The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-03 00:00:00

~=~o;~ N MISCELLANEOUS. Lord John Russell has arrived at Bowood, on a visit to the Marquis of Lansdowne.—Bath Gazette. Sir Arthur Brooks, Bart., has given an eligible site, in the sight of Brookborough, for a commodious Wesleyan chapel. Mr. Charles R. Colvill has presented a magnificent service of communion plate to Blidworth church. Nottingham Mercury. The Rev. Lord Wriothesley Russell has twice declined to he nominated to the vacant bishopric of Lichfield.—Steck port Advertiser. The Earl of Cardigan gave the Wesleyans of Iforsfort Woodside a piece of ground for the site of a chapel, which has just been erected. . . Her Majesty will return to town from Windsor on Thurs, day, the 9th of January, to be ready to open parliament.— Ministerial paper. ' Viscount and . Viscountess Eastnor have arrived at Dray ton Manor, on a visit to Sir Robert Peel and' Lady Peel, from their villa, at Leamington Spa. LARGE TWELFTH-C:AkE.— Mr. Dawson, confectioner. of Maidstone, last week made a twelfth-cake of an oval shape, 9ft. 9iu. in circumference and 1251b5. in weight. His Grace the Archbishop of York has given the munifi cent donation of £2OO to the York Central Diocesan Society for the education of the poor. His Grace had previously subscribed £2OO. THE KING or ITANOVER.—We un derstand that his Ma jesty will arrive in this country, from Hanover, on the 30th or 31st of the ensuing month, to be present at the marriage of the Queen.—Morning Herald.' Lord John Russell has appointed a colonial land and emi gration board, on the principles recommended by the select committee of the commons on colonial lands.—Morning Chronicle. - - , , ~...—. A - SLIP.—Mr: O'Connell in his last speech to his consti tuents, says—" The tories, we all know, are the most venom ous gang on the face of the earth, we stand in the face of heaven their equals," &c. The Earl and Countess of Wilton left town on Saturday for Walmer Castle, the seat of the Duke of Wellington,_ in Kent. The funeral of the late Lad y Emil y Agnes Grey Egerton took place on Friday last at Grosvenor Chapel. The Marquis and Marchioness of Douro are still on a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of Tweeddale, at Yes ter House, Haddingtonshire. The Marquis and Marchio ness intend to remain in Scotland until the assembling of Parliament, - - A Mr. M. Miller a country professor of music, has com posed an oratorio, called " Israel in Babylon," which was performed by the choral society of this town, in Basford Church, on Thursday evening, with perfect success.-'-Not tingharn Journal. A splendid turkeq, bred in Norfolk, stuffed with French truffles, and weighing between 50 and GO pounds, has been exhibited during the past week in the shop window of a well known purveyor of articles of gout, in, Piccadilly, - We have authority for stating, that the reports of the Bank of England having refused to continue the arrange ments with country banks, which, having no paper of their own, issued that of the above monied corporation, are utterly unfounded.—Morning Chronicle. Lord Ellenborough has at considerable expense and labour completely renovated the ancient baronial hall at So'itbam, restoring all the fine features of the original architecture and style of decoration. DEATH OF LADY CATHERINE BRECKNELL.—We regret to hear of the death of the above estimable lady, which took place on Tuesday last. The deceased lady, who was the only surviving sister of the late Earl of Portmore, was born the sth November, 1779, and married in 1810, Mr. J. Brecknell. Her late ladyship was lady of the bedchamber to the late Queen Charlotte.—Morning Herald. TILE OPAH.—A beautiful and rare fish, the opah or king fish, was last week caught on the coast at Hartlepool, Inca suring in. length 5 feet 4 inches, round the body 3 feet 4 in ches, and weighed sst. 71b. It was bought at Hartlepool, by Mr. William Brown, of Richmond, fishmonger, 'who showed it to the inhabitants of Stockton on the Thursday evening, the day it was caught, and on Friday and Saturday at Rich mond. On the latter day it was all sold at ls. Gd. per lb., and the purchasers were highly delighted with its Remarkably tine flavour.—Newcastle Journal. No MONEY.—A few days since, a couple who had been out-asked presented themselves at Marylebone Church to be married. On the ceremony being concluded, the usual fees were demanded of the bridegroom, who coolly replied that he had no money. At this unusual state of things, both the parson and clerk appeared dumb-founded, the latter threat ening suits in all sorts of courts, civil and ecclesiastical. To all this the bridegroom turned a deaf ear, while the bride, chucking him under the chin, cried, " Never mind, Jim ; at any rate they can't unmarry us.—Nerveastle Journal. - HUMBUGGING A LAZY HORSE.—A few days ago,. Jack Horsley, a waggoner at Hartley colliery, had occasion to drive a horse and cart to Hollow-well sands for a fother of gravel, and on returning, the horse (a very strong but a very lazy one) refused to draw his load up the bank, (which is of considerable aclivity,) notwithstanding all the coaxing and threatening that Jack was master of; but, being determined to make the horse finish its work, Jack went off and brought another horse, which he put right a head of the idle one as a leader, and pretended to attach the chains by rattling them against the trams ; after which Jack gave a loud crack with his whip, and a sharp call of encouragement, and away went the dupe with the greatest ease imaginable, supposing he was assisted all the time.—Bericiek Advertiser. The Observer of Trieste states that there is at present living at Hildgausen, in Silesia, a man named Hans Herz, in his 142 d year. He has not gone out of doors for the last 27 years, but still takes two or three turns in his chamber every day. When the weather is fine, he opens his window and smokes his pipe. He has not been able to speak distinctly for six years, but utters a few inarticulate sounds, which hiq grand children, who att en d hi m , ( a ll hi s sons are dead) understand. " This man," adds the Observer, " has lived in three differ ent centuries, a thing never witnessed, perhaps, since the time of the patriarchs." DR. BOWRING.—That well-paid, shallow, whig-radical quack, Dr. Bowrin g , w h o h as too l ong b een q uartered upon the public for doing worse than nothing, threatens to pay. the visit to" the banks o f th e T yne, i n or d er , as he says, to th exposition of his views on the German League, but, in reality, to the furthera nce o f th e m i sera bl e sc h eme of agitation, now in course of b e i ng go t up b y a sect i on o f th e ex piring Mel bourne Cabinet, against the existing corn laws. If this rejected of we know not how many boroughs should venture so far north a s Newcastie-upcfn-Tyne, in prosecution of his nefarious and u(i-English designs, we promise him such a reception and exposure as impudent pretensions, like his, so well deserve.—Newcastle Journal. Cunious FAMILY REGISTER.—There is a family in this town that have a Bible containing all their names entered by their father and grandfather, who used to dispense with dates by the followi ng pl an :—" awr Jem wur born i'th' America war. Eawr Meary wur born i' that great frost. Eawr Bill wur born when Ostler wur Eawr Sally wur born when Gorsey Meadow wur niown. Eawr Peggy wur born i' th' great wind. Eawr John wur born when Holland war hung. Eawr Robbut wur born when th' cow ran at my mother i'th' Hedger Lones. Eawr Jenny _wur born when Longworth wur gibbeted, un owd penny pieces wur made. Eawr Charlotte war born when th' short peace wur made. Un aw have as bonny a mark of a yerring on my soide as ever you seed in your loife."—Bollon Chroni - le. THOROGOOD, THE " CHURCH RATE MARTYR."—The organs of liberalism and political dissent continue to keep up a yell about the case of this man, and even indite maudlin verses about his " martyrdom." The facts of the case are simply these. Thorogood is a " small" shoemaker in a small town in Essex. He refuses to pay a church rate, and wishing to gain notoriety goes up to town or communicates with a clique of factious persons who call themselves the " Church Rate Abolition Society." They encourage him to resist any_ proceedings that may be taken—to commit a con tempt of court—and then promise to support him, and get up an " agitation." The shoemaker returns home with all' the honours of incipient martyrdom thick upon him. He himself agitatei to the best of his power, and is finally com mitted for contempt of court. After remaining in prison for some time, he bethinks himself of the London Anti-Church Rate gang, and communicates with them ; 'but finds to his astonishment that his application is coldly received, indeed slighted ; although his " friends" are at the same time actively engaged in " working the case for their own ends. Thorogood, naturally indignant at being thus left in the lurch or betrayed. writes a full statement of the whole matter to the Radical Siu ; and it is from the latter that we are enabled to give the preceding outline. Violent and edifying dissentious amongst the " Civil and Re ligious Liberty" people have of course followed ;—but despite the exposure the game is still k ep t up, and " deputations from the country" even sent to Lord Melbourne or Lord Normanby ! We are very glad to learn that the really re spectable Dissenters have kept aloof, and view the whole transaction with feelings bordering on disgust.—Gloucester shire Chronicle. The well known Craven heifer, Rose, was slaughtered at Leeds last week. The following particulars respecting her weight and measurement will be read with i n t erest by our Cumberland feeders. The four quarters weighed together 146 stone 41bs., (Nibs. to the stone), and the tallow weighed list. 111bs. The thickness of the fat on the rump was 1 foot 6 inches ; on the huggon bone 8 inches ; on the sirloin 81 inches ; from the rump point to the fore-elder 2 f ee t 9 inches; round the hind quarter 8 feet 3 inches ; across the fore quarter 4 feet 9 inches ; the thickness of the chine was 2 feet 6 inches ; the thickniis in the crop 1 foot.—CarliNle Patriot. A. PORTABLE HousE.—Yesterday the surveyors of the board of ordnance inspected a splendid house, now construct. ing by Mr. Manning of High. Holborn, in the titnber-yard of Mr. Richardson, in the Commercial-road. The house is wholly of wood, and will shortly be taken to pieces and. trans of ted to New Zealand, where, when set up , it will form the Government hous e of the color/ and will be first inha bited by Captain Hobso n , R.N , iho has been sent out by the Government some months sin.e . .e as " British resident" in New Zealand. It is ler, er, More convenient, and more substantial, than the portable house made for the Emperor Napoleon at St. Helena. lts dimensions 'are 120 feet in length, 50 feet in breadth, and 24 feet in height. The best Norway deals are used in the building the massive frame work, upright posts , and roof of which ar e ' ll bolted and screw ed together in such a manner that alth o a agh as it now e stands it is as firm as any edifice in London, :if required, portion side s , of it may be disconnected and again connected in an almost incredib le short s p ace of ti me. The s are enclosed with stout planking , so fitted together thllttothe shrinking of the wood cannot resider the walls less tight, and when painted on the outside they will have the appearance of massive masonry. The roof has two coverings, one of fi r , plank, furnished here, and the other of shingle, to be p ro _ vided in the colony. There is but one floor, but the space between the ceilings and the gable sides of the roof would be easily converted into a range of bed-rooms, and even as it is at present would answer as lumber room. The interior of the building is laid out in 16 rooms, embr s a , cing dining and drawing-rooms, dressing, bed, and servants' There are also a school-room, and clerks an d secretaries offices. Kitchens are to be built detached from the house. The din ing and drawing-rooms are both of great extent, and capa ble, by opening a large pair of folding doors, of making a very magnificent apartment. The height of the rooms is 12 feet, and their sides are beautiful specimens of partition work, and every room will be furnished with a stove, the marble chimney-pieces, &c., being all ready to set up in the corny. Every article of furniture will be fitted to the house before it is taken down, and will then be sent out with it. The most ingenious methods have been used to prevent the sea air from injuring the doors and partitions, and no gl ue is used in their manuf ac t ure . There is ingress and egress from each room by French casements, of which there are 20 pair in the entire building. The casements are already glazed' and furnished with Venetian shutters, opening upon the ter race verandah which surrouuds the building. This terrace will form a fine promenade, two yards wide, end about 100 yards long, the verandah being supported by iOll columns, which will give a fine appearance to buildingther viewed from a distance. Th e surveyors ofthe when Ordnance appeared well satisfied w ith th e building generally, and a v e , p set, expressly chartered by Governm en t f or the I.: will convey the mansion to its desti na ti on . Its weight rp ' l o s e se, hated at 25 0 tons, and its cost £2,000. The interesttaalkeuen by the Government in the building of this residence of a co lonial official appears to h ave g i ven much satisfaction to se veral gentlemen in the east o f L on d on i nterested in th prosperity of the colony forming in New Zealand. and has induced a hope that it will soon be recognised as a British colony, and taken under the direct protection of the Govern inent.---211bmiNi ,Herald. TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS. The usual monthly meeting of the council was held, for the despatch of business, in the Town-hall, on Wednesday. JOSHUA WALMSLEY, Esq., the mayor, presided. The DEPUTY TOWN-CLERK read ie proceedings of the last council, and they were confirmed. He next read the minutes of the Finance Committee's proceedings at their meeting on the 6th December, from which it appeared that the memorial of Mr. Okill, the clerk of committees; was considered, and be was requested to report in detail the grounds upon which he applied for an increase of salary. — The deputy town-clerk further read the minutes of a special meeting of the committee, held Dec. 19th, at which an offer from Messrs. Hetherington, Grindrod, and Addison, to sell the Birkenhead Hotel property, was considered: It appeared ,from the minute that this estate contained about 43,000 square yards of land, and that the sum asked was £65,000. The committee resolved unanimously to recommend the offer to the consideration of the council, and appointed a sub-committee to obtain further information. At the meet ing on the 27th, Mr. Okill's memorial was further consi dered, and the committee unanimously agreed to present the following report to the council : ' REPORT ON MR. OKILL'S MEMORIAL. " After mature deliberation, the committee have arrived at the unanimous opinion that the statements in the memo rial are fully sustained—that Mr. Okill's services have been of no common kind, and that it would be difficult to estimate too highly their great importance to the corporate estate. To him the council may be truly said to be indebted for the knowledge at present possessed of the great concerns under their management. Previous to the period when Mr. Okill, in 1815, was employed to audit the treasurer's accounts (which had never undergone any examination from the time of that officer's appointment in 1789), there was an entire absence of system or method, and there was an almost total want of reference or guide to the corporation freehold and leasehold property, and an ignorance not only of the vast extent, situation, and capabilities of the estate, but of the number of the lessees or the terms of their respective leases. In support of this last observation, and as a proof of this want of knowledge, a premium was offered to the officers in the service of the council upon proof of the lapse of any lease. On the 13th June, 1814, the following entry stands recorded in the Select Finance Committee's proceedings of that date : " Resolved—That it be recommended to the council to allow the town-clerk, the treasurer's clerk, and the survey or's clerk, the sum of one guinea for each and every lease which any of them may prove hereafter to have lapsed to the corporation.' " The results of this investigation, and the suggestions arising from it, are fully given in the reports made by Mr. Okill from time to time. During the progress of his ex amination, an opportunity was afforded, of which he availed himself, when permitted, for acquiring an accurate and ex tensive knowledge of the corporati, estate, and for reducing tl►;s knowledge into a permanent form, in which it might be made of the greatest use. At this time, the only authentic map of the Estate was that of Mr. Eves, made in 1765. Taking this map as the groundwork, Mr. Okill proceeded to construct the present enlarged map, riow it constairt use, which must be well known tothe council. 'On its 'prepara tion he laboured for several years, having a most difficult task to execute, from the want of references• and- other into' formation. It was at last completed, and presented to the corporation in 1822. On it were laid down the diffe rent freeholds and leases, whether for lives or years, the reversions sold, and the land or property given up for public improvements—each distinguished in the various streets ; and subsequently, upon the important change in the mode of leasing from lives and years to sixty years, and afterwards to the present time of seventy-five years, these two classes of leases were also added. Each leasehold property refers by number to street indexes and registers of leases ; and, as the system introduced and adopted by Mr..' Okill has been carefully kept up, the leases, surrenders, &c., being periodically marked on the book, and registered in the respective books, there is now no information that may be required, as to any of the corporate property, that cannot. readily be obtained. The coitimittee also found that a re gister is kept of the property still held for lives and years in each street, distinguishing such as annually comes upon the years. This list extends at present to the year 1860, being twenty-one years from 1839, so that it is known prospectively„ what premises in each year Tall into the hands of the corpo ration, thus regulating their arrangement for the renewed leases for seventy-five years. The committee have reason to believe, that since the introduction of the present system there has been.only one instance of an error, in a• property comprising 4900 leases' and grants. ' This was brought under the notice of the council last year, and the rectification of the mistake was honourably entertained by the party errone ously in possession. " It may be only due to Mr. Okill to particularise some instances of the advantages resulting from his investigations. In the early stages of his labours, but before they were brought to a close, the corporation had received, as appears by the books, the sum of £19,552 for ground rents and the sale of property out of lease, and he reported a further sum of nearly £19,000 which remained for collection at the close. In addition, he also reported. as actually lapsed, a list of 110 houses, besides upwards of 1100 houses on the years, of which the council were in perfect ignorance. The whole system of ground rents appears to have been equally neglected ; and from this source £7OO per annum were added to the corpo rate income, through Mr. Okill's investigations. The re gisters then in existence contained indeed this information, as is evident by the results, but no person appeared to have examined, arranged, and brought to light their contents, be fore the time of Mr. Okill. "To come to a later period. In the year 1828 a claim to the whole shore of the lordship of Liverpool was preferred by the Duchy of Lancaster ; but, through Mr. Okill's pre vious researches, and on the-production of copies and ex tracts froth the records of the corporation made by him, this claim was at once abandoned by government, and the corpo rate title acknowledged ; and it is on the title so admitted that the approaching conveyance of the site of the New Fort to the Board of Ordnance rests—a title declared by the town clerk to be clear and unexceptionable. " Upon the great question of the town dues, the committee beg to record their opinion that Mr. Okill was not ade quately remunerated for his services on that occasion, consi dering,.as he himself states in his memorial, the immense importance of the property at issue, the success attendant on the line pointed out by him, and the sacrifice of his health.' The committee have very recently been put in possession of additional testimony to his valuable services upon this great trial, under the hand of the 'late town-clerk, and in the de claration, before the result was known, of Mr. Foster's im mediate predecessor, ,Mr. Statham. "'ln' coming,' as the committee do, to the unanimous con clusion to recommend a compliance with Mr. Okill's memo rial, they consider that they are only performing an act of justice, and that his general services to the corporate estate —his peculiar - and extensive knowledge of its character--his attachment to all that relates to its welfare and prosperity— his devotion to and most intimate knowledge of the subject— the great increase of business in his office—and his length of service, all establish his strong claim to en advance of salary ; and the committee accordingly recommend, for the sanction of thecouncil, that an addition of £2OO per annum be made to his present salary of £7OO, commencing with the present quarter. " It will be seen, however, and the committee hope it will he clearly understood, by the council, that this salary is not viewed by the former as one to be attached to the office of clerk of the committees ; but that it is recommended only with reference to the present individual holding the office, on the diStinet . ground of his great services to the estate already enumerated. They consider that it would indeed be difficult, if not impossible, to find a successor uniting so many and such peculiar qualifications for his office. It is, therefore, with great satisfaction that they direct the attention of the council to the concluding passage of Mr. ()kill's additional statement. In this he says, that he should feel happy if he could transfer his acquaintance with the estate to his succes sor, but that experience and a similar devoted attachment only can attain that desirable end.' , Availing themselves g l a dly of the feeling, and being assured of Mr. ()kill's wil lingness to make the attempt, the committee strongly recom mend that the introduction of some person to the office of the clerk of tip committees should be borne in mind when a fitting opportunity occurs, who may gradually be initiated by Mr. Okla into a knowledge of the estate and of the present system pursued in its management, and who may also be pre pared-to replace the services of Mr. ()kill, when, from age or from death, he shall cease to fill his present important situa tion." BIRKENIIEAD lIOTEL ESTATE. The TOWN-CLERK then read the following report of the Sub-committe of Finance on the Birkenhead' Hotel estate, which was presented to the committee yesterday : " The property consists of the hotel and ferry, which are let, at present, at the nett sum of £9OO per annum ; b u t th e p res ent tenant's term expiring in eighteen months, a negoti ation is pending for the increased rent—such negotiation being subject to the present offer for sale. A dwelling-house let at £l5O nett per annum. Various plots of building land, suitable for marine villas. The undisputed right to the ferry, and all the estate of the sellers under Francis R. Price, Esq., the lord of the manor, in the shore down to low water-mark of the river, and to within twenty yards of low water-mark of Birkenhead Creek, or the outlet from Tran mere Pool. " The shore would admit of dock room to the extent of 300 yards by 100 ; and the position of the property is such as to command most extensive increase of dock accommoda tion, by purchases under parliamentary powers, whenever such accommodation may be deemed necessary. Valuable stone for dock walls can be got from both the land and the shore. _ _ _ .....`.: The increasing neighbourhood, and the completion of the railway, must add to the valne of this property. Improve ment-in the corporation estate at Wallasey would also add to it. The railway company are subject to an undertaking made in parliament, and inserted as a condition in their act, that, before any extension of their line to Woodside, from its present terminus at Grange-lane, there shall be branch railways to Tranmere and Birkenhead Ferries. The whole of the land, exclusive of shore, contains about 43,000 square yards. The, surveyor. of the corporation values the land, exclusive of shore or any consideration of docks, and simply as if purchased by any individual having no peculiar interest, at one pound per square yard, or £43,000. To this amount he adds the buildings, piers, and basin, and right of ferry, at £17,000, making together £60,000. The purchase money required is £65,000, and the proprietors are under a contract binding on them to sell at that sum ; but with a provision, on behalf of the corpora tion, for making the sale void, if not adopted by. the .ccquicil , on or before the 6th of February next. the question " It is recom men d e d t h at the determination of upon the condition contract should be adjourned for about a fortnight, to give time for consideration, and the obtaining further information. t , In the meanwhile the Finance Committee will be ready ex plain their views on th e su bj ect of the purchase. to confer with any committees or members of th e counc il, and to " Town-hall , 31st December, 1839." , Mr. C COunci riulawlf said the first subj ec t f or the consideration of s the proposed increase of Mr. ()kill's salary ; toe and whe n h e stated that the report h a d b een adopted unani nuni%lY-14 o ut of the 15 members of the committee having voted for it and the absent member being favourable —he thought tlie et, unc il would agree with him, that the com mittee had done r• thr in rec ommending an ad vance to that meritorio us otlice t rr „ a l. r v• The grounds for this recommen dation wer e so fully 6 -- a ' set for . t kin the report that he wou ld not in again going over them, but content himself with i yin, the confirmation of the Finance Committee's proceedinnZs henceforth be £9OO, instead f -einn Mr. JouN HOLNIES seconded i4'''' '' -. ' ; . .t. l'i a t the salary of Mr. Okill should Mr. Alderman EVANS said t1,,,, t the motion. council could be more deeply impressed with tI,Z 'l . Okill than merits of r. be (Mr. Evans) was, and he had ,I,l,tration. that gentle man receiving the most ample mina ::: ob man ee t i He would lay no stress on the fact of the old court which was called irre sponsible, haviniven what they thought er compen sation to Mr. Okell ; all he wished was t o a. prop cil from establishing a precedent for the !!,rotect the co n ion he to un '''''ll, ' of a larer •ncome in any one department than was d„,,6 , i xuect correct. On a fair view of the merits and services of Ni,,,_ thought that the better plan would be to award a , , ( , )1c ,, !11, De the salary of Mr. Okill untouched. If the I s, and leave were raised above the measure of ‘64 Z,y in any department effect would a r -. re ward for the services performed,.the . . be to v. 4. and to impair the efficiency of the man holy ken the attention lug the office , as well as to bring into play the ambitio n of l of society, less fitted for the perf orm . men in a higher e ante of the duties, ass and who, when once in office, would in protected from removal by the extent of Some measure be ti t ; Limo . Ile had sufficient experience, council, to know, thakif, by any . even in that accident, an income was ever whenever he came to be raised t () a certain sum, a successor, appoint wou ld t w n of b kb' If treated with a kind slur or ; imse • to him If £9OO insult if t.l l „ tnie am ount were not Fiven • were made the -- -- of the clerk of the committees, that salary ~~~~ would hereafter be looked upon as the salary of the office, and would be expected by Mr. Okill's successor. Not only that, but they were gradually getting up to those higher in., comes, and as sure as they did so, they would get themselves' into the corruption of appointing more incapable 'persons, in a higher and more influential station of society. He wished the salaries to be such as would secure the services of men of a middling order, who had habits of labour, and not in comes that would lead the servants of the corporation to de sire to mingle in society, and enjoy pleasures, that would oc cupy their time and abstract their minds from their duties. He should therefore recommend that the circumstances be again taken into consideration by the committee, on the prin ciple of making Mr. Okill a bonus, of what amount he would not name, for that ought to be left to the committee. Mr. Evans concluded by moving an amendment to that effect. Mr. Alderman BENS seconded the amendment. It ap peared to him from Mr. Okill's statement, and from the report of the committee, that he had bestowed great labour upon the arrangement of the corporation affairs, and there fore that he must need recreation and rest. Mr. Okill had also suggested that a younger person should be placed in the office with a view to succeed him. Under these circum stances he (Mr. Benn) conceived it would be much better to award Mr. Okill a bonus, and place another person in the office to assist him, and with a view to succeed him. This course he thought he would be preferable to Mr. Okill, be cause it would relieve him considerably from the cares of office. Mr. BOLTON differed from Mr. Alderman Evans. The subject had been fully discussed in the committee, and of the two modes which presented themselves for reward ing the very valuable services of Mr. Okill (to whom the old corporation had behaved very shabbily), the committee had chosen that which best accorded with the feelings of Mr. Okill. He (Mr. Bolton) thought there was no fear of this proposed augmentation of salary having any influence in a future appointment, for it was recommended under peculiar circumstances, and for services which would not again be needed. Besides, he thought that the mode proposed would be the most economical one. Mr. PLATT concurred in the motion of Mr. Currie. He thought that Mr. Okill richly deserved what was proposed for him. Mr. Alderman EARLE was glad to hear the grant of the old corporation to Mr. Okill styled shabby, because at that time he expressed his opinion that it Was the most paltry thing that ever had been done by that body. Mr. BATHBONE fully concurred in the views of Mr. Evans. He was glad to hear such a report, respecting one who was a high tory, from a committee that had often been taunted with being radicals and exclusives. Toryism, however, had no thing to do with the question—(laughter)—but he did wish to notice that reformers were quite willing to do justice to a tory, when his merits came before them. He hoped that the report would be referred back to the committee. It was very well to say that the increase of salary - had been recommended on account of Mr. ()kill's merits ; but he knew that when a salary was c. - Ice G 4 tblished, some excuse would be found to cootinec it. He wished the thing done in the most hand some way to Mr....0ki11; but'in a shape tlett would be more ae*'"l'tablo and a- - "Ifivezw:-. -- ..ta' - at th an the cut , pro i .,4zr im.cd tho report tleiltre4, lit-er economy, s. if Mr. Okill would not )ive- 'long. If he had a fixed surz given him, - it would be a compliment to him. Mr. Honosorr wished to see the council cometo a conclu sion that would be satisfactory to all parties. He agreed that some compensation ought to be made to Mr. Okill, and 'he also agreed in the principle laid down by Mr. Evans. Say what they would, if the compensation were given in the 'shape of a fixed salary the council would be called upon to continue that rate of salary, whenever they had to appoint a successor. He thought that a mode might be hit upon which would do away with all objection—namely, by giving Mr. Okill his . choice of a fixed sum, in the shape of a bonus, or an annuity during his continuance in the service of the coun cil—the annuity to form no part of his salary. Mr. Alderman BOOTH thought that the best mode was that proposed by Mr. Evans, namely, to grant a sum equiva lent to the purchase of an annuity of £2OO. Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE thought that the council should decide upon the matter, and not refer it back to the com mittee, as if they had not examined it sufficiently. He should support the motion of Mr. Currie, as that mode of remuneration would be most agreeable to the feelings of Mr. Okill, who cared little about the money, but who wished for an increase of salary for the purpose of raising himself in the scale of the corporation officers. Mr. Alderman HouNnv said that he should like to giVe • notice of another amendment. He thought that the proposed increase of £2OO was paltry, and that the council ought at once to make Mr. Okill's salary £lOOO a year. Mr. Alderman SHELL entirely concurred in the view of Mr. Evans, and had been confirmed in his opinion by what had fallen from Mr. G. H. Lawrence, who had said that Mr. Okill cared nothing about the money, but wished to raise himself in the scale of the corporation officers. Now, that was the very thing to which Mr. Evans had objected. If they raised the salary of the clerk of committees, the situation would become an object of ambition to those who stood high in society—to men unlike Mr. Okill, and unfit for the discharge of the duties ; and lie was • not anxious to do any such thing. He was one of those who thought that when a salary was once fixed at a high standard, it would be extremely difficult to reduce it. He did not think that.the case of the treasurer, who had been alluded to, bore upon the one before them, because they had all come in most dreadful economists. He must confess that, if he wanted an office under the council, he would: much rather make the application now than he would have done then. The report , had very properly stated all that could be brought forward in favour of Mr: Okill, but it ought likewise to have mentioned how much he had received from the old corporation. Mr. Okill's services were under the old corporation, but his claims had been referred to a sub-committee since the ap pointment of the reform council, and he (Mr. Sheil) really thought it too hard to throw back the blame on the. old cor-; poration for their economy. In fact, he was beginning to find that he had been too severe upon them ; for he hail always thought that they had been - too extravagant : but he found they had been too economical. . Mr. M'KEE reminded the council that they ought to be careful in fixing high salaries. The people out of doors were very jealous of these frequent additions, and the. council surely ought to pay some respect to their opinions. He hoped Mr. Evans's proposition would be carried. Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE proposed to do away with the ob jection of Mr. Evans by a slight verbal alteration of the !no tion. He proposed that the £2OO per annum should be given to Mr. Okill, not in addition to, but over and above, his salary. Mr. BLACKBURN supported Mr. Currie's motion. Mr. COGLAN expressed his intention to vote for the amend ment. Mr. JORDAN took the same view of the question as the. Finance Committee, and should support the original motion., Mr. Alderman EVANS wished to reply, but this was ob jected to by 'Mr. Currie and others, as being inconsistent, with the usage of the council, which did not,: following the rule of the House of Commons, allow the right of reply to the mover of an amendment. _ _ Mr. 67;;;;;;;; .........g with his reply, whemhe was interrupted by the • mayor, to whom the town--clerk had Pointed out that the motion of Mr. Currie, which was for the confirmation of the proceedings of the Finance Committee, inclusive ofthe recommendationfor the increase of Mr. Okill's salary, was wrongly worded : it ought to have been for the confirmation of the proceedings, with the exception of that part having reference to the increase of salary, because, by the standing orders of the council, no salary could be in-, creased unless a month's notice had been given. Mr. RATIIBONE wished to know whether the town clerk had given his opinion as to whether that was the proper time or not for taking the proposed increase of salary into con sideration. lie thought that the common-sense view of the case said, that they ought not to have another debate upon the subject. The TOWN-CLERK read the standing order, and said that it was not in the power of the council to go into the considera tion of the report until the next meeting. t Mr. CURRIE was proceeding,lwhen Mr. Alderman EvANs rose and objected, seeing that it - had been decided that the council could' not take the matter into consideration then. He recommended Mr. Currie to reserve his ammunition till the next meeting. Mr.' CURRIE replied that he should not be short of ammu nition. He then worded his motion as follows :—" That the proceedings of the Finance Committee be confirmed, with the exception of the report as to the Birkenhead property, which is to stand over for consideration at an adjourned council, and the report on Mr. Okill's memorial, which, by the stand ing orders, must stand over till the next monthly meeting." The motion was agreed to without opposition. HIGH CONSTABLE'S SALARY. In the proceedings of the Watch Committee. there was a resolution that the salary of Mr. Whitty, the head-con stable, should be raised from £525 to £7OO. This resolution will be taken into consideration at the next council meeting. SWOItD-BEARER. The Town-hall Establishment Committee recommended that William Houlton should be appointed to the office of sword-bearer, receiving £3O a year in addition to his present salary. By this arrangement £l2O a year would be saved. — This recommendation also stands over for confirmation. MEMORIALS. The MAYOR then presented the following memorial, which had been handed to him by Mr. Hodgson : " Your memorialists have learned with satisfaction that it is the intention of your honourable body to apply to parliament, in the ensuing session, for power to introduce into this borough several clauses of the metropolitan police act; amongst them the following:—' And be it enacted, that no licensed victualler or other persod shall open his house within the metropolitan district for the sale of wine, spirits, beer, or other fermented or distilled liquors on Sundays, Christmas-day, and Good Friday; before the hour of one in the afternoon, except refreshment for travellers.' Your memorialists are of opinion that the introduction of this measure will tend greatly to check the drunkenness, no morality, and awful desecration of the Lord's day that at present prevail. Trusting that your honourable body will persevere in your intention, and add this to the many other excellent measures conferred upon us, which tend so, much to our comfort and happiness as individuals, and, our safety and protection as citizens : as in duty bound, your memo rialists will ever pray." The memorial was signed by 554 persons. Mr. HODGSON said that he had been desired to state, that in addition to the signatures appended to the memorial, (which had been placed in his hands since he came into the council,) there was a great number which ought and would have been appended, but for the circumstance that the indi vldttal hiving possession of them was out of the way. Mr. JOHN SMITH inquired whether there was any memo rial from the licensed victuallers ? The MAYOR replied in the negative. Mr. JOHN SMITH moved that the memorial which had been presented should' be referred to the Watch Committee, as they would have to take the whole case into consideration. Mr. CASE seconded the motion.—Carried. VACANCIES IN THE. ALMS HOUSES. The MAYOR called the attention of the council to the fact to have their advice as to"the best mode of filling them. He of there being two vacancies in the alms-houses, as he wished stated that there had been frequent complaints as to the manner in which the persons occupying them had conducted themselves. There were forty-eight alms-houses, sixteen of which were -in the hands of the corporation ; and he had spoken to the persons having the.disposal of the others, and he believed that there was no disinclination on their part to accede to the proposal which he was about to offer—namely, that a police inspector should live in one of.the houses now vacant, and, by exerting a. surveillance over the houses ge nerally, and by frequently reporting, they would thus be kept in better order. Mr. Alderman EARLE was glad that the mayor had taken up this subject. He himself had bestowed someattentionto it when he was in office. The Mayor's suggestion was a good one. The evil was, allowing persons with families to reside in the alms-houses; for, when the children grew up, they re mained there ; an d son i c o f the houses, when he was in t r i o o t n h o el f s. old Unlessp eople, the lotesee'swweerre little lelci betteried to the whom they were intended, there would be some difficulty in bringing about that order and regularity which the mayor w i s hed to establish. Mr. RATH/101,1E thought that if some arrangement were made with the different proprietors to bring the whole of the under one, management, it would be better. h ous es Mr. CASE said 'that to permit a police inspector to reside be deprive the poor of one of the houses. He th er , would to the strictsurveillance htZi they should be under on t he should not like a house to be taken away. The i ' • d to the Town-hall Establishment eten e c orunt rel3ect was r *A.. ATcti RATE. ChurchwardentV :.hAet ihe".VestryeaNd'r he Churchwarden Kilsha; o resolution from Mr. iansh-office, F enw i c ting held in the Board Room of the 'it,reet, the 24th December, 1839, Mr. v in chair, the vestry-clerk having reported the result of the interview of the churchwardens and himself, as a deputation to wait upon the mayor and town-clerk, in reference to the intended bill as to watch rates —Resolved, That; relying upon the intention expressed by the council that they will proceed to obtain an act of parlia ment in the next session, so as to exonerate the parishioneri from any additional rate under the act of last session, the se lect vestry, although well aware of the anxiety felt by the pa rishioners at large upon the 'subject of the watch rate, con ceive that they will best effect the views of the parishioners by abandoning any distinct application to parliament for this purpose.—Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolution be transmitted by the churchwardens to the mayor, with a request that his worship will he pleased to lay the same be fore the council at their next meeting.—Extracted from the minutes." " N: D. LOWNDES, Vestry-Clerk." The TOWN-CLERK said it was desirable that there should be no misunderstandincrwith respect to the bill he was proceed ing for. He then read the report on the subject, which had been approved of by a committee, and afterwards by the council, and in pursuance of which notice had been given in the following terms. [The Town-clerk read the notice.] The resolution of the parish, he Said, appeared to go to the exo neration of the parish, and he had no doubt, if no change took place in the revenue of the corporation, that that would be the result of the bill. _ _ Mr. CURRIE, in pursuance of the recommendation of the Town-clerk, moved the following resolution :—" That the Town-clerk be directed officially to transmit to the Vestry clerk an extract from his parliamentary notice, so far as re lates to a bill in the next session, on the subject of the act of the last session, relating to watch rates ; and to state that he has the directions of this council to effect, by public or pri vate bill, the objects of that notice." The resolution was adopted without opposition. Doer( COMMITTEE. The proceedings of the Dock Committee were then read over and confirmed. Some rules and regulations for the conduct of the dock-masters and harbour-masters were with drawn, for the purpose of amendment. LAYING A WATCH RATE. Mr. THORNHILL, as chairman of the Watch Committee, proposed that the rate for the ensuing year should be 2d. 33-64ths. The TOWN- C LERK explained why the proposed rate was higher than had formerly been levied, namely, 2d. 6-17ths. At present they were obliged to lay the rate under an act of the last session, which directed that, instead of the annual value of the premises being estimated at the rack rent, it should be estimated at the probable annual value for a cer tain number of years. It was therefore proposed that a de duction of one-tenth from the rack rent should be made, that being the proportion which the parish deducted. By this course the 2d. 33-64ths would yield £l5 less than the"2d. 6-17ths had yielded. The motion was carried without opposition. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS AND TRUSTEES. Messrs. Platt, Segar, and Morecroft were appointed com missioners for watching, lighting, and cleansing the chapelry of Birkenhead. The Mayor was, appointe4 a trustee of Mrs. Ann Moly ...ova charity, in the roortrsif the late- may*. The Mayor, Mr. Lassell, and Mr. Thornhill were appointed trustees of St. James's Cemetery. Messrs. Benn and Houghton, trustees of the school and chapel for the indigent blind. Forty-one members of the council were appointed com missioners under the pilotage act—namely, Messrs. Hornby, Leathom, Rathbone, Walmsley, Sheil, Gladstone, Booth, Sands, Sandbach, Mather, Holt, Case, Bolton, Mellor, Blackburn, Hodgson, Duncan, Bushell, Bulley, Jordan, Cur rie, Earle, John Holmes, Barclay, Lassell,Thornhill, G. Holt, Platt, H. Lawrence. Quayle, Smith, Woolright, G. H. Law rence, H. Holmes, Bright, Priestley, Moon, Morecroft, Se gar, J. Hornby. and Barton. The Mayor, Mr. Leathom, and Mr. Booth, were appointed auditors of the accounts of the Pilots' Committee. Mr. John Wvbcrgh, treasurer for the borough, was ap pointed agent of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, to prove all debts now or at any time due to the corporation from any person against whom a fiat of bankruptcy has or may be issued. _ ' _ _ The Council then adjourned, at a quarter-past two, to Wednesday, the 15th instant, as a quarterly and special Council. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-TuESDAY. A 'WARNING TO SEAMEN, &C. The Master .of the ship Duchessof Clarence appeared to answer a charge of assault, preferred tigainst him by a man who had shipped as steward for the late voyage of the above vessel to Trieste and back. _ Mr. Davenport appeared on the part of the compiainant. The latter at the outset of his statement said that the assault was committed on the 17th September. Mr. Shuttleworth said he had procured a summons for an assault, alleged to have been committed on or about the 14th October. - _ _ Mr. Davenport hoped the Captain would consent to the case being heard there. The Captain replied, that he did not feel called upon to consent to anything, as he had never committed any assault whatever on the complainant. Mr. Rushton said, as the Captain had been summoned to answer a charge of assault; alleged to have been committed on a particular day, while it was now stated to have taken place on another, the captain was undoubtedly entitled to a postponement for preparation. He would, if the captain thought fit,.issUe . another summons. The Captain said, it would be better that the case should proceed. , . Mr. Davenport stated; that the complainant was labouring under hernia., He was ordered to go aloft and " scrape the sky-sails" on the day when the assault was committed. As his disease was'of:a very serious nature, he was unable to comply With this'request ; and the consequence was, that the Captain , struek him, broke his mouth, and caused him to bleed profusely. 'The 'complainant was first engaged as a teward, but he was removed from the cabin a week, preced ug their arrival at Trieste. The voyage occupied about six weeks and four days, and he acted as steward outward. The complainant, having been called, said, he was turned out of the cabin without any reason whatever.; he had no objectiori to pull and haul when desired, or to work about the. deck, but he could not' go aloft, and; when ordered, he said so, upon which the captain came off the poop, and struck him, and broke his mouth. William Chester, a witness called by the complainant, stated, that he saw the captain come the poop, and strike the complainant, either on the chinror.ori . the mouth, he could. not tell which. John Holmes, aseaman, corroborated the above,testimony, and said, that the complainant was conapellst44#l,4,up the rigging to get out of the captain's way._ The complainant was suffering from rupture: The captain said, he. was never informed, that the com plainant was afflicted with hernia. He shipped as steward. The complainant said; he told the captain himself, that he %vas so afflicted. The captain, in reply; denied` the charge in toto. The two men whom the coniplainaht had' called were the ringleaders of a mutinous conspiracy on board his ship, and he did not worder at anything they mightsay. Chester.—Then why did not you say that before you paid us ? You might have taken us into custody by law. Captain Brenan.—l looked over it. The Mate was called 'as a witness on behalf of the captain. He said he ordered the complainant to go up aloft to scrape the mast. He refused to do so, and witness told the captain. The latter tbOk hold of him by the collar, but did not strike him. He had One aloft frequently. before. A youhg seaman gave similar testimony. He said the captain was 'standing near'the main rigging, and did not come off the poop at all. He merely collared the complainant, but did not strike him. ' The complainant„ in 'explanation of a. statement by the mate, said—he could go' aloft, and had . gone aloft before; but he could not go where he was desired, as he should have to hold On by bare Mast with hiS hands and knees. The captain Said, there were ropes rove for the purpose of supporting individuals. who scraped the "sky scrapers"—and he would, if he had thought ptOper, have-been hoisted up. Mr. Rushton—What was he turned out of the cabin for ? Captain—For excessive' dirt and filthiness. Mr. Rushton had; in the Meantime, examined the log. He said if any assault' had been committed it appeared to have been a very slight one ;* but he could not make up his mind that the complainant had been struck at all. There was cer tain conduct entered in the lolf-book which showed that he had behaved very:ill in :Many instances during the voyage. He was not,'in this instance, 'entitled to redress.. Case dis missed. A COUPLE OF ORIGINALS. A singular-looking female, aged, abont fifty-nine, very shabbily but very formally dressed, complained against a feeble old man, aged perhaps about seventy, that he had assaulted her. The lady, a very cadaverous, pineh-faced old dame, was called Miss MayOr, from which designation we gathered that she is an aged spinster. • The defendant, who was bent so that - his back was very nearly in parallelism with his feet, called himslf Mister Michael Byroin. Both were natives of Hibernia whose brogue dropped rich and melli fluent as Milesian honey from their tongues. The stiff-necked maiden stated, that being Chris-amas time, she was indulging at geem of caruds, (cards), when the ould gintleman came, in the most inhuman, brutal, and abo minable manner, an' strict her a tremendous blow on her head. The poor querulous old gentleman, who did not appear as if he had anything tremendous left about him, save his tongue, scarcely had patience to hear the complaint to a conclusion, ere he broke in with his defence, which, in fact, amounted to a charge of felony at - least." Plase your worship, said he, thirrilaain carads that she spakes of were mine. She came to house, and she took dim away. Och now; Miss Mayor, y-oit know well dhat you are an old gambler, - you are dhat same now, you always was, and you always will be; •for it isn't in dhe nature of you to lave it off. Here the - defendant coughed loudly, by way of recovering his breath. Before the astonished maiden could rally to the attack, however, he was off again. Savin yer 'prisince, and all dhe honerablecumpany dhat are around me, .she tould me dhat I mightr---(we cannot follow the old gen tleman.) The shocked spinster lifted up her hands and eyes in speechless astonishment. Presently, however, she reco vered her powers of utterance. ' ' •Is it you, you old tory, she said. The old gentleman again interrupted her. Yes, that's just what she called me. You ould tory and rascal, said she. 1 said I want my carads you old gambler—but, look you, gen tlemen, mark me ! 1 never struck her, and she owes me ten shillings. Complainant : Well, if he'll swear that, VII pay him on the spot. Defendant : Och ! don't listen to one word she says. She's the wickedest woman between here and London. Mr. Rushton dismissed the case, as beyond his powers of discrimination to rectify or comprehend... The belligerents retired from the court, calling each other all manner of evil names in a peculiarly quiet way, though the old gentleman seemed now to have the advantage of his opponent in coolness. YESTERDAY. STEALING ON SHIP-BOARD. John Brown And Edward Piercy, two young men, were charged with having been found on board of a vessel, and attempting to break into the cabin. The case was proved, and as it appeared Brown had once before been imprisoned for stealing from a cabin, and had been transported for another offence ; and that Piercy was also an old offender; they were sent to the House of Correction for three months. THEFT FROM A LODGING-HOUSE. William Scholes, a sailor youth, stood charged with steal ing a sum of money from a ship-mate, Richard Elson, a sailor ' • he lodged in Blundell-street. He said he had belonged to, the brig Humber, and that he had been paid off on Monday last, when he received the sum of £6. 2s. 6d. He put the money into a dressing box, and locked the box in his clothes vilest. He gave the key to George Spark, who brought him from time to time such sums as he wanted. The prisoner lodged at the same, house. On Monday, he told the witness he had no money ; and witness gave him five shillings. He was afterwards shown the chest :. the staple of it had been forced ; the dressing box had also been forced by a plane iron; and four sovereigns were missing from it. The prisoner was (he said) a . carpenter, and had his tools in the•same room. The robbery was described by Sparks (a witness,) and he and complainant went in search of the delinquent, and found him near the Adelphi Hotel, in the act of getting into a coach. lie was uiven in charge, and there were found upon him three sovereigns, five shillings, two sixpences, a half-crown, and a penny. Another witness spoke to the prisoner being at a public-house and getting change for a sovereign. He told the last witness he had re ceived a letter informing him of his mother's death, and re mitting him three sovereigns to take him home. The pri soner, on being asked what he had to say in reply to the charge, said—" I know nothing about it : the money was my own." He was committed for trial at the sessions. a ‘ _ N`*' • FIRST ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THE CHURCII BUILDING SOCIETY. On Wednesday last, at one o'clock, a numerous meeting of members of this excellent society took place in the Board. Room' of the Blue Coat Hospital, School-lane, for the pur pose of receiving the report of the committee of the progress of the society up to the present time. There were about forty-five gentlemen present, including most of the clergy and many of the most influential inhabitants of the town attached to : the cause of Protestantism and the spread of religious instruction amongst the people. The Rev. Rector Bnooxs was unanimously called to- the chair, and,opened the business of the meeting in a brief and - aPpropriate - aadres He said; that according to the rules of the societr.they had assembled. :on their first anniversary 'Meeting, and it would be the 'pleasing duty of the committee to submit to them the report of the proceedings hitherto, which, he doubted not, they would find to be highly satis factory. As yet the society had done but little with respect to the object they had in view—the erection of Churches were they were most wanted; yet such had been the amount of the sUbscriptions, extending in all to £20,000, that they_had taken preliminary steps for the building of three new places of worship. Two of these—one at the north, and one at the south end of the town—might be said to be already going on ; and a third was determined upon, which they would not have considered themselves justified in undertaking as yet, but for the very liberal offer of support which they had received from individuals favourable to the objects of the society. They were no doubt aware that the subscriptions of the members were payable only annually, and, though a considerable amount of the sum subscribed had already been collected, the greater part would be required for the erection of the two churches alluded to ; and the circumstance noticed, and which he should explain, had alone induced them to accede to - the application made to the committee for the erection of a third. , They were all aware that in-the neigh bouring hamlet of Windsor there was a dense population, chiefly consisting of the poorer classes, and who were desti tute of religious instruction. It was represented to the committee that a church in that quarter was essential to their well-being, and that the cost of the edifice would be from £6OO to £BOO. The parties who proposed its erection to the committee, stated that they would subscribe an amount of £l5OO towards it ; that they would leave the nomination of the clergyman to the society ; and, further, that if they required it (in case of contingent expenses), they would grant them a loan of £l,OOO for two years without interest, provided they would undertake the building of the church. The committee, taking this liberal offer into full considera- tion, did not think thgy would be exceeding their authority in complying with the request, and the contracts had accordingly been made. With regard to the church at the south end of the town, the foundation-stone, as they knew, had been laid last week ; the committee had agreed upon plans for the build ing, and the architect was occupied in making out the plans and working specifications. This church might, therefore, be said to be fairly commenced. He might remark of it that the site was exceedingly eligible._ It would be open. On all sidei=, and 'have 'brie front to Parliadent=street; and another to Greenland-street. As it would therefore form a conspicuous object, it was requisite that the building should be more ornamental than the intended church at the north end of the town. It was,.of course, the object of the com mittee to give to these edifices a respectable and ecclesiastical character. That at the north, in NayloiLstreet, would Cost about £3,200, from which there would be from .E=lo to £5O of drawback ; that at the south would, from the circumstance stated, cost - about £l,OOO more. Both would have' spires; and he trusted that they would not only be ornamental to the town, but (which was of greater importance,) that they would become highly beneficial in their respective neighbour hoods, by promoting the religious welfare and happiness of the inhabitants. (Hear, hear.) He should now call upon the Rev. Mr. North, the secretary, to read the report. The Rev. Mr. NORTH then read the following interesting REPORT :- " The Committee of the Liverpool Church Building So. ciety beg leave, in presenting their first annual report to refer briefly to the train of events, which led to the formation of the society. " For many years the Incorporated Society for pro moting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels,' was the only public body which laboured to adapt the number of churches to the increasing wants of our population. As the sphere of its operations extended equally to every part of the kingdom, the immense increase of po pulation in this and the adjoining counties naturally drew a large-portion. of the.Seciety's funds into our own. Diocese. To relieve the Parent Society in some degree froth this pressure, and at the same time to call upon a county, the wealth of which' is at least commensurate with its destitution, to contribute more equally to. bear its own burden, the Chester Diocesan. Church Building Society' was esta blished, about five years ago,.at the suggestion and under the immediate direction of the Bishop. " The expectation it held out of awakening a new spirit to the work of building churches, by bringing home to the rich the lamentable state of their own immediate neighbour hoods'in this particular, has been amply redeemed by the erection of more than thirty churches,' during the short pe riod of that society's existence. If we regret that the measures of assistance afforded to it, has not enabled it to accomplish still more than this, we are at all events spared the reflection that any part of such an imputation attaches to the town of Liverpool. She contributed to relieve the wants of the poorer parts of the Diocese in a way that marked well her gratitude, for the abundant blessings with which God had favoured her. " But the view of spiritual destitution which had thus been taken throughout our neighbourhood, led to the further dis covery of it to a Startling amount, even at our very doors. An immense population was seen in. our town, living indeed upon the confines of , Revelation, whom yet no Heavenly Light had ever illumined, whom no voice'of Divine Truth had' ever reached, nor any messenger.of God ever cheered with the Gospel message of salvation. " This distressing condition of a large portion of our own immediate family and household, suggested to certain chari-• table individuals, whose hearts the Lord had touched, the chenie of forming the ' Liverpool Church Building Society;' the first anniversary of which we are celebrating to day. " Theiafirst care was to satisfy themselves fully of the extent of the evil, which they proposed to remedy, before they pro ceeded to appeal to the sympathies of their fellow-townsmen. And sad indeed svas.the sight-which such an inspection ex hibited. Th 6, saw an immense population, whose industry was contrlbuting daily to increase the wealth and ornament of that- town, felleyving in the moral course of their jives only . the dictates of their corrupt and fleshly nature, whilst no man cared for their souls. They saw large districts in Which thousands ,of immortal and accountable beings were ac cumulated, without any place of Divine Worship what isoevers% attest the knowledge and the presence of God" amongst them. " They saw a people too poor to provide Christian Instruc" tion for themielveri; and too ignorant even to desire it,—whom' the so called " Voluntary Principle" 'had not reached,and whom, they were persuaded, nothing else than the charch principle ever could reach effectually. Knowing too at the the same time the, wretched., fallacy of the argument which they foresaw might probably be addressed with effect to the avarice of some,—that new churChes could not be required in one part of the town so long as a single bench remained unoccupied in any church in another • quarter ; and un deterred by the amount which • had already been -sub .scribed for the same purpose, they appealed confidently to their Christian brethren for the formation of the Liver pool Church Building Society; and under the gOod'providence of God, they were not disappointed. " The sum of £20,000 was very soon contributed, a large portion of which,' as will appear from the statement of the treasurer's accounts, has already been paid into the bank, and the remainder is in rapid progress of collection. " Grateful for the liberal means which havethus enabled them to embark to a considerable extent in their undertaking, the committee beg. to. express a hope that they shall shortly be permitted to carry some of their further projects into effect. "-For such a new impulse. to their labours they Venture to look especially to those friends of the church, and of their fellow-creatures, who have net yet had their attention fully drawn to the Object of this society. And they beg to suggest to those - who are already subscribers to its funds, the propriety of impressing upon others, the force of those 'claims • which have recommended themselves so warmly to their own consciences. With the blessings of God upon the united liberality of all their Christian brethren, they hope .to , be pen - witted' to celebrate each of several years to come, with the announcement of a degree of progress similar to -that which they have now the pleasure to report respecting the psst year,:—Preparatimis for building three new churches. "-Should it appear to any one that some of these ought to have been in a more advanced state than they really are, the `committee 'beg . , in explanation, to refer to circumstances whichhave hindered them from carrying their objects into effect so speedily as they could have desired. In the first plaCes there was considerable difficulty in finding sites for the churches. Plenty of land was to be had in the new parts of the town, but land was wanted where spiritual destitution exists. It was' necessary to go to the densely populated parts, and there - the difficulty of obtaining land is well known. The committee have, however, succeeded in obtaining two sites : the 'one in `Greenland-street, at the south end of the town ; the other in Naylor-street, at the north end. Upon the former, the first stone of a new church was laid about a fortnight ago, and the committee are happy to state, that the working plans of the intended church in Naylor-street are ready, and, in the course of another fortnight, the contracts for the erection of that church will he completed. "The committee have also in operation another church, which will be upon the verge of the borough, in the hamlet of Windsor. It may be necessary perhaps to make some ex planations with regard to the choice of that site. If they had been left to themselves, without the liberal offer which had been made to them, they would hardly, at the present mo ment, have chosen that situation for one of their churches, although there is a rising population there of upwards of 3,000 persons who' have no church accommodation. The in habitants and friends of religious improvement in that neigh bourhood, anxious to establish a church in it, have raised, or 'intend to raise, the sum of £1,500 towards the completion of it. They told your committee—' If you will establish one of . your churches at Windsor, where we will prove that the des titution of the place really requires it, we will give you £1,500 ; we will subscribe to all the rules of the society,- we will give up the appointment to the church, to be vested in your trus tees, and we will further lend you £l,OOO without interest, for the period of two years, to assist you in completing the work.' They also undertook to establish schools in connection with the church, which indeed are much wanted in' that neigh bourfibOd. - Suchen offer as this the coffinsittee did not think themselves at liberty to refase, because by it they have ob tained the building of a church at a very small cost. "'These, then, are the peculiar circumstances which have attended the operations of the committee since they began their labours ; and with this brief recital of them, they beg to conclude their report,' committing their work to the good providence of Him for whose glory it is designed, and calling upon all their Christian brethren to unite with' them in an earnest prayer to the throne of grace;_' That in this and all our other works begun, continued, and 'ended in Him, we may be permitted to glorify his holy name, and finally, by his mercy, to obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." The CumnmAN said the meeting had heard tie report; and he should be glad to hear any remarks, or to reply to' ally questions, respecting it.-- • • The Rev. HUGH M`Nortr suggested the omission of a clause in a passage of the report, from which it might possi bly be. inferred, that the committee imputed to the members of the voluntary principle, that they had " forsaken" certain parts of the town, in want of religious instruction. This (if so construed) conveyed, he thought, a reproach not merited ; and might provoke hostility towards the report, which he thought unnecessary. He did not think that the voluntaries had•forsaken their posts, but he did not care how strongly the report expressed the inadequacy of the voluntary principle, for the religious instruction of the people. (Hear.) He did not think the allusion necessary. The CHAIRMAN explained that the language employed was not intended to convey such reproach, but merely pur ported that some of the districts of the town had not been visited by the parties alluded to. lie, however. concurred with Mr: M'Neile, that the clause might be misapprehended, and it was accordingly struck out. Mr. JOSH UA EDWARDS moved that the report be adopted, and also (on the suggestion of the Chairman) that it be printed. for distribution amongst the members of the society. The motion was duly seconded, and it was unanimously passed. The Crimesr AN said that -it might not be improper to in form the meeting that great difficulty had been experienced in the procuring of suitable sites for the intended new churches. They (the members of the committee) had tra velled day after day in search of proper situations, in localities where the spiritual wants of the inhabitants were greatest, at both ends of the town. They had seen various sites in the north that . were ; but the price demanded was so ~ . ex cessive tut It preclu ded them from coming to any. arrange meat; and if they had riot fortunately learned that Mr. John Wright had some suitable ground in Naylor-street, they would yet have been at a stand still. They called upon Mr. Wright, and explained to .him their object. That gentle man immediately entered into their views ; allowed them to have the land at. the comparatively low price of 255. a yard ; and in the most liberal manner, subscribed the sum of £lOO. towards the erection of the church, Nothing, indeed, could be more kind than his conduct towards them ; and he seemed most anxious to forward the wishes of the society by any means in his power. They had been equally fortunate at the south end of the town. After the land (part of a plot) was laid out for the Southern Hospital, there. was just as much left as they wanted for their church, so. that its acquisition was accidental. There had, also been ?Feat difficulty in findi n g a Site for thebhurch to be erectedby'mr. Blackstone,. and, a piece (Aland further out of. the town„ and near the Harring ton docks, had been taken for, it at, he heard, 30s. a yard. That gentleinem, who had privately fOrkarded the same ob ject as that of the Society, hadAis contracts now in a state of forwardness, and the building, he was glad to announce, 'would be commenced 'MAT - 6h; ut as early as the weather would permit. The cost of the ch urc h an d its endowment (£2000) would be in all £7OOO. Nor was that the only work of piety and humanity in which •that benevolent individual was at present engaged. He was building a Scotch national church in his native town of Leith, to which schools would be attached, and also an hospital for females afflicted with incurable diseases. This latter work -he had undertaken on the suggestion of his own daughter, who had been so afflict ed. She had commiserated the situation of those who, when found incurable, were ejected from our ordinary hospitals; and her father had complied with her humane request. The erection and endowment of these buildings in Scotland would be £30;000; and, with a rare disinterestedness, the excellent founder purposed to give the Thole up into the hands of others, fur the public good. lk hatever revenue might arise from the seats in the new church here, was to be appropriated part to the necessary repairs.of the church, and the residue to the augmentation of the clergyman's salary. (Hear, heat%) In reply to a question, the Treasurer, Mr. E. MOLYNEUX, stated that the total amount hitherto subscribed towards the funds of the society was £20,021 19S. Of this the sum of £7862 9s. Gd. had already been collected, and £2655 remained due upon the instalmentof the past year. Another instalment was now due. Some of the subscribers had not yet paid any thing. In this item there was an amount of £430t45., most of which, however, he thought would be obtabufd on appli cation. He had also received the sum of £l3 Ss. of annual subscriptions, and had yet paid away very little—only about £46 95., including £24 of auction duty. The society had in the Royal Bank .. 11 Liverpobl Bank 3,087 1 5 £10,77115 7 He concluded by expressing his deep regret at the demiSe of several of the subscribers—including the Rev. Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Eden. The motion was passed. The C HAIRMAN said the next' part of the biiiinesi OPltte meeting was to complete the fgrntation of thpeouninitteefor the n> •lng year, as the rules reouired - that one-third shonld retire annually—namely, four clergymen (out of :the twelfe,) and eight laymen, out of the twenty four who constituted the lay portion of the committee.- The names of those retiring had been drawn agreeably to the rules. They were all, however, re-eligible, if the meeting thought fit to return them or any of them. The rev. gintleman here read the names of the twelve, including that of Mr. Eden, deceased. The names of the five clergy were first proceeded with, and the following were unanimously chosen—these marked * being re-elected: The Rev. Mr. North* (to remain as secretary .) the Rev. Dr. Tattershall,* the Rev. Mr. Carpenter, and the Rev. Mr. Gladwin. _ _ The meeting then proceeded to elect the eight laymen as follows :—Mr. John Eden (in the room of his deceased faiher,) Mr. Edward Cropper,* Mr. Parker,* Mr. Robert son Glad3tone,* Mr. Edwards,* Mr. Alston, Mr. _Hugh Hornby,* and Mr. Birch.* In reply to a question, the CH A IRMAN said the total amount subscribed was £20,021 19s. He stated that it was yet impossible to say how far the funds, if all collected would extend in the building of churches, until the two undertaken were completed ; but he thought it desirable That the Com mittee should be on the look-out for another site ; and that if a very desirable one should be found, that they should be empowered to purchase it. In reply to Mr. WNEILE, the CHAIRMAN said he con curred-in the suggestion, that the names of the subscribers should be appended to the printed,report ; and that, as this was customary, it should be understood that the motion for printing the report should embrace that undeistanding. He added, that it would be well that the subscribers should be apprized that the second instalment Was due,that day (the first of the year), there being an impression amongst some of them that the first instalinent was only then doe. This concluded the business of the meeting, and the Chair man having vacated the chair, thanks were voted to him by acclamation, and the assemblage dispersed. INQUESTS. (Before PHILIP FINCH CURRY, Esq. coroner.) DEATH FROM BURNING. On Wednesday last an inquest was held on view of the body of Catharine Jump. The deceased, who was the wife of a ship-keeper, was 60 years old, and lived in Banastre street. On the evening of the 31st October, while the deceased was sewing, her shawl caught fire at the candle, and her clothes were soon afterwards in a blaze. She ran out into the street, and two female neighbours going to her assis tance, laid her in the channel, and extinguished the flames. She was much burnt over her back and her breast. They bathed her with linseed oil. She was afterwards attended by Mr. Thomas, surgeon, who prescribed the usual reme dies ;. but typhus fever supervened, and 'the deceased died from exhaustion, on Monday last. Verdict—" Death from . burnin- D " DEATH FROM A FRACTURE OF 'TIE SKULL.. . Yesterda , , an inquest was held on view of the body of John Hickson. The deceased was employed in the stables belonging to the Royal .Hotel, in Dale-street, and was in the habit of sleeping in the hayloft, over the stables, to which the only access was by a trap-door, to reach which, a ladder was fixed' perpendicularly against the wall. The deceased was found lying in. the stable at the foot of the, ladder yesterday morning, quite dead, and with his head bent under his body. The deceased, it appeared, was in the habit - of drinking hard, and when last seen (be tween seven and eight o'clock on the_ previous evening) he was very , tipsy. Another man, named Cadman, used to sleep in the hay-Toff, and was sleeping there on Tuesday night; -bat : he stated that he IVitS himself tipsy when he went to sleep, (between 'six and seven o'clock), and did not know that' anything had happened to the deceased until he was called up, and tot that he was dead—, This witness said he had sometimes had a few words with 'the deceased, only in joke ; ii&thiiii - serionS; Mr. Cripps, surgeon, was called in immediately cin , the - deceased being found; but the body was then tiff„ and the deceased had evidently been .dead some boiiri. The skull was fractUred, and a portion of the bone pressed. npon the. brain. It appeared, too, that the neck was dislocated ; but the injury to the head was suffi• cient to account for death. Verdict, " Fotind dead, with a mortal fracture of the skull, of which he died ; but how he received the fracture there was no evidence to show." DEATH BY PALLING INTO A DOCK. On the same day an inquest was held on view of the body. of William Carss. The deceased, who was about 35 years of age, was chief mate of the barque Turk, of Newcastle, lying in the King's Dock. He left the vessel about three in the afternoon of Monday, and returned to the dock, to go on board, about eleven at night. One of the sailors then in the vessel went on shore to assist him to come on board, as he was very tipsy. They had several vessels to cross before they could get on board their own ship, which - was in the middle of the • dock. There was a plank placed from •the quay to the nearest vessel, and the before-mentioned sailor offered to assist the deceased over it ; but he would not allow him. The deceased then went on his hands and knees on the plank, and when about half way along it,- he fell side ways into the dock. Assistance Was immediately procured, and a young man went down with a rope, and fastened the deceased to it and he was taken out. He had not been more than a minute in the water but was quite dead. Mr. Gas kell, surgeon, was instantly called in to the deceased ; who was carried to a neighbouring house, and he used every means to restore animation for an hour, but without effect. On introducing the air pump into the nostrils, a quantity of blood issued which is not usual in cases of drowning. Mr. Gaskell added, that from the account he had received, com bined with this circumstance, the deceased must either have died in a fit, or struck against something, but there were no external marks of injury. He was of opinion that the de ceased did not die from the effect of drowning. The same gentleman afterwards made a post mortem examination of the body, and said—" the lungs were filled with air, which is positive evidence that the deceased did not die from drown ing. At the end of the windpipe I found a piece of meat, and in the trachea I found several smaller pieces, and these, in my opinion, were the cause of death, by producing suffoca tion. Ido not think the immersion in the water had any thing to do with his death." Verdict accordingly--" Acci dental death, through suffocation." A paragraph having appeared in some of the newspapers regarding the will of the late Miss Lines, of Stow, we are authorised to state, that the fortune left by her is very greatly exaggerated, and that no person has any right to any part of her fortune except her legal heir and executor.—Edinburgh paper. - - CHELTENHAM AND GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.. — The railway bridge across the Lansdowne road, at Cheltenham, was opened a few days back, and now forms the " permanent way to Gloucester and South Wales. The portion of the road extending from the bridge to the proposed station, and the junction within the Gloucester and Birmingham line, which has been so long in a state of unprogression, it is ex pected will be proceeded with immediately, the centering and other impediments to the thoroughfare under the bridge hav ing been removed.—Gloucester Chronicle. LORD JOHN RUSSELL AND THE CHARTISTS.—WE have ascertained, from an authority perfectly unexceptionable, that Lord John Russell has been served with a subpoena to attend as a witness at the approaching trial of the Chartist leader, Frost. It is well understood that the object of the legal advisers of the unfortunate prisoner is to call upon the Secretary of State, who appciinted him a magistrate, to speak. to the character of the man to who'll he delegated so im i,ortant a trust ; and, further, we believe we do not hazard:, a very presumpt uous an ti c ip a ti on of' the line of examination" intended to be pursued by the eminent lawyers retained for the defence, if we say, that they expect to be able to esta blish, beyond cavil or controversy, that the first of the Chartist meetings at which inflammatory language was used, and dangerous doctrines inculcated, was immediately subse quent to, and a direct corollary from, the celebrated Liver pool harangue of the noble secretary who is about to be brought forward—a most reluctant witness. We are quite aware of the ludicrous terrors that beset, and the extraordi nary efforts made in the precincts of Downing-street to con ceal the fact of the service of the subpoena, but our readers may rely upon the statement we have submitted to them. — Britannia. , . PROGRESS OF SOCIALISM.—The socialists are most in 'clustriously spreading the poison of their doctrines through but Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, and other large pro vincial towns. Able and zealous men are engaged as mis sionaries, a sort of itinerant ministers of vice, to each of which is assigned a district of circuit of country, which he is to impregnate with the germs of socialism. They are un happily, succeeding in their work of demoralisation to an alarming extent, not merely in our manufacturing districts, where the population is dense, and public morals are at the lowest ebb, but in many a quiet and country village ; work ing insidiously, distributing their tracts, and entrapping the unwary by their fervid zeal for the dissemination of their tenets. Their tracts generally contain the most awful blasphemies and the most depraved language, denying al together the existence of a God, and charging upon Christi anity the majority of the evils which overrun the world. And yet the head of this atrocious system was publicly presented to our youthful and unsuspecting Sovereign, in the sight of all England, by Lord Melbourne. —Morning Herald. INTERESTING TO LADIES.—The more delicate the beauty . of a female, the more susceptible is it to the effects of our rigid winters. The fine skin of 11agland's lovely women is not calculated to withstand expospre, to. their own climate, without the assistance of some so thing application to allay the smarting irritability produced by the action. of a wintry atmosphere. No discovery has effected this purpose except Rowland's Kalydor, the application of which not only re moves the tenderness of the skin- produced by cold, but all cutaneous eruptions. In addition to there .advantages, by imparting a pliancy to the surface, which is delightful and luxurious to the sensation, it decidedly prevents the skin from being susceptible to the attacks of bleak biting winds.— See advt. LIVERPOOL COTTON BROKERS' CIRCULAR. Liverpool, 31st December, 1839. If proofs were wanting of the fallibility of all attempts to penetrate the mysteries of the cotton question, they are to be found in the.history of the last twelve months, wherein are developed facts and conclusions so widely at variance with the reasonings and opposite predictions of men equally sa gacious in commercial affairs, that the merit of being right, even by accident, would seem to have been denied to all. A brief notice of the position of the market, and of the state of Public opinion at the Commencement of, the year, will serve to confirm the justice of this observation. The conflicting accounts as to the extent of the coming crop had invested the subject of supply with more than or dinary interest. For two months the advices from the United States had been steadily pointing to the probability of a large lleficiency, and the statistical details by which they were accompanied, imparted to them an air of truth,_ well calculated to recommend them to general ac c epta n ce ; though it must be admitted that the professed believers at this early period were comparatively few. The majority entertained doubts, partly from information derived from sources equally deserving of credit, and partly from the absence of any as- . eertained cause sufficient to explain so extensive a failure in the crop as that alleged. The only one assigned was a drought in the spring; out, from the silence of the planters at the time, who are usually not slow to complain, it was reasonably concluded that the mischief was neither serious nor wide spreading. Saving this, there had been nothing unpropitious in the seasons from wind or rain, or premature frost; and when it.is considered that the growth of the United States ' had exhibited, for a series of years, (with but a solitary ex- CeiStion,) a constant average increase of 120,000 bales, it did require a combination of adverse circumstances, far stronger than any which appeared, to surrender not merely the cus tomary annual increase, but to reconcile the falling off, be sides, of 150,000 bales. From the effects, however, which these reports, whether well or ill founded, had upon prices, it may be suspected that the numbers who secretly partici pated in the fears of a scarcity were by no means inconside rable ; though it may, be regarded, perhaps, as a fortunate circumstance, that the less sanguine views upon the subject ostensibly prevailed. None of the authorities in the cotton circles committed themselves to a smaller crop than 1,800,000 bales, and the portionappropriated to this country varied from '900,000 bales to 1,030,000 bales • adding to this the import from other places, estimated at 305,000 bales, the same as the preceding year, and the stock in the ports, 321,000 bales ; also the stock held by the trade above their usual compli ment, stated to be 60,000 bales, and deducting 102,000 bales of re-exportation, gave a supply for the service of the year, ranging from 1,484,100 bales to 1,614,100 bales. From the smaller of these quantities the more ardent believers in a short crop claimed a reduction of 150,000 bales, leaving as a minimum, for the year's consumption, 1,334,100 bales. But whatever diversity of opinion existed as to the supplies, the most perfect uniformity obtained on another no less kill ' portant item of the calculation, the consumption, which by 'common consent was .fixed at not-lessthin 24,000 bides nes week, or 1,2 i 53,000 bale-, fur toe year ; being the moderate in crease of only 4 per cent. on that of the year before.: To have hinted at the probability of any material diminution would have been deemed a sort of heresy, unless indeed on the only grounds that were admitted, extravagantly high prices, owing to the scarcity of the raw material ! Under the influence of these, impressions, prices had gradually advanced since October (when they were at the lowest) lid. to 2d. per lb ; fair Uplands being at sad. per lb, and other qualities in pro portion. • Such were the state and prospects of the cotton market in the first week in January. Amongst other topics of specu lation was the part which the " United States Batik" intended to play in the commercial operations of the year. The move ments of this body were therefore watched with some anxiety,. as it was obvious that a crop so much reduced would be an easy' prey to its monopolizing grasp, and that any large por tion of it 'being held up, whether on the other side of the water or on this, would tend greatly to aggravate the evils of a scanty supply. All doubts, however, were cleared upon , this point before the middle of the month, by the appearance of a letter from Mr. Biddle, in which he distinctly declared, that, having succeeded in the purpose of his interference, which was to protect the " prostrate planter" from the reckless waste" of the British merchants ' the mucus by which that object bad been accomplished " were ran- • - quished, but that now they had totally and finally ceased." But other parties had taken the field, " both willing and: able, as Mr. Biddle expresses it, to do justice to " American • interests." The principal importers manifested the sin cerity of their own belief, by withholding their cotton as it arrived from the market, in which they were encou raged by each succeeding account being more confirma tory than the last, as to the deficiency of the crop. , The trade, on the -other hand, fairly stocked with cotton, and without any corresponding demand for goods and yarns, de. dined entering into competition with the speculator ; and, with their habitual. scepticism, kept aloof, their purchases being considerably within what was required for their then weekly consumption. About the first week in March, how ever, when the advices from the States assumed a still more decisive character, their fears appear to have been thoroughly awakened, and joining with the speculators in a simultaneous rush upon the market, in that and the two following weeks they secured 96,000 bales, at an advance, first and last, of ld, to lid. per lb. This seemed to be the expiring effort of the market ; for afterwards it sank into a state of the most ex treme depression, in which it continued with scarcely a gleam of sunshine for sixteen weeks. Between the 23d of March and the 18th of July, prices fell nd per lb., the sales to the trade, from the same period, averaging only 12,000 per week. The spring demand bad failed in bringing the anticipated re lief, and the stocks in the manufacturers' hands had accumu lated to an extent that rendered the working " short time," with many a measure rather of necessity than of choice. Though this curtailment in the hours of spinning was suffi ciently extensive to produce a sensible effect on the amount of business, it was considered scarcely adequate to explain so protracted a cessation of the demand, and hence it was rather hastily concluded by some, that the . quantity held by the trade at the end of the year had been underrated by some 20,000 or 30,000 bales. Could the existence of so large an error have been proved, the discovery at this critical juncture would, indeed, have been a fatal blow to the hopes of the holders ; for the excess could not be looked upon merely in the light of a simple addition to the. stock, but from its hav ing contributed to swell the apparent consumption of last year, and by consequence of this also, it would have led to a constantly increasing error in the stock in the kingdom from the commencement of the year. But the foremost of all the difficulties with which the market was beset, was the pressure for money, which, taking the rate of commercial discounts as test, was always severe, and sometimes intensely so. The fairness of this criterion, hewever, as a medium of com parison with former years, may perhaps be questioned; as, by the relaxation of the usury laws, an increased facility for ..raising moneympon, bills has- been afforded, to the discou ragement of other financial expedients resorted to in cases of embarrassment, which, in one shape or other, are in reality more costly to the parties accommodated. To this cause also may be referred the escape from those extremes in the - depression of prices, (for fair Uplands have never fallen be low frid. per lb.) which on previous occasions of mercantile distress have been the necessary result of a general forcing of sales as the only legal means of meeting pressing engage- , rnents. Towards the middle of July, the stocks of cotton in dell. hands of,the trade were evidently exhausted, and the markek; began to show signs of returning animation. But the game was up ; the contest between " short crop"-and "short time" had terminated in favour of the latter, and the year was too far advanced to recover the lost ground, the quantity on hand being more than enough to answer any calls that in the scope of possibility could, be made upon it. Although the import by the third week in July, from the United States, had fallen short by 280,000 bales, and from other quarters by 20,000 bales, the stock in this port alone amounted to 333,000. bales, which, being composed nine-tenths of American cotton, con verted the small numerical difference between the present and the stock at the corresponding period of the year preceeding, into an increase of no trifling magnitude. Prices had now reached their lowest point; in the last week in July they ad .vanced id. to id. per lb, but in the next they declined id. per lb, which, however, was regained in the following week. From the second week in August the movement was unf , formly downwards, by gradations of id. per lb nearly each snccessive week, with a slight check about the end of Octo ber, till the middle of November, when prices realised id. per lb, qn some very vague reports of the crop having sus tained injury from another drought. The accounts •by the next packet, however; dissipated these apprehensions, and the market relapsed again into its former state of inactivity, prices at the same time drooping, being lid. per lb lower for American descriptions on the last day of the year than on the first ; whilst the prices of Brazils, which had not been sub ject to the same fluctuations, closed as nearly as possible the same. Since the revival of the demand in July, the market may be said to have been, on the whole, rather animated than otherwise, the sales having averaged 27,667 bales per week. Of this quantity 65,000 bales have been taken by speculators, and 64,800 bales bona fide for export, leaving for home con sumption 22,260 bales per week. It has already been ob served; that the state of cotton in the interior was reduced to the lowest ebb at the end of June, which, for the purpose of estimating the rate of consumption for the latter half of the year, may be regarded as a sort of starting point. Limited as, no doubt, the stock in the hands of the trade is at the present time, it must be greater than at the period alluded to by some 25,000 to 30,000 bales, as the quantify iu transitu must always preserve a certain proportion with the quantity in use. On these data, therefore, the average consumption of the last six months, out of this market, will appear to be about 21,050 bales per week; but some mills for particular qualities of yarn are still working short time, and others, not a few, are wholly standing for want of the means or the'credif to carry them on. In the face of prospects so discouraging,„ it is surprising that prices should have been so well sustained ; but many of the principal importers stood pledged to parties on the other side to wait the issue of the crop ; and specula tors were always on the alert to take advantage of monetary depressions. To speculation account must be placed, alio a portion of the business reported for shipment, which; it is understood, was retained tor re-sale, on the spot. For full particulars, relating to stocks and imports, refer ence is requested to the annexed tables, which have been much enlarged and improved, and will be found to contain a variety of details, useful and interesting to those who are minutely investigating the subject. The first object which will attract notice is a defalcation of no less than 308,540 bales in the import from the United States—a result con firming the accuracy of the advises early in the year, and furnishing an ample justification of those who acted upon them, whose hard fate it has been to pin their faith upon a single fact, which, could it have been foreseen in its reality, would have been pronounced, with one voice, to be all-suffi cient to the anticipated end. Nor has the deficiency been supplied from other places, but rather the reverse ' • a small increase from India is more than counterbalanced by a fall ing off from Brazil, the import from which quarter has been nearly stationary for some years. The imports of Egyptian, and of miscellaneous kinds, are, as nearly as possible, the same. But the most important item is, the decrease in the consumption. The stock, as ascertained by the annual returns, which there is every reason to believe have been made in the strictest good faith, amounts to 250,490 bales, of which there are in Liverpool 206,050 bales, London 31,610 bales, and Glasgow 27,800 bales. Deducting, this quantity, and what has been re exported, from the total import into the kingdom, and the stock on hand on the Ist January, the deliveries to the trade have been 1,058,676 halei ; but in order to arrive at the consumption, to this quantity must be added what is held in the interior less than at the same period last year, generally estimated at 70,000 bales, the trade being supposed to hold at the present time not more than 80,000 bales ; thus the quantity actually consumed has been on the average 21,706 bales per week, or a decrease of 1335 bales per week from the consumption of last year. In comparing the stocks as returned, with the weekly statements prepared by this association, some important dis crepancies will be observed. Of American cotton the quan tity appears to be less than was supposed by 27,830 bales, and of Brains by 5;100 bales, whilst the stock of Egyptian is 2,800 bales, and of East India 5,580 bales more. Assum ing that the stock has been correctly returned, of which there is no cause to doubt, the dif f erences can only be ac counted for as follows, : viz.: in American and Brazils, by supposing that a quantity of both may have been forwarded, unsold, up the eountrY, - the returns of which have been furnished in a different:/nanner to former years ; the excess in Egyptian and Surat has probably been occasioned by con signments from London and' - Glasgow; Which- are known to have been considerable, and which - are not included in the import. It has - been usual to conclude the summary of 'the year's transactions by some opinions of the future, though recent experience has.tended to, throw discredit upon these gratui tous predictions. The year Nis been a singularly - disastrous one to The inani:ifw•turer, th 4. spinner, and the merchant. The former began the year. encumbered with heavy stocks, which, entering' into competition with the - produce of the