller, Phil adelphia; Dr. A. Hume, W. N. Lucas, S. H. Lucas, Charleston, S. C. ; George Tiffany, Mrs. S. M'Kenn, Miss Gill, Franklin Bowley, Baltimore ; Mrs. Jas. Sewell, Que bec ; Seth Sprague, N. P. Annes, 'Mass ; E. S. Jopey. Boston ; P. H. Stowell, Isle of Man ; J. W. Allwood, England ; Jas. Edgan, Canada; William Pratt, Miss Pratt, Liverpool; S. W. De Rantgon and Lady, Stockholm, Swe den; Lieut. Mills, K.D.G.; Lieut. B. B. Lassett, 71st Regt. ; Mr. R. S. Cannon 63d Regt. AN AUSTRALIAN WOLF DOG.—There is now in the pos session of Mr. Jackson, commercial naturalist, Clayton square, a female of this species, the only carnivorous animal found in that country, and characterised by zoologists as very savage and untractable. The present specimen, how ever, from its intercourse with man, and probably, in some degree, from its having two fine cubs, whose sire is an English pointer, appears to have lost its native ferocity, and suffers itself to be handled and even teazed by its master, without further murmur than a sort of low growl or snort ing, which appears to he peculiar to its breathing. Bewick, who furnishes a very faithful likeness of this " dog of the woods," thus describes it :—" The New South Wales Wolf has been called a dog, but its wild and savage nature seems strongly to point out its affinity to the wolf, to which, in other respects, it bears a strong resemblance. It neither barks nor growls. but when vexed erects the hairs of the whole body, and appears extremely ferocious. It is fond of rabbits and poultry. Its height is rather less than two feet, and its length two-and-a-halt feet. The ears are short and erect; the tail long and bushy (like that of the wolf.) It is a pale (or brownish) white, and lighter on the belly." The feet and legs, we may add, are white, and the eyes of a bright light amber colour. Bewick's description is correct as regards the animal in question, with the exception of its having become tamed; though, we rather think it is not much to be trusted. The cubs are exceedingly strong and healthy, and it is supposed will have a superior scent. They partake of the carnivorous appetite of their parent, which is fed on raw meat, and dislikes any thing cooked : when a piece of meat is thrown down to them, the " tug" of the one to take it from the other, is like " Greek meeting Greek." THE TWENTY-NINTH OF MAY AT WALTON.—Thurs- day last, being the anniversary of the restoration of King Charles the 11. to the throne of these realms, was comme- morated at Walton in a suitable manner by a party of gen tlemsn of the village and neighbourhood, who, to the number of about twenty, sat down to an excellent dinner at the Black Horse Inn, prepared and served in Mrs. Stanley's accus tomed style of neatness and profusion. Mr. M`Gregor a bly presided, and was well supported by Mr. Hanning and Mr. Chubb; the vice-chair was occupied with equal ability by Mr. Shalcspeare, who was supported by the Rev. Mr. Wilson, curate of the parish, Mr. Birkett, and several gen tlemen of the township. The room was appropriately decorated for the occasion with branches of oak, flowers &c. am idst which were seen, a picture of King Charles when a youth ; an engraving of Sir Robert Peel, a full length figure of the Duke of Wellington, and a bust of the l a t e M r . Canning. After a repast, including many of the delicacies and abundlnce of the substantials of the season, the usual loyal and truly constitutional toasts were drunk, including, amidst immense applause, the health of Sir Robert Peel, and the first and gallant captain of the age, " the Duke." Conservative and convivial sentiments were intermixed, and the afternoon was spent in the most agreeable manner, and with a unity of feeling demonstrative of the stability of those principles to which the country owes so much, and to which alone she must look for redemption from the hands of a weak and mischievous administration, and the prominent establishment of her national dignity and happiness. THE MICROSCOPE.— The attention of naturalists an d philosophers has recently been drawn in a peculiar degree to this invaluable instrument, and many are the secrets of nature and science, which its use and study are daily bringing to light. We were struck with an instance of its power the other evening, when a paper being produced, containing ap parently only a series of waving lines, it displayed, wh en placed beneath the microscope, an inscription of the most minute, but beautiful character. As this exquisite produc tion of the burin of Messrs. Perkins and Bacon is fully detailed in an advertisement which appears in our publication of to-day, we can only say, that is designed for the especi a l protection against fraudulent imitation of " ROWLAND'S MACASSAR OIL," which words are repeated, nearly 1500 times, comprising nearly 30,000 letters.—See advt. CELEBRATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH OF MAY. PROCESSION OF THE SHIP CARPENTERS The anniversary of the restoration of King Charles 11. was, on Friday last, commemorated in this town in a man ner amply demonstrative of that loyalty and of those genu ine constitutional principles which have seated the present dynasty on the throne of these realms, and from the main tenance of which can alone be anticipated the full establish ment of our national honour, prosperity, and independence. The demonstration of feeling in behalf of the Protestant cause was general throughout the town, but, in accordance with ancient custom, the honour of a public procession was borne by that useful and numerous class of workmen the shipwrights and ropernakers, and the apprentices to those respective trades so indispensable to the welfare of a port second to none in the kingdom in maritime and commercial enterprise and exertion. The bustle of preparation commenced at an early hour in the morning, and all became speedily on the qui vive. Flags were hoisted on the towers of the churches, and as the day advanced, the streets became gay by a similar display from numerous public buildings; schools, inns, and private houses. The newspaper and publishing offices, attached to the conservative cause, were conspicuous in this respect, and the shipping in the docks and river was not behind-hand, — •ensigns and pendants freely floating in the breeze. The younger branches of the community enjoyed a holiday, and numerous were the infantine and pleasing representations of King Charles borne along the streets by senior playmates embowered by yet delicately green " boughs of oak." A hkrge portion of the community, indeed, considered the day as a festival, and lent their aid to promote the general good feeling. Young and old, rich and poor, both of the town and neighbouring country, thronged the several great tho rough-fares in " living streams," or congregated at corners and points whence they could obtain a view of the proces sional display. The weather was clear, sunny, and enliven ing, with a breeze from the N.W., that rendered Walking agreeably cool, though ra th er t oo brisk occasionally for the easy display of the numerous flags carried in the procession. The numerous members of the Shipwrights' Association, and their copartners, the Ropers, assembled in Williamson square, at nine o'clock, and the whole ground and its outlets became crowded by a dense number of spectators. The flags and banners were very numerous, the bands played national airs, and the whole presented a gay and interesting appear ance. Soon after ten they formed in procession,' and pro ceeded to Christ Church, according to previous arrange ment, that church being one of the largest in the town. DIVINE SERVICE. The spacious edifice was crowded in every part by a seri ous and attentive congregation. The usual morning service, and the prayers appointed for the occasion, were most im pressively read by the Rev. Mr. Mansfield, after which the Rev. Fielding Ould ascended the pulpit for the purpose of delivering the annual sermon. The rev. gentleman selected as his text the Mir verse of the •42d Psalm—" The Lord of Hosts is with us ; tile God of Jacob is our refuge." The discourse, which was principally of an exhortative character, appeared to produce a great impression. TIIE PROCESSION. Immediately after attending divine service the members of the society again ranged themselves in marching array, in Hunter-street, and proceeded, with flags and music, to make the circuit of the principal streets. In every quarter colours were shown from houses and windows to welcome their ap proach, and they greeted. the parties who displayed them with repeated shouts of applause. The thoroughfares were crowded from end to end with dense masses, amongst whom the Lancashire witches, both of high and humble station, shone consiiicuous. The windows were also replete with spectators, and numerous were the green branches of the British oak exhibited in commemoration of the day. In the wider streets, and particularly in Dale -street, in the area of the Exchange, in Castle-street, and in Lord-street, their ap pearance was exceedingly imposing. The whole of the mem bers were neatly dressed, for the most part in blue coats, and the apprentices in round jackets and white trousers, and looked as highly respectable as they are a highly important portion of our population. The procession was headed by a well-dressed military band, followed by a large and beautiful silk flag—the royal standard,—suspended, as were all the large flags, between two poles, steadied by cords held by parties in advance and behind the bearers. This flag—costly, trimmed with yellow silk—was, we believe, shown on this occasion for the second time only. The motto on the scroll at the top was—" For God, our Queen, and our Country." On the second flag, which was bordered with crimson silk, and borne by the shipwrights, was, on one side, a well-painted large figure of Charles 11., mounted on a spirited steed, richly caparisoned ; on the obverse was a picture of the same monarch in the act of mounting the oak tree. The third flag was that presented some years ago to the society by General Gascoyne, with a rich blue ground, on which were represented the Liverpool arms, the arms of the gallant general, and the shipwrights' arms. It was fringed with red silk, and is still in good preser vation. Military bands preceded all the larger flags, playing the national anthem, Rule Britannia, and other appropriate strains. The intermediate flags and banners were countless, and many of them very effective. Amongst them were many British ensigns and union-jacks, and on the tops of the poles were crowns, models of vessels, hulls, steering wheels, and a variety of other insignia. The fourth large flag, a new one, bore a picture of the Duke of Wellington mounted, remark ably well painted : motto—" May we always have a Wel lington, to guard our native land." A blue silk flag fol lowed, representing in gold a ship on the stocks, with several appropriate devices. Another fine one bore the shipwrights' arms. The bands in various parts of the procession were all dressed in their respective uniforms, and gave an agree able variety to the whole. Amongst the models carried was one of a fully-rigged ship, with colours flying, which attract ed deserved attention. The rope-makers followed the ship wrights, and were preceded by a fine large flag, bearing on one side a full-length picture of the gallant Nelson, and on the other a striking representation of the death of that illustrious hero, on the deck of the Victory. Fol lowing this was a flag representing Queen Katherine indus triously occupied at a spinning wheel. On the obverse was a view of a rope-walk, with spinners at work. Next came a band composed of youths with fifes and bugle horns; fol lowed, as we learned, by a band of blockmakers, with appro priate flags, and each with an appropriate head or bunch of hemp on the top of the pole. The St. George's Association brought up the rear, preceded by a band of music, and a num ber of flags, amongst which was conspicious the red cross on a white ground, of their patron saint. The Ita:alsome flag belonging to the conservatives of Lime-street Ward, lettered in gold on a blue ground, was also prominent in the proces sion. Many of the carpenters - bore large axes, resembling the formidable and heavy tool used by them in the building yards • but they were merely made of wood, and served when flourished to keep back without injuring the obstructing crowds. All in the procession wore red and blue rosettes, appended from the neck by ribbons of the same colour. The number of shipwrights who walked was between eight and nine hundred, the ropers from two hundred and fifty to three hundred, and the apprentices about four hundred and fifty. The procession took the route from Christ Church along the principal streets to Williamson-square, from which they re tired to their several inns and club-rooms, where they passed the evening in a convivial meeting. The procession was well arranged and perfectly orderly throughout. The bells con tinued to send forth occasional peals throughout the day, and the streets were thronged until dusk by young and old in their best attire, who had embraced the occasion of enjoy ing a sort of holiday. The St. George's Association sat down to a plentiful din ner at the George the Fourth Inn, Hood-street. A variety of loyal and constitutional toasts were given, and some ex cellent addresses were delivered. Similar proceedings took place at the other meeting houses ; and it is as gratifying to us to have to state, as it is wormwood and gall for our oppo nents to hear, that this important anniversary passed off in the most orderly and peaceable manner. BOTANIC GARDENS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Siit,-1 cannot but view with feelings of deep apprehension and alarm, for the happiness and welfare of our town, the conclusion which has been come to at a public meeting by the proprietors of the Botanic Gardens, to throw them open to the public on the Lord's day, it being the first step to admit on authority the principle which has been latterly the favourite scheme of the philanthropists, as they are styled, of the day, of establishing Sunday amusements, or in more refined terms, recreations for the labouring classes. I say on autho r ity, because it is known that our Town Council have deliberately come to the conclusion to grant two hundred pounds of the town's funds for this end, or in other words, for the purpose of leading the people into temptation, on condition of the shareholders in the gardens consenting to' make their pro perty the medium for the accomplishment of the obj ec t de sired, and as poverty as well as riches is a temptation to sin, the trap has succeeded, the town is compromi se d, an d t h e favourite principle has almost without a struggle taken root amongst us. Ido not now stay to enquire whether the coun cil have the right thus to vote away the public money for the injury of the people, but 1 would earnestly ask any individual to .stand forward at once and drive back the intrusion, resist it as you would a wedge put into your door for the purpose of getting into your house to steal your most sacred property, and to deprive you of your liberty. Are these un-English schemes to be adopted without an effort? Are we to deliver up our bibles and the commands of God, sacrificing with them the blessings which we have so long enjoyed, merely to gratify the experimental Sunday locomoti ve sys: terns set forth of certain parties, who seem to think if they can only shew loving-kindness enough for the bodies of their friends, their souls are of no moment ? 1 b e li eve there are many parties connected with these gardens w h o are d esirous of acting correctly in this matter, but who have their imagi nations worked upon mostinjuriouly by contact with those• Who worship the God of their imagination, and will not yield to the God of truth. They paint themnocency of the p oor en j oy i ng a quietwalk, &c., with their families on a Sunday, in terms which are never realized in practice. Go to the parks in London, and all places of public resort, and does not vice in every f orm mark the character of the crowd ? Who that has vi s it e d th e se i places cannot testify the truth of t ? Let n o t, t h erefore, those whose desire itis to do good and promot e th e glory of God in the land, be so easily deceived. I trust this impor tant question will not be allowed to rest with out every effort to reverse the decision which has been come to. I am, yours, &c„ AN ENGLISHMAN. THE " GORDOVIG ION" EISTEDDFOD. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Sig,—Can you inform me , why s uc h a small number of the Welsh resident merchants and gentry of Liverpool are found among the patrons of the approaching " Eiiteddfod" to be held in your town ? Having bee n f ormerly a resident in Liverpool, I had the c urios ity to look over th e pu bli shed lists of subscribers, and was astonished t o fi n d that the great bulk of the Welsh aristocracy of Liv erpoo l seem to withhold their countenance from this national festival. Surely it can not be that they wish to emulate the unpatriotic example of Die Sion Dafyild.— Y ou, &c., CYMRO. Halo:ell, May 22, 184 rs 0. [We really are not able tofu nish ou r correspondent with any satisfactory reply.—E. L. ] THE MERSEY YESTERDAY.- - Our noble river yesterday, for some hours, present ed a most magnificent scene as seen from the Prince's Pier. The day was beautifully clear, warm, and sunny. About ly the whol e expanse was liT-near eleven o'clock—th e t id e st i ll running rather strongly p covered with vessels, of all sizes, most of them endeavour ing, with a west wind, to stein the current on their way to sea. Few of them made any progress, though th ere was alight breeze ; and some o ccasionally got stern-way. Opposite Sea combe the schooners. sloops, &c., chiefly coasters, became so thickly packed that the shore was for so me t i me hidden from view by their sails. ivleantinie large vessels, t owe d by i steamers, or under sail, in the middle of th e stream, made the best of their way northward; and oth ers, h omewar d bound, came gliding up, with quicker motion, though under easier sail. Amongst the latter was the fi ne s hi p, Duke o f Lancaster, from Calcutta, which port sh e l e f t on the 31st Jan. She had consequently a t e ~y age, havin g encoun t ere d head winds in her passage to dio the o ape ,---and did not bring any news of the operations in China. Th e Stephen Whit ney, line-ship, also arrived from New York. She sailed on the 13th ultimo, one day later th an t h e Roscoe. We sup ply some intelligence in another column derived from the latest newspapers she brings. Amongst the vessels that sailed was the Clydesdale, a fine ship for P or t Philip a nd Sydney, with a considerable number of passengers. The Frankfort, a beautiful large ship, also sailed for New York. Her decks were densely c r owded w ith emigrants. The Presi dent, steam-ship, was this day towed up fro m t h e Clarence Dock Basin to the Cobourg Dock, by two steamers. She appeared a very large and commanding vessel in the river, and excited great interest and curiosity amongst thousands of spectators who lined the quays. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-MOND AY. ROBBERY BY A SERVANT. Ellen Fitzgerald was placed at the bar, Charged with har ing robbed her master, Mr. Thomas Atkinson, of Brownlow street, agent. Mr: Atkinson stated, that on Friday morning he received a £3O note, which he placed in his pocket-book, along with two £5 notes. He had his coat off at the time, and he put the pocket-book down whilst he went up stairs. Whilst he was there, it struck him he had done wrong in leaving it ; but conceiving that he had put it in the pocket of his coat, he was less alarmed about it. Shortly afterwards he went out with Mrs. and Miss Atkinson, for the purpose of seeing the Shipwrights' procession, altogether under the impression that the book was in his pocket; but in returning home, at six o'clock, he discovered that it was missing. The prisoner had been in his service for about two months. No one but the girl was down stairs whilst the coat was there. Ainsworth, senior, the officer, stated that on receiving in formation of the loss, he went to Mr. Atkinson's house, and searched it carefully, but found nothing. He asked the pri soner whether she knew anything of the pocket-book, and her reply was that she had never seen it. At last, however, he requested Mrs. Atkinson to search her, and she found a pawnbroker's duplicate of a silk handkerchief, belonging to Mr. Atkinson, upon her. Mrs. Atkinson stated that she found the duplicate within the prisoner's stays, and she identified the handkerchief as her husband's property. The Pawnbroker stated that the prisoner had pledged the handkerchief. Mr. Rushton inquired whether the prisoner was out of the house on the day of the robbery ? Mr. Atkinson said he could not tell, but she was in the house alone for upwards of four hours. He further stated that the prisoner rose from her bed about four o'clock on Saturday morning, apparently with the intention of abscond ing, but on being observed, she returned into the house. Mr. Rushton called upon the prisoner for her defence. The Prisoner replied—" I deny the robbery, but I cannot deny pawning the handkerchief." Mr. Rushton ordered her to be remanded for further in quiry. ROBBING AN EMPLOYER. James Burns and Mary Burns mother and son, were charged with having been concerned in'a serious robbery on the property of Mr. Bell, lithographic printer, in Lord street, in whose service the male prisoner had been for some time. Thomas Ainsworth, an officer, stated that on Saturday night Mr. Bell sent for him, and stated thathis cash-box, which contained nearly £4O, had been stolen. Witness made enquiries among the workmen, about ten in number. They were all willing to be searched, as well as to have their houses examined, for the purpose of discovering the property, ex cept the prisoner, who declared he would see Mr. Bell d-d before he would submit to such a degradation, or give any information. Witness made further enquiries, and found that a cousin of the prisoner was employed by Mr. Bell as a porter, and this:man, it was ascertained, had absconded in the course of Saturday. The cash-box was safe at twelve o'clock, and at half-past one the porter was seen in the lobby by one of the servants, but no clue to his detection had since been obtained. Witness conveyed the prisoner to Bridewell, but with considerable difficulty, and then proceeded to his house, where he found that the man who had absconded and the two prisoners all lived together. On searching the house he found a great quantity of lithographic prints, which Mr. Bell had identified as his property. This morning (Monday) a police officer found the cash-box in Brunswick Dock, broken open, and a large stone in the inside of it. He applied for the prisoners to be remanded. Mr. Rushton asked the prisoners what they had to say. The prisoner James said he knew nothing about the rob bery, and that, when be was asked by Mr. Bell concerning it, he gave all the information he was possessed of. As to the prints found in his, mother's house he could account for them. Every printer was allowed one copy out of every hun dred impressions which he " pulled" as a perquisite : it was the custom of the trade, and therefore he had not stolen them. He knew nothing about the cash-box. Mr. Rushton asked Mr. Bell whether there was any such negociation as that which the prisoner had described ? Mr. Bell replied that there was no such rule in the trade. Mr. Rushton enquired if Mr. Bell had seen the plates found in the house? Mr. Bell said he had, and they were all his property ; and, so far from there being only one impression of each plate, there were fifty of some and hundreds of others. These im pressions were, no doubt, intended to be introducei into the market at a cheap price, thus materially reducing the value of his property. Prisoner.—l bought paper for them myself, and pulled the impressions in my own time. Mr. Bell said he had certainly no authority to do that. In the morning, the cash-box contained £l9O, and if it had been taken then his loss would have been much more serious than it was. Mr. Rushton asked the female prisoner whether she ad anything to say. and she replied in the negative. Both the prisoners were then remanded. CAUTION TO FAMILIES - EXTENSIVE ROBAERY. James Burns and Joshua Young, two characters well known to the police, were placed at the bar on suspicion of having robbed the house of Mr. Bell, in Prospect-street, Low-hill. It appeared that whilst the family were attending divine worship in the forenoon of Sunday last, an entrance was effected through the front door, by laical's of a picklock, and a lrrge quantity of plate and jewellery, together with a gold watch, taken away, amounting in value to upwards o £lOO, stolen. Mr. Bell, being sworn, stated that himself and family went to church about a quarter-past ten in the forenoon, and re turned at half-past twelve. On their return they found the front door locked, as usual, but all the cupboards and drawers in the house had been broken open, and ransacked of the property mentioned above. He immediately gave in formation of the robbery to the policeman on duty. Police-officer Thomas Ainsworth stated, that in conse quence of information he reeeived from another officer,' he apprehended the two prisoners, and they ackowledged hav ing been in Low-hill that morning. Mrs. Warburton, a Mrs. Gibson, and another female, all of whom live in Prospect-street, swore privately to having seen the prisoner Burns in the street several times previous to twelve o'clock, in evident communication with some other men. Police-officer 195 said, be had met the prisoners and searched them early in the forenoon, and that he followed them into Islington, because he saw them in earnest conver sation with another bad character who had escaped, and who appeared to have something bulk• upon him. The prisoners protested their innocence . . They were — both remanded till Wednesday. LIVERPOOL AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY. On Friday evening, the twenty-ninth anniversary of the Liverpool Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society was held in the Music-hall, Bold-street. There was a nume rous and respectable attendance. The following clergymen were present :—The Rev. A. Brandram, Rev. Dr. Byrth, Rev. Dr. Tattershall, Rev. Dr. Ratites, Rev. Dr. Beau mont, Rev. J. Driffield, Rev. John Jones, Rev. Robert Davies, Rev. Fielding Ould, Rev. Peter Brown, Rev. D. James, Rev. H. S. Joseph, Rev. H. Carpenter, Rev. C. M. Birrall, Rev. James Lister, Rev. David Roberts, Rev. David Hay, Rev. J. Molineux, and the Rev. Charles Hamil ton. The Rev Dr. BYRTH having been called to the chair, alluded to the limited support which the society received in Liverpool, and expressed a hope that the time was not far distant when it would again attain the high station it once held in the estimation of the Christian world. He was unable to understand why the object which the society had in view, one of such magnitude and benefit, should have been allowed to sink in the opinion of the Christian public ; for he could not conceive of any object calculated to recommend itself so strongly to the British mind as this, so free from objections, or from anything calculated to give offence—so qualified to combine all parties —so truly affording an illustration of the possibility, even now in the midst of our differences, and con tentions, and mistakes, of the realisation of the Christian's best hope, that the day will come at last when we shall see, even here upon earth, as it were eye to eye, and acknowledge that there is but one thing worth contending for, the diffu sion of the knowledge of truth, and the appreciation of that truth when communicated to ourselves. The rev. gentleman also alluded to the very valuable aid which the Church of England, the Wesleyan, and all other missions derived from the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Rev. R. DAVIES, one of the local secretaries, read the report for the past year. The document stated that the parent society continued to maintain its high position. The receipts last year amounted to £111,449 13s id, being an increase of about £7OOO over the preceding year; and the issues at home and abroad, amounted to 716,310 copies of the scriptures. This was the largest receipt, and this the largest issue by the society, in any one year since its formation. The total receipts of the Liverpool auxiliary were £1948, of which the ladies' branch contributed £358. The sum remitted to the parent society was £l6BO. The issues during the past year were 4140 Bibles and 3439 Testaments, making a total of 7579. The total issue of the auxiliary since 1811, amounted to 211,119 copies. The committee deeply deplored the want of agents to carry out the objects of the society ; and the ladies' committee had again to draw attention to what was now an annually recurring theme of expostulation, the want of lady collectors. The report regretted the opposition of the Roman Catholic priests in South America to the distribution of the Bible. Captains were now afraid of taking Bibles out, lest, being found on board, they (the captains) should be adjudged to be distributors, in which case the vessel and car go were liable to confiscation. The fruitful and prosperous state of the Welsh branch in this town, which last year raised a sum of above £4OO, was alluded to in terms of commenda tion. It was also mentioned that a Young Men's branch was about to he established in Liverpool. Mr. EDWARD CROPPER, treasurer of the auxiliary, read the accounts. The Rev. C. M. BIRRELL moved the adoption of the re port. hi the course of his observations he alluded to the spread of socialism, an evil which he attributed in a great measure to the want of the scriptures, and mentioned that the agents of the Town Mission had found, in 242 streets, 1470 families destitute of the word of God. Among those were 340 Roman Catholic families who were willing to accept the sacred volume. The Rev. A. BRANDILAM, secretary of the parent society, seconded the motion. He expressed the delight he felt at hearing that efforts had been made in the course of the past year to revive or establish a Young Men's Bible Association, and spoke of the very liberal, the almost unexampled, remit tance of the Welsh branch in this town, for which the so ciety was desirous of returning its especial thanks. Instead of giving a detail of the operations of the society during the past year, he thought that he should equally well gain the object he had in view, the stimulating of the Christian pub lic to increased exertions on behalf of the society, by laying before the audience a statement of the several applications which would come before the committee at their meeting on Monday (yesterday.) From this statement it appeared that urgent applications for copies of the holy scriptures, to a very large extent, and surpassing the demands of the previous year, were already before the committee of the parent soc i e t y from the Sunday School Society of Ireland, from the French agent fn Paris, from Belgium, from Sweden, from Sincapore, and various other places in the east, and from many of the West Indian islands, particularly Jamaica. In conclusion, he mentioned that a Jamaica paper, which he had received that day, contained a list of the schools there in connexion with the Jamaica Educational Society. The list, he said, ap peared to comprise from forty to tiifty schools, and there were in them 16,330 scholars. The Rev. J. JONES moved the second resolution. He said, that although he had not for some time attended any of the meetings of the society, he was yet proud of an opportu nity of expressing his continued admiration of the principle and operations of the society. The aspect in which it seemed to him most valuable was in the important assistance it af forded to missionary labours among the heathen. He men tioned, on the authority of the secretary of the parent society, that the scriptures had been translated into 156 languages by the society, and dwelt at some length, and with considerable eloquence, on the great advantage to a foreign missionary of having in his hand a version of the Bible in the tongue of the people whom he addressed, in order that, when doubts were raised, or disbelief strengthened by the vicious conduct of the Europeans who were supposed to be Christians, or where Roman Catholic missionaries came in and tampered w i th the half-converted natives, he might have the opportunity of re- . ferring them to the word of God itself as the standard o f belief. The Rev. FIELDING OULD seconded the resolution in a very able speech, stating that he admired the society for its wisely catholic spirit of including all trinitarian Christians, and answered the objections which had been brought against churchmen connecting themselves with dissenters in the dif fusion of the word of God. He mentioned that the society had distributed, since itg formation, 12,332,471 copies of the scriptures, and expressed a hope that the British and Foreign Bible Society would have a regular income of half a million sterling. The third resolution was moved by the Rev. Dr. BEAU MONT, and seconded by the Rev. Dr. TATTERSHALL. On the motion of the Rev. Dr. RAFFLES, a vote of thanks to the chairman was passed, amidst much applause. The meeting terminated at ten o'clock. INQUESTS. (Before P. F. Curry, Esq., Coroner.) AWFULLY SUDDEN DEATH.—Yesterday, an inquisition was held on view of the body of Jane Blaylock. A female, named Horrocks, said, that on Sunday morning she went to Christ Church, and observed the deceased enter the pew ad joining that in which she was. She leaned forward in coming in as if saying a prayer, and when in the act of rising up she fell forward and appeared to faint. The witness went up to her immediately and found her quite insensible. She was carried out immediately, and a surgeon who was in the church was called out, but she only breathed once after being got out, and died. A. servant, named M`Dougald, said the de ceased was her fellow servant. She was 35 years of age. On Sunday morning, about half-past ten o'clock, she went out for the purpose of going to church. She appeared then to be quite well. Mr. Edward Bulteel, the surgeon who went to the assistance of the deceased, said that she was almost dead when he reached her, and died immediately afterwards. He had since made an examination of the body, and was of opinion that the deceased died from apoplexy. The jury re turned a verdict to that effect. . A MAN UNKNOWN DROWNED.-011 Saturday, the body of a man was found by the mate of the revenue cutter, at the entrance of Wallasey Pool, between Seacombe and Woodside, The body, being in a state of decay, was towed across the river, and deposited in the dead. house. Yesterday, an in quest was held upon it, but from the decomposition that had taken place from its having been long in the water, it was found impossible to prove the identity of the deceased by any evidence that could be brought forward. The features, in deed, were nearly obliterated. The jury therefore returned. a verdict to the effect, that " the deceased, who was unknown, was found drowned." The deceased had on a Petersham frock coat, a light coloured waistcoat, and dark trousers. DEATH BY BURNING.—The fatal accidents that arise from parents of children leaving them in rooms in which there arc fires are so numerous, that we may almost say they are con tinuous. Yesterday, an inquest was held on view of the body of Henry Bridge, a fine child of about five years of age, son of a widow, lodging in Meadow-street. It appeared that the mother had gone out, leaving the deceased playing with some other children in the room, in which there was only a small fire. A person in the house hearing a scream ran to the stair, and found the deceased in flames, which she extin guished as speedily as possible. The deceased was carried to the Dispensary, where he was dressed, and was afterwards attended by a surgeon, but he died from the effects of the burning on Saturday night. Verdict, " accidental death." LAUNCH OF TWO IRON STEAM-SHIPS. The confidence entertained in the good properties of iron vessels, and particularly their advantage in combining strength with that light draught of water requisite in some branches of trade, in peculiar localities, is becoming daily more and more confirmed, by the success, both at home and abroad, of the ships, built of that material, and the improvements in their construction, which experience enables the builders to introduce. It is not, therefore, improbable, but in twenty years hence, or perhaps within a shorter period, one half of our mercantile marine may be of iron, copper, or some com position of various metal s th a t may be wrought by hammer, or cast in pieces, and afterwards jointed, to any given mould or model. Be this as it may, the construction of " steam" vessels of strong sheet iron is evidently much on the increase, par ticularly here and at Glasgow, the two ports that were the first, we believe, in this country, and are still the most suc cessful (being put to their " metal") in directing their energies to steam navigation. The " iron fleet" of England is conse quently receiving rapid accessions ; and not contented with turning out one vessel at a time, our townsman, Mr. John Laird, have several on the stocks at once, and, on Saturday morning, launched two from his yard at North Birkenhead, by the same tide ! The time appointed (the tide being early) was about nine o'clock, and by that hour a large concou.se of persons, including many ladies and gen tlemen from the neighbourhood, and not a few from this side of the water were in attendance. Both the vessels were decorated with flags, and some parties, besides the workmen, preferred going on board and being launched with them. The first one launched was her Majesty's Steam-vessel Dover, to be placed on the station between Dover and Calais, or Ostend. The following are her dimensions and capacity : Length (per measurement) llO feet Breadth, or beam -do. -- Will admeasure about 230 tons. The .Dover is the first iron vessel belonging to the Ad miralty, and on her success will, no doubt, g reatly depend the future adoption of vessels of her build by the govern ment. She is of a remarkably fine model, having a degree of rotundity in her sides, with ample bearing, and a fineness in her lines, fore and aft, which will, in all probability, ensure her a degree of speed and safety not yet attained by any steam-vessel of her size. A few minutes after nine the word was given, and she rushed into her destined element in gallant style, amidst the hearty cheers of the spectators, fol lowed by a salute fired from cannon on the quay adjoining the yard. The second vessel launched was the Phlegethon : Length (for measurement Breadth Capacity, upwards of She is intended for sea and river service, on, we believe, a foreign station, and will carry two long guns, one at the bow and one at the stern, to work within a circle. This vessel is also of a fine model, with ample bearings, so that she may carry sail when required, either with the steam or without it, as her paddle-wheels, on a new principle, by Mr. Laird, may, when required, be thrown out of gear. She is hand somely, and we may add, rakishly rigged as a two-masted schooner, and will, we doubt not, prove to be a clipper. She was launched about half-past nine o'clock, and the sight was one of the most gratifying we ever beheld. She had a considerable distance to run down the ways before her forefoot reached the water—which she took like a swan breasting its native lake. We need scarcely say that the welkin again rang with the acclamations of the spectators, who lined the yard and theneighbouring shores, and which were returned with equal enthusiustn by those who stood on her decks. When afloat, the impression she conveyed from her ledgth arid sharpness, was that of a very fast and inischiev 'ous looking craft. She has a fine flush deck, and her paddle boxes do not rise to an unseemly height over her gunwale. We believe this is the first instance of two iron vessels being launched from the same slip by tire same tide, nor do we recollect a case occurring in Liverpool of two wooden vesssels of so large size being launched in one tide. Both vessels exhibit many improvements in their construc tion, not tried in any iron vessel previously built ; and which render them two of the strongest iron vessels afloat. They are now receiving their machinery,—the Dover, from Messrs. Fawcett, Preston & Co. and the Phlegetho n f rom M essrs . Forrester & Co.'s establishment. Both, it is expected will be ready in the course of the present month. The opinion in favour of iron steam-vessels appears to be gaining ground in our southern as well as our northern ports, if we may judge from an article in the United Service Jour nal for May, written by that most talented and well known naval architect, Mr. Creuse. in that article he gives a full description of the armed steamer Nemeses, and expresses his conviction that iron ships may be built of large size, and generally that they possess many advantages over wood ves sels. As an instance of the superiority of vessels constructed on the principle of safety introduced some time ago by Mr. Laird, namely, that of dividing iron vessels into several water-tight compartments by iron bulk-heads,—we may ad duce the following fact : The wood steamer—Vulture, while running in the night about nine knots an hour, on her first continental voyage this year (as stated in our last), struck on a rock on the . . island Oesel, and had a hole driven into her bow. The water she took in rushed to the stern, which sunk many feet on the retiring of the tide, the vessel still sticking on the rock, so that she became a wreck. The passengers with difficulty escaped. The iron steam-ship—Memphis, while running at the same speed, also struck, and had her bow injured in a precisely similar manner, but the first opposing iron bulk-head prevented her from filling, and she was got off and afterwards steamed 230 miles on her voyage. The whole cost of her repair was only from £25. to £30.! Mr. Laird is now building three iron steam-vessels to compose the new expedition about to be sent by government up the river Niger, under the command of Captain Trotter. BIRKENHEAD AFFAIRS. ELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS UNDER THE BIRKENHEAD IMPROVEMENT ACT FOR THE ENSUING YEAR. The annual election of commissioners for Birkenhead will take place this day. The act under which they arc elected is similar to that of the common council elections of this town, — namely, that one-third of the whole number (in this case 21) go out every year, Two others of the commissioners, Mr. Coxon and Mr. A. A. Dobbs, having retired, the full number to be chosen is therefore nine. The following are the can didates : _ _ . CONSERVATIVES.—Messrs. James Ball, David Appleton, James Smith, Thomas Walley, Thomas Gilbertson, Robert Singlehurst, William Jackson. Thomas Davison, (in place of Arthur Acheson Dobbs, for two years,) and Richard Fry, (in place of John Crowe Coxon, for one year). "LlBERALs."—Messrs. Edw. Broadrip, Wm. C o l e, W m. Fry, John Howe Green, Thomas Hanson, Wm. Horner, William Laycock, Joseph Robinson . Pim; and Richard Wil liams Prichard. Much interest is excited in the township in regard to the result of this election, the principal question being the run ning of a tram-road through and across the public streets from the Chester and Birkenhead Railway • to the ferry. The Railway Company have applied to go " over all." The conservative party are opposed to so serious, danger ous, and inconvenient an obstruction, as the Communication could be made by tunnel; the liberal party are in its favour, for reasons best known to the mse l ves . Great exertions have already been made on both sides, — each party having, as it were, resolved to gain their point. Two public meetings have been held on the subject, and at both the company were defeated in their desire to obtain the general concurrence of the public. Thus discomfited th ey . have withd rawn , f or t h e present, t h e i r app li cat i on to pirli.a ment ; but sho u ld th ey succee d thi s d ay i n ga i n i ng a majority through the election, it is apprehended by the conservatives that they will renew their proposition. It is thought advisa ble, therefore, to restrain by a more decided expression of public feeling than has yet been manifested ; and as the conservatives are, on this question, on the popular side, no doubt is entertained of their 'success at the poll. The qualification for a commissioner is a rating of £35 a year, and an instance of the dishonourable manner in which the " liberal" party have deprived one gentleman of his vote should be recorded. Mr. Sedden, shipbuilder, has been an old inhabitant of Birkenhead, where he has always paid high rates. Some short time ago he gave up his building-yard on that side the water, and took one in Liverpool. He still, however retained his house, for which he pays £4O a-year, and if he had been fairly treated he would, accordin g t o th e average of assessments in the township, have been rated at at least £37. He was, however, assessed at only £32, and is therefore declared to be ineligible ! The election commences at ten o'clock, and closes at four. Should the result be known . in time we sh a ll supp l y i t i n ou r second edition this afternoon. THEATRE-ROYAL.--" Jack Sheppard" was produced, with decided success, last night. The cast was very strong but we must postpone all comment till our next number. The acting was admirable, and we would recommend the public to lose no time in seeing it. The other pieces went off re markably well. SUICIDE OF A LETTER-CARRIER.--We have this moment (midnight), while on the eve of going to press, learned that the well-known and active letter-carrier, named Fazakerley, has a short time since, put a termination to his existence. It appeared that he had yesterday evening been apprehended on suspicion of having appropriated or made away with a £2O note ; but no examination as to the fact had taken place. On being brought into the Bridewell he requested to be put into the room separate from the other prisoners, and this request was complied with. About eleven o'clock the person visiting the room, found that he had committed suicide by strangling himself with a piece of cord which he had about him. - Hi s wif e was a l so a pprehended on suspicion of being concerned, and at the time of uur writing is not made aware of her bereavement. •: A'k frite!) 0 3 •-• t r rjr, rj . 1 tizt v • fr, COCKERMOUTH ELECTION. - THE NOMINA TION ON SATURDAY. (From our own Correspondent.) The proceedings at the hustings this day occupied near four hours. Mr. Wood, the bailiff of the borough, and re turning officer, having gone through the necessary forms, Mr. Horsman was proposed by Mr. Clift, of Cockermouth, in a short address; and Mr. Hodgson, of the same place, was his seconder : lie also was very brief. Mr. Birkett, draper, proposed General Wyndham ; and Mr. Joseph Hodgson, (brother to Mr. Horsman's seconder,) seconded his nomination. A Cockermouth chartist named Geldert, next attempted :o address the meeting, but was refused a hearing until the Avo candidates had spoken. . Mr. Horsman spoke at great length, dwelt mainly on the General's unfitness for the office to which he aspired, but was very guarded about naming the ministry he had joined. General Wyndham spoke at considerable length, and with tolerably good effect, occasionally making some excellent hits at the Scotchman. Mr. Hansom,, a chartist leader from Carlisle, afterwards spoke at great length, and denounced in strong terms the conduct of the Whigs, and that of Mr. Horsman in particu lar, whom he designated a " needy Scotch adventurer." This led to a long wordy war between Mr. Horsman and the Chartist deputation from Carlisle, who had attended for the purpose of aiding their friends in Cockermouth against the new lord of the Treasury. After having called each other divers hard names, the matter was brought to a close. The town was very quiet and all went off peaceably. The show of hands was as nearly equal as possible, but it was given in favour of Horsman. EXECUTION OF THOMAS TEMPLETON. (From the Scottish Guardian of Thursday.) This wretched man suffered the extreme penalty of the law, yesterday morning, at the usual place of execution in front of the jail. (Glasgow.) It will be remembered that Templeton was tried on the 7th current by Lords Meadow bank and Cockburn, and found guilty of murdering his wife, Margaret Robertson,. on the night between the Bth and 9th February, 1840, by dashing her head against a wall or floor, and inflicting several blows on her head and other parts of her person. Since his condemnation, the unfortunate de meaned himself in a manner that became his situation, and received the visits of Dr. Smyth, of St. George's, Mr. Fisher, the chaplain of the prison, and some worthy members of the eldership, not only without reluctance, but with every symp tom of gratitude; and whether these gentlemen were present, or the prisoner was alone, the Bible was rarely opt of his hands. Considerable efforts were used to obtain a mitigation of sentence ; first, by an unanimons petition from the jury ; second, by a numerously signed petition from the inhabitants ; and third, by an appeal from the magistrates. All of these, however, were ineffectual ; and indeed the convict never en tertained any serious hope of mercy, and thus he setearnestly about preparing himself for the great change which so soon awaited him. On the evening previous to execution, Templeton was waited upon by his son (a young married tradesman in the city), his brother, and three sisters, for the purpose of taking their last farewell. The scene was a very distressing one, but the convict bore it with greater firmness than his rela tives, and even told them to depart, that he might be allowed every spare moment that remained to him on this side the grave fOr thought and devotion. Mr. Jamieson Willis, and Mr. David Hossack, elder, remained with the prisoner during the night. At two o'clock he lay down, but was restless, and slept little; at four he got up, was shortly afterwards shaved and changed in dress by the jailor and his assistants, and from that time till the period of his execu tion was spent in devotional exercises. Mr. Fisher was early in attendance. and Dr. Smyth came to the condemned cell about half-past six, and found tbe state of mind of the doomed man all that cou ld b e expecte d un d er the circum stances—he alone looked for mercy through the blood of the Divine Saviour. A few minutes before eight o'clock, Bailies Small, Kid ston, Robertson, and Mitchell, entered the Court-hall; and immediately thereafter, the convict was brought up, his arms having been previously pinioned. He displayed a great de gree of placid firmness, and only remained a minute or so in the hall, until the doors leading to the outside of the build ing and the approach to the scaffold could be thrown open. It has been usual to present the prisoner with a glass of wine in the hall, but on this occasion the custom was departed from at Templeton's request, who wished all these cere monies to beconcluded before leaving the cell. He was ac companied up the stairs of the platform by Dr. Smyth and Mr. Fisher; both gentlemen were much affected, especially the former ; and after a brit f but solemn prayer by the Doc tor, and when farewell had been taken of the wretched man, he was resigned into the hands of the executioner. After the cap had been drawn, Templeton remained about three minutes apparently engaged in inward prayer, when be threw the signal from him, and the drop instantly fell. His strug gles were neither violent nor protracted. There were about 20,000 people witnessing the execution, a great part of whom were females. Templeton was in his 54th year, and had been twice mar ried. His first wife was a wretchedly dissipated being, and was burned to death some years ago from the effects of in temperance. His body was buried yesterday afternoon in one of the squares in the centre of the prison. WASPS.—It may be useful again to state that the wasps which will now shortly make their appearance abroad, are all queens or mothers, and that by their destruction the propa gation of swarms of others will be effectually prevented. Woot.—The woolstaplers of London caution the growers against winding in their fleeces any unwashed wool, fell wool, tar, straw, grass, &c., as it subjects them to a penalty of 2s. for each fleece. THE LATE TRAGICAL AFFAIR AT HUDDERSFIELD.—On Friday, Mr. Danson, the policeman, who was so severely wounded by the villain who murdered Duke, was discharged from the Infirmary cured. On Monday he made the hand some donation of £5 to the infirmary.—Leeds paper. LARGE STURGEON.—On Monday last, a fine sturgeon was caught in the river Ouse, at Cawood, which weighed about twelve stone, and measured seven feet in length. It was a fine species of Tunny fish, and marked like a Spanish m ackerel. —Leeds letelligencer. EARLY HAY HARVEST.—Wm. Tomlinson, Esq., of Frenchwood Cottage, in this town, cut sonic meadow grass, on Wednesday last, and the crop is very luxuriant. If the weather continues favourable, Mr. T. will have ample time for a second crop by the usual harvest tune.—Presion Chro nicle. The following singular letter was actually written to a merchant at Norwich :—" Sir—This is to acquaint you or your heirs that Iheard you was dead; but I packed up some wool before you was so, tho' I could not send it before I knew whether you was or no, and what circumstances you died in.—l beg a speedy answer, and remain, &c." ROMANTIC SUICIDE.-A native of Zurich committed suicide a few days since, and chose for the scene of his pro ject the falls of the Rhine, at Schaffhausen. He walked into the water below the falls up to the waist, and then pulled the trigger of the pistol. It did not go off however, and, coolly returning to the shore to get a new cap for the pistol, he again went into the water and effected his purpose. A GoosE WHO WAS "No GOOSE."—At the flour mills of Tubbeuakenna, near Clonmel, while in the possession of the late Mr. Newbold, there was a goose, which, by some accident, was left solitary, without mate or offspring, gander or goslings. Now it happened, as in common, that the mil ler's wife-had set a number of duck eggs under a hen, which, in due time, were incubated ; and, of course, the ducklings, as soon as they came forth, ran with natural instinct to the water, and the hen was in a sad pucker; her maternity urging her to follow the brood, and her selfishness disposing her too keep on dry land. In the meanwhile up sailed the goose, and, with a noisy gabble, which certainly, being in terpreted, meant, leave them to my care—she swam up and down with the ducklings, and, when they were tired with their aquatic excursion, she consigned them to the care of the hen. The next morning down came again the ducklings to the pond, and there was the goose waiting for them, and there stood the hen in her great flustration. On this occa sion we are not at all sure that the goose invited the hen, observing her maternal trouble ; but is a fact, that, she being near the shore, the hen jumped on her back and there sat, the ducklings swimming, and the goose and hen after them, up and down the pond. And this was not a solitary event ; day after day the hen was seen on board the goose, attending the ducklings up and down in perfect contented ness and good humour ; numbers of people coming to witness the circumstance, which continued until the ducklings, coining to days of discretion, required no longer the joint guardianship of the goose and hen.—A goose in the farm yard of a gentleman, was observed to take a particular liking to her owner. This attachment was so uncommon, and so marked, that all about the house and in the neigh bourhood took notice of it ; and, consequently the people with the propensity they have to give nicknames, and with the sinister motive, perhaps, of expressing their sense of the weak understanding of the man, called hint " goosey." Alas for his admirer !—the goose's true love did not yet run smooth ; for her master hearing of the ridi cule cast upon upon him, to abate her fondness insisted on her being locked up in the poultry-yard. Well, shortly after, he goes to the adjoining town, to attend petty sessions ; and, in the middle of this business, what does he feel but some thing wonderfully warm and soft rubbing against his leg ! and, on looking down, he saw his goose with neck protruded, while quivering her wings in the fulness of enjoyment, look ing up to him with unutterable fondness. This was too much for his patience, or the bystanders' good mariners ; for, while it set them wild with laughter, it urged him to a deed he should ever be ashamed of; for twisting his thong whip about the goose's neck, lie swung her round and round until he supposed her dead, and then he cast her on the ad joining dunghill. Not very long after, Mr. Goosey was seized with a severe illness, which brought him to the verge of the grave ; and, on one day, when slowly recovering, and allowed to recline in the window, the first thing he saw was his goose sitting on the grass, and looking with intense anxiety at him. The effect on him was most alarming. " What 1" says he, " is this cursed bird come back to life, and am I, for my sins, to be haunted in this way ?" " 0 ' father !" says his daughter, " don't speak so hardly of the poor bird ; ever since your illness it has set there opposite your window—it scarcely takes any food." Passion, preju dice, the fear of ridicule, all gave way before a sense of gra titude, for this unalterable attachment. The poor bird was immediately taken notice of, treated from henceforth with great kindness, and, for all I know, goose and goosey are still bound in as close ties as man and bird can be.—Dublin University Magazine. AN ODD AFFAIR.—SHERIFF SMALL DEBT COURT, CU PAR FINE.—A case of a very peculiar nature was decided by the sheriff' here, on Tuesday, the sth ultimo, after being in court for several court days. The facts are nearly these : John Dall, shoemaker in Star of Streaton, had been at Dun dee sometime ago, and on his return home he called in to get a " wie drappie o' the cratur," at the house of James Dow, publican, East Toll, Cupar. Dow is a widower, and had been in bed at the time. Dall, knowing the great incon venience arising from the want of " a wife," had recom mended to Dow to take another to himself. It appeared that a great deal of foolish confabbing had then gone on between the parties, as to Dall providing a wife for Dow ; and Dall left the house apparently under the mistaken impression that Dow was to give him £5 if he could obtain for him a woman who would marry him. In a few weeks after, Dall, " true to his promise," appeared at Dow's, in a respectable con veyance, accompanied by " a buxom young lassie," as the to-be future Mrs. Dow. Dow appeared to have had no ob jections to the " lassie," but, on the contrary, he treated her very kindly. He showed her the internal geography of his mansion; had several private communings with her; and every thing looked as if it should be a sure match, and that t hey would soon be " a pair o' Dotes." After a day's " flow of soul," parties separated—Dall taking hack his ward; Dow having promised to call at Star on a day named, and enter into the necessary arrangements for " the w edding.' Whether from being no astronomer, or from some other cause, Dow thought no more of the Star ; but Dall deter mined, whether I)ow should take the " wife of his choice" or not, lie should at least make him pay the promised £5 ; and accordingly he gave Dow a small debt summons for that sum. Dow denied that he either had promised £5, or agreed to take the woman Dall might bring to him. The s heriff allowed Dall a proof of his allegations ; and a great iniiny witnesses having be en exam i ne d, th ey a ll f a il e d to establish any of his statements. On the contrary, Dow's servant maid deponed that she heard Dall offering to wager a . pound that he would get a wife for Dow. The sheriff asstoli doubts if with all expenses, and stated that he had gre at e tier cOurt if a claim for such business was a pro old,D a 11 Abraham toldhisl o s r e d n s t h ip his proper r r w e i lt ' f e s i the h i d n a i ys of Fileshire Journal. liseerwvaans tiLersreoerk