The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS. If A Constant Reader will favour us with a call, we can put him in the way of obtaining the information he desires. lies letter was received too late to enable us to give a specific re ply in our paper of to-day, _ Cidig itibtrpoct &tanbarb. TUESDAY MORNI\G, APRIL 14, 1846. The Rev. Cecil Wray, of St. Martin's Church, 1 has taken the very questionable step of calling public attention to himself and his late curate, now a member of the church of Rome. We would not deem his wretched attempt, to throw the blame of his late curate's apostacy on the evangelicals, worthy of any further notice than we have devoted to it elsewhere, but for a gross and unfounded misrepre . sensation of Mr. M`Neile, which Mr. Wray has thought proper to print. His words are— " Bracketing the Prayer Book, so that each minister may orn t what he chooses, is the ingenious suggestion of the Rev. El. l'al•Neile. of Liverpool, to relieve his party -from thsir present painful position. In his recent pub lication, • The Church and the Churches,' he again urges that a slight alteration. very slight, more verbal than real,' will be thankfully accepted. flow galling must be the yoke which can force a clever n.an to hazard such extravagant proposals!" This we advisedly call a gross and unfounded misrepresentation. Mr. M'Neile, in his recent admirable publication, called " The Church and the Churches," discusses the. possibility of uniting to our National Church, Christian brethren who conscientiously object to some of our present form ularies. With reference to their scruples, not with reference to any yoke felt by himself, he suggests .the propriety of some change. He quotes from Archdeacon Hare in condemnation of the Act of Uniformity as requiring a declaration injurious to the best interests of the national Church. Upon which he says for himself - " There is a wide difference between disapproving of this Declaration ourselves, and disapproving of its enforce . ment upon others. It is not because of any personal repugnance to it, that we deprecate its enforcement. In fact, it exercises no force upon us; we make it with per fect freedom, so Jar as our own individual feelings are Concerned. But others, and truly devoted Christians, cannot view it as we do, and we most highly disapprove of compelling such men either to submit to it with wounded consoiences and injured self-respect, or to separate them selves from the national church." (Page 86.) With this language before us, it is difficult to ex culpate Mr. \Vray from the charge of wilful misre presentation, when he intimates that Mr. M'Neile feels himself ender a galling yoke. No; but Mr. - M'Neile feels for others, and does not make his own experience or his own preference the measure of catholicity. He desires to see the church orderly indeed. but truly catholic in the comprehensiveness of Christian charity. He says— " I am aware of the necessity of some rule for the maintenance of ' decency and order ;' but surely when the nature of that necessity and of the great end in view are fairly considered, the rule should be prescribed with the elast , c tenderness of a nurse who takes into account the varying temperaments and dispositions of the children; and not with the rigid recklessness of an imperious task master, who would prostrate into a Pt ocrustes bed nl the varieties of human feeling and human conscience; cutting short to its own arbitrary standard all the outgoings. musical, a rchitectural, and otherwise .'..ecorative, of a de votional imagination ; and torturing out to meet the same standard all the simplicity of that abstract spirituality of mind which unfeignedly shrinks front decorations in re ligion. as from the precincts of an idolatrous temple."— (Page 83.) Then after suggesting an arrangement which, as he says, " would not erase a word nor add a word, nor alter a word, in any of our services; and yet, if introduced by the proper and competent autho rities, would gladden many a heart ;" he adds— " I am increasiNly impressed with the absolute necessity of some movement in this direction for the preserVation of our church. I fear none will be made. Dread of altera tion is as intense as it could be—and as it ought to be—if all our ritual, in its most minute details, were of express divine apsoietment. Whi!e fsr the sake of details of hu man origin, and of at least questionable wisdom, we are involved in a continued violation, towards many Christian brethren, of that loving forbearance which is indeed of divine appo ntment." (Page 93.) We commend the distinction here so wisely made between divine and human appointments to Mr. Wray's serious consideration ; and when he talks of Catholic consent, and refers to the rule of St Vincent, of Lerins, " Quod semper, quod übique, quod ab omnibus," we request his candid opinion of the application of it to the crisis in the Church's history when Arianism was in the ascendant, and in such a monstrous and notorious majority as to give rise to the celebrated saying so eulogistic of the strength and orthodoxy of Athanasius's private judgment 1 A thanasius contra mundum. The following notice of Mr. M'Neile's book appeared in the Morning Herald of Saturday. We have much pleasure in reprinting it. Mr. Nl'Netle's fame as a writer has been long esta blished, but it will be greatly increased by the volume now before us, which is, in every respect, worthy of its highly gifted author. We hail, with much satisfaction, the appearance of this seasonable publication. Though not directly c ontroversial, it is, in our judgment, emi nently calculated to checs some of the worst evils of the Tractitea, by showing., as ,Nlr. M'Neile expresses it in his preface, that the Church of England " supplies abundant scope and opportunity for every exercise of devotion, and for every act of self-denial and benevolence, which go to constitute the whole reasonable service' to which Chris tians are called in this world " We have been much struck with the remarkable contrast which this book pre sents to Mr, Ward's Ideal of a Christian church. In the one we see the low, evasive, casuistry of a man who has no confidence in the ground which he has himself select ed ; it is no better titan shifting sand. In the other we tind the bold, straightforward proclamations of a man "mighty in the scriptures," and standing with unshaken -firmness on the rock of eternal truth. Ward crawls and crimes—_M'NeUe walss erect and commands. Ward shufiles—M'Neile reasons. Ward borrows tinsel, and aims at stage effect, front the embroidered garments and ecclesia.t.cal pantomimes of Rome—M`Neile, in habitual simplicity, and without any effort, appropriates the im perishable jewels of divine revelation. Ward describes his ideal Cta.istian under a load of self-imposed or church. imposed commandments, devising ever fresh methods of self-denial, and sultj-ctitig his lower nature to rules more and more inflexible—M`Neile repudiates all such " will worship," and describe, his real Christian as a practical worshipper, whose ohject is not to arrest attention by ex aggerated works of supposed extra meritoriousness, but quietly, ste +day, and unostentatiously in the appropriate duties of the state of life in which he is providentially placed, to k en the cornmandu cuts of . God. But Mr. M•Neile's book is not directly controversial. His object is rather to re-state fundamental truth in Plainness of speech, remembering, as he says, that Chris tian knowledge is not hereditary, arid that the real source of danger from the heresy of the few is to be found in the ignorance of the many. We congratulate the rev. gentle man on his executioo of ths noble design, and cordially recommend to our readers a perusal of his work. They will find it sin g ularly characterised by moderation, not only in the author's statements of his own views, but also (a more rare quality) in his objections to hip opponents. Mr. M'Neile has refused, and we think wisely, his sanc tion ,to the proposed evangelical alliance, but he has proved himself a real friend of true Christian unity, and loves not in word hut in deed, as is evidenced by the ad mirable tone of this book. The pause in our headlong career towards the adoption of ultra . free trade measures, which' the manly and consistent efforts of the conservative minority of the House of Commons have won for us, has not been without its value to the country, 'and is not likcly to be altogether without its influ ence upon the fate of Sir Robert Peel's proposition. It has given us time to think ; to weigh those pro positions in all their hearings upon the national in dustry and the national greatness; to separate the various interests, of which this vast empire is com posed, and to examine their probable effects upon -the future prosperity of each. The House of Com mons itself will approach the consideration of the great question at issue, after the recess, with' cooler judgment, with more information to guide its de cision, and, we trust, with a determination not to be led blindfold by its faith in the impeccability or the infallibility of party leaders ; whilst the masses of the country are daily shelving themselves less willing to take that great leap in the dark, to which the ministry of Sir Robert Peel and its whig-radical allies were about to lead them. Upon one branch of the question involved in these measures, peculiarly interesting to this port, viz : their effect upon our existing colonial relations—we are happy to see, and to know, that a great impres sion has already been made upon the public mind, unfavourable fo the adoption of the ministerial pm positions in their present shape, and which may ultimately reach and influence the Legislature itself. The public, and even the manufacturers who enter tain free trade opinions, are fast getting rid of the . notion, sedulously instilled into their minds by free tra le spouters and writers, and repeated, without contradiction, so constantly that it had become almost a recognised truth, that our colonies were so many drags upon the resources of the mother coun try, and contributed comparatively nothing to her industry anti strength ; that they were possessions, whose interests we might tamper with and destroy, without their population stirring a hand or taking a step in their own behalf. The question—of what use are these colonies ?—is receiving a much greater amount o: consideration, and a very different reply to what would have been given to it when the public mind was fevered with the first mooting of the-e ieasures. We give in our columns this day a letter from Mr. Isaac Buchanan—a gentleman from whose pen several previous appeals to the good sense of his fellow-countrymen have appeared—in reply to an article in the Manchester Guardian of Saturday week ; and we ask for that letter and the itnpnttant statistical facts which it contains, the candid con sideration of our readers of every shade of politics. The Question, as treated by Mr. Buchanan, is not a party question, or a question of conflicting classes. It is emphatically a national question. It is one, whose settlement upon just and wise grounds, con cerns not only the statesman, the merchant, and the manufacturer, but affects materially the interests of the mechanic and the manufacturing labourer; and which, unless so settled, must exercise an influence over the future position of this country in the great family of nations, the importance of which is well nigh inconceivable. We shall not risk the weaken ing of the effect of Mr. Buchanan's communication as a whole by quoting any isolated portion of it here. We may, however, direct especial attention to the statistics which Mr. Buchanan brings forward, sheaving the vast increase of the exports of our cotton manufactures to Colonial markets, which has taken place within the last three years, as compared with the aggregate exports to all countries. To some of our readers, the results which Mr. Buchanan shews may be new. To most they will be startling. To the cotton manufacturing interest they ought to convey a lesson, and we may add, a warning. Such markets as the Colonies of Great Britain are now affording for the products of the national industry, should not be lightly tampered with ; and would not, if the legislature and the public would weigh fully their value, and their national as well as com tnercial importance. Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, in his excellent description of the wonders of strange lands, has introduced to our notice, as existing in Laputa, a class of functionaries whose employment it is, by the application of " flappers" to the head land other sensitive parts of the person, to keep awake important personages when required to be attend ing to their public or private duties. Such a class would not be without their use in our own country. They might be made excellent attaches to some of our courts of justice. ''hey would be invaluable in our Council and its committees, where the "Deus h&c otia fecit," carved upon their chair backs, so irresistibly invites their occupants to sleep. They would be peculiarly valuable in the Ministerial Chambers in Downing-street and Whitehall, from which right honourable secretaries e ery afternoon emerge, to take their seats in either House of the legislature, in as profound a dose and as utterly un aware of what has been going on in the world since they left their beds as if they had tasted the waters of Lethe, or had only newly been usheted into the world. A striking instance of this want of acquaintance with passing mundane affairs, on the part of an im portant member of our Government, was afforded in the proceedings of the House of Commons. on Wednesday evening, the member in question being the Home Secretary, Sir James Graham. We quote from the Times of Thursday morning : " Mr. CHRISTIE wished to ask, either at once or on the next day, in consequence of two recent cases in courts of justice of women who had infants born in workhouses being obliged to strip them of their clothing on leaving the house, whether there was any intention to in , titute an inquiry into those cases, or to make any alteration in the arrangement which it seemed was there acted on ? "Sir J. GRAHAM said, he, did not know the cases to which the hors. gentleman referred, and, no notice of the question having been given, he had had no commun;ca tion with the Poor-law CommissiOners on the subject. His attention had not been called to it either in the house or out of it, and it was impossible at once to answer questions on minute details of Poor-law administration. It w , uld be better to put the question next day." Sir James Graham, let it he borne in mind, is the minister peculiarly responsible for the administra tion of the Poor-law. It is to him also that the criminal statistics of the country are returned, and to whom the carrying out of the sentences of the judges is referred. Yet here were two cases, arising out of the mal-administration of the Poor-law, in which unfortunate female paupers had been dis charged from their respective workhouses, with their unfortunate new-born offspring in a state of nudity, and had been tempted by their necessities to the commission - of infanticide, and subsequently been tried for their offence by a jury of their country; and yet Sir James Graham " did not know of the cases." The judge who tried the wretched offender in one of them, and who miti gated the severity of his sentence expressly because she had been driven to the commission of the crime for which she was arraigned, had commented in strong terms of indignation upon the " iron rule" of the New Poor-law; and yet Sir James Graham declared that " his attention had never been called to it either in the house or out of it!" The ques tion which these cases involve is the serious one, whether masters of workhouses are to turn out new-horn infants, with their unfortunate mothers, without clothing upon them, to perish from the inclemency of the weather, t 3 shock the eyes of humanity in the streets or the public highways, and to tempt to the crime of !nor er ; and yet this is, forsooth, in the Home Secretary's estimation, one of those "minute details (!) of Poor-law administra tion" upon which he considers it " impossible to answer questions at once !" Now really we do think it a public scandal, that a Minister of the Crown, whose express duty it is to watch the administration of the law at home, should be permitted to enter the House of Commons in such a lamentable state of ignorance. There is, we venture to say, scarcely a man in the kingdom ca pable of reading, and of ordinary intelligence, to whom these shocking cases were not fully known. There is not a newspaper in the kingdom in which they were not stated in detail. Sir James Graham, we therefore presume, reads no newspapers. His official mind is too sublimated to allow of his en tertaining the ordinary or extraordinary affairs of this world, unless conveyed to him through the me dium of an official document, or through a state ment in Parliament. We would suggest, therefore, to him in particular, the addition of a " flapper" to the staff of the home-office. Let him employ some intelligent and indefatigable reader to peruse daily the leading organs of public intelligence, and " cram" him before going down to the House; - so that if Saint Paul's has removed to Trafalgar-square, or Oliver Cromwell revisited the earth. he may not he under the painful necessity of confessing his igno rance of such important events. Seriously, it is lamentable to witness the impene trability of public men to everything which is going on in the world out of doors. No facts, however mo• mentous—nothing of public opinion or public feel ing—can reach their minds or their attention, ex cept through their official machinery or the medium of a commission. The Cornwall and Devon Central line is to be "wound up." and the deposits returned less the expenses. Mr. O'Connell arrived in Dublin on Friday, and was to he present at Conciliation Hall yesterday. The Great Westerd steam-ship sailed on Saturday for New York, with 120 passengers. The King of Pru.sia has addressed a note to all the members of the German Customs Union, impressing on them the necessity of revising the tariff. On Sunday last the Rev. Rector Campbell announced that the Lord Bishop of Chester will hold a confirmation at St. Nicholas' Church on the 3d J uly next. The Southampton, Manchester, and Oxford Junction Company return £l, ls. per share of the .£2 12s. Gil. paid. The scheme has failed for the present, and the directors are at law both with their servants and shareholders. • A criminal attempt was mlde last week, in Brussels, to create disturbances, by the wide distribution of an in flammatory circular amongst the working classes. Six persons have been arrested. A fire brr•ke out on Sunday at the steam flour mill of Mr.- Pattison, Hill-street, Toxteth-park, by whicha great quantity of flour, some of the machinery, end a portion of the building were completely_destroyed. Mr. Pattison was uninsmed. THE BRIDGI,WATER ESTATE.—Sane idea may be formed of the interests involved in the estate of the Trus tees of the late Duke of Bridgewater, and also of its mag nitude, from the fact, that in the present parliamentary session, agents are engaged in watching, supporting, or opposing no less than thirty-five private bills. On Tu-aday, the Rev. William Howell Lloyd, a minis ter of the Established Church, was received into the Church of Rome, at the chapel of the bishop's house in Birmingham. A few days before that a gentleman of dis tinction from Scotland also made a profession of faith in the same chapel. WAR AGAINST INDIAN CORN.—The discovery made by a philanthropic member of the Corn Relief Committee, to the effect that Sir Robert Peel after his own %ly fashion. is pouring In.lian corn into the country, well knowing its deleterious qualities, with a view of thinning the super abundant population of Ireland, will no doubt create a " profound sensation" when the startling revelation reaches the opposite side of St. George's Channi4. The detection of this odious plot to decimate Her M.jesty's Irish liezes—equalled only in its atrocity by the poisoning of the wells inChina —is due tothe vigilance of a M r. Hayes, and was boldly proclaimed in the course of a discussion at one of the "charity" meetings held last week at Cork. SUPPLY OF WATER TO THE TOWN.-IMPOR TANT PUBLIC MEETING. (Continued from pane 3.) it was well worthy of being adopted in Liverpool, and every other town. One advantage pointed out by Mr. Hawkesley, in the constant system, was, that it saved the expense and inconvenience of tanks of water upon the ri , of of the house. There was nothing to do but to join the surfice pipe, and to have a tap, and you had a constant supply, the fact being that the reservoir was at some dis tance on a hill or is a river. You need not have one upon your own house. Gentlemen knew the inconvenience of having tanks upon their hou,:es ; but by the constant sup ply system this was all saved, and you had a perpetual sup ply in every room. The advantages aristng therefrom were, in many respects, very great. Water butts, espe cially among the humbler classes, were apt to be neglect ed, and to become foul. They could not be . cleansed upon the scientific arid economical principles that a general re servoir could. (Hear.) Mr. Hawkesley showed that by proper attention the ground reservoir, wheretbe water was collected, might be kept pure throughout the whole year, that it saved the annual expense of water-butts in houses, also the room, arid the inconvenience of their occasional bursting, besides the serious inconvenience of having the water in a bad stwe. Mr. Hawkesley was asked, "Is what is usually called the waste of water' pre vented in your works by an extra number of men ?" His answer was, "'The fact is directly the reverse. The constant sup ply is the means of a large economy of men. Our com pany has maintained its supply by night and by day ever since its establishment, except during a period of one month. We find that one experienced man, and one boy of about 18 years of age are, on the system of constant supply, quite sufficient to manage the distribution of the supply to about 8000 tenements, and keep all the works of distribution in perfect repair." Mr. liawkesley was asked whether, " lii respect to the apprehension expre s sed, that if the system of constant supply at high pressure were adopted, much lareer mains would be required, what is the evi dence of fact and experience 1" Ile answered, " Directly the reverse of the hypothesis. If the sup ply of water for ordinary purposes be the only considera tion, then for the same reason that smallrr pipes do suf fice for the tenant's communication pipes, smaller mains will suffice for the system of constant supply at high pres sure. Where 20-inch mains are used on the system of periodical supply, 12-inch mains would amply suffice for the constant supply; instead of 7 and 6-inch mains 5 or 4-inch would suffice; instead of 3-inch service pipes for the occasional supply, 2-inch would suffice for the constant supply ; indeed for constant conveyance sizes much smaller than these would answer the purpose; but as there are ir regularities of draught it is needful to provide accordingly. The objection of Mr. Wicksted is founded upon a sup posed state of things which never does occur, namely of all the pipes discharging water at the same time." Then an objection was made to the system of eonstant supply that the inhabitants of the smaller houses would cut a.vay the pipes ; and Mr. Hawkesley was asked what is his information upon the subject. He says— " We have some of the poorest and worst-conditioned people in Nottingham, and we scarcely ever experience anythirg of the kind. In fact, the water at high-pressure serves as a police upon the pipe. The cutting off a cock with the water at high-pressure is rather a difficult matter to do quietly. 'Knocking-up' is too noisy ; and when a knife is put into such a pipe and a slit is made, a sharp flat wide stream issues, very inconvenient to the overator ; and when the pipe is divided, there is the full rush of the jet to denounce the th ef. We have lead pipes all i rover the town, in the most exposed places and I can affirm that such an event rarely occurs out of the houses and never within." _ This was the result of experience. One part of the resolution affirmed that the system of constant supply would prove economical in a sanatory view. On this subject he would read at otV.er extract from Mr. Hawkes ley's evidence. The question is— " What has been the effect produced on the blbits of the people by the introduction of water intu the houses of the hub'uring classes?" Mr. Ha vkesley replied, " At Nottingham the increase of personal cleanliness was at first very marked indeed. It was obvious in the streets. The medical men reported that the increase of cleanliness was very great in the houses, and that there was less disease." In conclusion, the speaker called attention to the book from which be had read the extracts, and observed, that he was convinced no one could read the work without being convinced that it was an imperative duty lie owed to the community to use his best endeavours to procure for this community the best and most abundant supply of so valuhble a necessary of life. He, therefore, most sincerely recommended the motion to the meeting. (Loud cheers.) 11lr. THOMAS Mooßs: seconded the motion, and, in doing so, requested the Town-clef kto read several clauses of the Dock Act, 7 and 8 Victoria, cap. 80, from which he conteaded that the Dock Committee had power to supply the town with a considerable quantity of water now flowing to waste out of the canal. The canal was supplied by the river Douglas, and a very great additional quantity might be obtained from the same source. (Cheers.) A quantity sufficient to fill Kensington reser. voir, now in course of completion, and which it would take seven days to fill by the pipes already laid from Green-lane. The top water of the Leeds and Liver pool canal was upon a level of 58 feet 7 inches above the old dock sill. This would afford an ample sup ply for the flushing of sewers, and the extinguishing of fires; and if it were not deemed sufficiently pellucid for culinary purposes, it might be conveyed into reservoirs and filtered. The water which overflows is originally derived in Fart from the river Douglas,—about forty-four feet above the level of the canal, and that part of it. which is derived from the Lancaster canal is about 300 feet above the level of the old dot k sill. A single inch of the surface water of the Leeds and Liverpool Cane], of which the first pool is 28 miles in length, would afford a❑ ad ditional supply of 33,495.(00 gallons, in case of emergency float fire ; and a still greater supply might be procured by raising the waste weirs at Appleby, Leathom, Halsal, Lychate, Aintree, Netherton, and Bootle. This the canal company would be enabled to do, and it was a duty incum bent on the Dock Trustees to see that it was carried out. In fact, the Dock Trustees, without going to Parliament at all were enabled to t ffect that important object; for they were empowered to make any use they pleased of it, and there was no such additional supply, that he was aware of, from any source in the vicinity of the town. Suppose they had a fire in Liverpool, and wanted a body of water to extinguish it, they had nothing to do but to take one inch from the surface of the canal, independent of the daily waste of nine millions, au4 that one inch would furnish, as he bad said bef re, no fewer than thirty-three millions of gallons. This waste, which had been natu rally running to waste for seventy years, had perhaps, only turned an oil mill, or been used for condensing purposes; and lie knew of no source from which so im portant a supply could be had at so reasonable an expense. About seven engines, averaging seventy-four horse-power each, at pr,-sent supply the whole of Liverpool. Three eipines raised the water for the Bootle Company. These engines were estimated to raise about 1,000,000 gallons a day for general use. That only supplied a small por tion of the town. The Liverpool and Harrington Company would not state what they produced, but he believed they raised all that they could. The engine in Lodge-lane produced 770 gallons per minute. If tour of seventy-f ,ur horse-pow er engines were added to those already named, flit re w uld be sufficient oinking water for the town of Liverpool. But then additional water would be required for the extinguishing of fires : and if the quantity of water from the canal, of which he had spoken, were taken into account, it would tend very much to the benefit of Liverpool. (Applause.) The resolution was then put from the Chair, and car ried unanimously. TINNE then read the following letter from Mr. S. Hohne Leamington, 11th April, 184 G. My dear Sir,—On arriving here this evening, from a journey into Dorsetshire, I found, by letters which met me, that the Mayor has fixed Monday next for the public meeting, on the subject of the Water Companies' Bill now before Parliament. From the arrangements which 1 had previously made, as well as others made for me, it w:11 be impossible for me to reach Li verpool to take any pert in the meeting. To procure for our town a copious supply of water for all purposes has long been my wish, and 1 much fear that such an object can never be achieved, so long as the supply is in the hands of those who make a profit by the sale of such a necessary article. Had I been in Liverpool, I should have deemed it my duty to take part in the proceedings, and to enter my protest against giving increased powers and privileges to those who have evinced so little sympathy for the wants of the community. The prin cipal clauses in the present bill are of such a nature that I am surprised that they should have been introduced into it; but 1 shall be much more surprised if tl - e inhabitants of Liverpool do not t , ,stify, by their disapprobation, and by the most united and vigorous opposition, thou sense of a measure which, if it ever passes into a law, must aggravate the acknowledged evils which we are all so anxious to have removed. Having taken an active part in endeavouring to obtain a bet ter supply of water, it may seem strange that I am not present to aid you on the forthcom►ng occasion ; and I shall feel much obliged by your stating to the meeting that absence from home, and having been without any intelligence for a week, renders it impossible for ►ne to reach Liverpool in time for the meeting. 1 am, my dear Sir, yours very faithfully, SAML. lIOLME. J. A. Tinne, Esq., or Mr. Duncan. Mr. REAY, Secretary to the Guardian Society, then rose to p r g o h p eh o i bs s e e ree t rig h r e pe, te n s e ae x tn t tt,h r e.es.ooaul would absencehad v e o if r e e M li c e a considerable portion of the task he otherwise had to perform, respecting the position of the Liverpool and Harrington Water Works Bill, now before Parliament. After reading the resolution . the speaker proce e d e d t o give a succinct history of the Water Companies, and their present position in the borough. By the 27th George 111., passed in 1786, the Corporation of Liverpool obtained an Act for improving the Borough, and supplying the in habitants with water. The capital requ'red for the pur poses of supplying water was sub=cribed chiefly by house holders, in 400 shares of £2OO each, to which, subse quently, £l5 324 were added, making the whole capital. £95,324, or £238 64. 3d. per share. Some time toter another comp;.r.y was formed, and by the 3d George passed in June, 1822, the corporation disposed of their rights, so far as related to supplying the inhabitants with water, and the shareholders in the new company were incorporated by that act under the name or title of " The Company of Proprietors of the Liverpool Corporation Water Works," with a capital of £95,324, in 400 shares of £238 6s. Bd. each. The act, however, limited the number of directors t nine, three of whom were to be members of the Town Council. He (Mr. Reay) deeply regretted that at that time the Corporation should have parted with their rights—rights which, had they been retained, the ratepayers would have been reap ing the benefit of. (Hear, hear.) He found, however, under that bill that no one could hold more than five shares, and each proprietor had only one vote . for each share be held, and the powers of the company w er e limited in their operation, and sinking wells, &c. , to Liverpool, THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. is liberties and boundary. The rates of charges for water, too, was limited to the following scale :—On a rental of £8 and under. 5 per cent.; from £8 to £2O, 6 per cent. ; £2O to £lO, 5 per cent.; £4O to £6O, 5 per cunt. ; £6O and upwards, 41 per cent., and the charge for any one year not to exceed £8 if the water was used for domestic purposes only. The company were also obliged to supply any person requiring water, or in case of their neglecting to do so, they were liable to a penalty of £5. The profits of the company were limited to 5 pee cent, per annum, 5 per cent. was to go to the borough fund, and the re mainder to be divided amongst the shareholders. Then, by the 7th and Bth Geo. IV., passed in May, 1827, power was obtained to amend the last act, and to supply Harrington and Toxteth Park with water. The title, too, was altered to "the Company of Proprietors of the Liverpool and Harrington Water Works." In this bill they bad power to raise an addi tional sum of £30,000 on bond, and the number of direc tors was increased to twelve (hear). Then came the bill now before parliament which declared the capital expended to be 1190,710 18s. sd. in 400 shares, which made each share worth £477. (Hear, hear.) They would bear in mind that by their former acts when they had any surplus the company was bound to pay 5 per cent. of it to the Corporation, yet not one farthing had ever been handed over to that body. Then they took powers to raise addi tional capital to the extent of £200.000 in shares; but, mark, those shares were to he divided amongst them selves ! ( Hear, hear.) Each share of £lOO to - be of the nominal value of the four-hundredth part of the capital of £190,710 18s. sd. or £477. Then they sought for power to repeal the clauses in the former act limiting the number of shares to each proprietor at five, and also as to the number of votes, giving to each shareholder one vote for each £lOO stock he should hold. ( Hear.) By the fifth section the profit of the company was limited to five per cent. but that was cunningly got over by the 16 h section which limited the profit to ten per cent. and gave them the power to pay ten per cent. on preceding years. ( Shame.) The 17th clause enabled them to provide a contingent fund of £lO,OOO to secure dividends of ten per cent., and gave power to raise the price of water. The 24th clause provided that an abstract of the accounts of the company should be annually filed with the clerk of the peace for the county, and also that the ratepayers may inspect them on payment of a fee of one shilling; but to do that they must travel to Preston. (Hear, hear.) Now, by the gas acts, those companies were required to file copies of their accounts with the Re corder of Liverpool. and copies could be obtained at a small cost. No such provision, however, appeared in the bill of the Harrington Company, and as to filing the ac counts with the clerk of the peace at Preston, they might just as well be filed with the Pope of Rome, for any use it would be of to the ratepayers. (Hear, hear.) The 26th was a very rich clause. It related to the supply of water to the poor, and he would read it at length. He begged the attention of the meeting to it :—" And whereas, the houses of the poor were in many cases not supplied with water on account of the inability of the owners or occu piers to lay on the pipes and other apparatus ; be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for the said company of proprietors, and they are hereby required, within four teen days afterreceiving a written request from the owner or occupier of any house, building, or premises, and with the consent, in writing, of the owner or reputed owner thereof, or of his agent or receiver ; and upon the said company having a sufficient gua rantee from the owner thereof for the payment of-the water rent for the term of three years and receiving the proportion thereof hereby made payable in advance, (hear, hear,) to find and lay on any pipes or other appara tus for the supply of water to, and into, such premises for domestic or other purposes, and to keep the same in repair for such annual or other rent or remuneration in money, and upon such other terms and conditions as shall be agreed upon between the company and such owner or reputed owner, or in case of dispute, as shall be settled by any public officer who may hereafter he appointed, so that such rent or remuneration shall yield (after deducting the estimated expense of repairs) a clear annual profit upon the outlay, incurred or to be incurred, of not less than the rate of dividend authorised by this act." This was for supplying water to the poor ! (Hear, hear.) "And such rent or remuneration shell be chargeable and recoverable from the occupier for the time being, or in his default, from the owner or reputed owner for the time being of such a house, building, or premises, or from his agent or receiver in tine same manner as rates due to the company in respect of such supply of water and such pipes and other apparatus shall not be subject to distress, nor for any lien or pledge known in the law of England, any law or practice to the contrary notwithstanding : provided always that the company shall not be liable to make good any loss or damage that may arise by leakage of water or otherwise." (Hear, hear.) Then the next clause enacted that if upon tender of water rent the company should neglect or refuse to lay down pipes, they should be liable to a penalty offorty whereas under their present act, as the Harrington Company had recently been taught to their cost, they were liable to a penalty of £5. Some time ago a party came to a house in Liverpool, which had been supplied by the Bootle Water Works Company. He applied to the Harrington Company for water, and it was supplied to him, but some workmen to the Bootle Company being at work in the same street, informed him that he would not have the water long, as the former tenant had not paid the rate, and accordingly the water was cut off. The party consuhed him (Mr. Reay), and the case was taken before Mr. Rushton, wino vet y properly inflicted a penalty of £5. For that offence they now sought to fix the penalty of 40s, whilst in clause 41 of their act it was pro vided, " That if any person supplied with water by the said Company of proprietors, shall suffer any cistern or other receptacle for water, pipe, cock, or apparatus on tine premises belonging to or occupied by him, to be out of repair, so that the water supplied to him by the said Company of proprieeors shall be wasted, he shall forfeit for every such offence a sum not ex, ceeding £5, together with the amount of loss sustained by the Company." Such was the power sought under their present bill. (clear, hear.) Thee they sought for powers making the water rate payable in advance quarterly, hut, by a euibble in that very same act, a per son might have to pay half-y arty in advance, and should he remove shortly latter he had paid his water-rate, to another house in the borough, he wou'd have to pay the rate twice over. (Hear.) Clause 33 was aiso an im portant clause, for %here the proprietor of a house had laid down his own pipes, he was not allowed to remove them until he had given ten days' notice to the company. By clause 35 they repealed the power of distraint for rent by themselves, and gave it to the magistrates. Clause 37 was a very important one; it enacted that where several houses were supplied by one pipe, each person should be liable to the water-rate as if each house had ben n separately supplied. By the 42nd clause, persons using the water of the company were to provide cisterns and stop cocks; but how were poor people to do that? How was a man, living in a c, liar, to pay the cost of a cistern, or if able to do so, where was he to piece it, when perhaps the only room he had for himself and family was a cold damp place, 12 fthy 9? Then the directors were not satisfied with obtain ing adividend of 8 or 10 percent., but by clause 48 they seek for powers to pay themeelves .-C4OO per annum for looking after their own business. (Hear.) He would now snow them by figures how the company sought to deal wit h the public in the matter. As be had stated before the capital raised under their first act was £95,324 in 400 shares, or £238 6s. 3d. per share. In the second act the capital was not recited, but in the present bill the capital was recited at £190,710 18s sd. or £177 p. r shire, evi dently made our of surplus !waits &nett to nearly 51 per cent per annum for the past 24 years upon the capital. Hint out of those profits a still further dividend had evi dently been paid, or their price in tine market wou'd never have reached tine sum of £675 at which they were now selling,. But even ut-on the 5 per cent there was a premium of nearly 31 per cent. Why was it that the Corporation of Liverpool had not participated in these profits? (Hear, hear.) That was not all for each shareholder had the power to nominate one house for every share he Ineld, which, of course, would add 14 per cent. upon tine £477, if ir.were true, as stated, that .t 8 had been allowed for each he use, and this would make a total of 61 per cent. per share per anoutn. (Hear. hear.) But aRh regar.l to the allotment of shares, which was proposed to be solely annoagst the company them selves, each share of £lOO was to bear the proportion of tie foor-hundredth part of the capital of £190,713 18s sd, and would give £477, or a clear gain of £377, which share of £477 havine a dividend of 10 per cent., according to the new act . , would give for the £lOO so - ievested a divi dend equal to £47 14s. per cent. per annum. (Hear.) But allowing that the £lOO share be taken at the par of £238 6s. 3rie the value of a share on obtaining the Act of June, 1822, it would give at 10 per cent. a dividend of £23 16s. Bd. per cent. per annum for the £lOO. Again. allowing that the £lOO was to be considered a full share, each proportion or allotment would get, according to the market price of shares a clear gain of £575; but if the share be taken at the par of Jute, 1822, viz. £238 6s. 3d., then the clear gain nn the market price of the share would be £436 I3s. 9d. (Hear ) If, however, the share he taken at the present capital price of £477, and if £l9B premium per shere be obtained, what would the price then be in the market—would it not be £lOOO or £1200? (Hear, hear.) Thus there would be a profit of shout £llOO en a capital expended of £lOO. [Hear ) The speaker concluded by calting on the meeting and the public in energetic terms to bestir themselves in the matter, and to frustrate the designs of the Harrington company, which he designated as a scheme to increase the value of their property, in order that the corporation when they came to take the property, might have more money to pay for it (cheers). The Rev. W. BEVAN, who was called forin the absence of the Rev. H. Hampton, who had been compelled to Irave the meeting, seconded the resolution, and in doing so, impressed upon the meeting the necessity of providing not oily an abundant supply of water, but tine great advantage of taking care that it was of a good and wholesome quality. The resolution w is then put, and carried unanimously. The Mavon said he did not happen to be one of the Parliamentary Committee, and therefore cooler give no information on the subject alluded to ha Mr. Bevan ; but aeyeral of the committee were present a ho, no doubt, would state what was going on, if they felt themselves at liberty to do so. (Hear, hear ) 111 r. Tre:Ng said that, as one of the Parliamentary Committee appointed by the Council, he had no objection to state now the matter at present stood with regard to the purchase of the Livelp,,ol and Harrington Water Works Cat-par y. They were aware that a negoti ation ha I been cornmeeced by the Corporation for the purchase of the Harrington Works for the benefit of the commu nity. and tine Con mince had called upon Mr. Hawkslea, the gentleman alluded to by Mr. Blackburn, and a more competent auteoritv they could hardly have chosen, and upon some other engineers, - to assist them with regard to their satnatory bill. He felt bound in candour to state that the Liverpool and Harrington Company had afforded them the utmost facility for obtaining all the information necessary On the atril-et ; and, after some consideration, the Corporation came to the determination of offering them £291,000, being at the rate of £702 per share, including the bonded debt of £21,000. This was thought very liberal on the part of the Corporation. He (Mr. Tinne) hou ght the meeting would agree with him that it was liberal, when they recollected that within a few weeks from that time the price of their she es in the market was only £652. (Hear, hear.) This off,r the company had refused to accede to, on the ground that it was much be- low the value of their property. (Hear.) He (Mr. Tinne) was not aware of the exact value put upon the property of the company, but he believed it was not much below what Mr. Reay had stated, though it was proposed in the new bill to appropriate new shares to their own proprietors at £-176 only. (Hear, hear.) On this question, he must say that the Corporation had not been at all backward, but had endeavoured to obtain possession of the works at a fair price to both parties, and he 'Bought the existing companies were entitled to considerable credit for having so long supplied the town with water when the authorities had neglected or refused to do so. (Ciseers.) Without, however, entering into the question, as to whether it was right or wrong for the Corporation, in forcer days, to supply the town with water, he might be permitted to say that the system upon which the existing companies had proceeded was very bad ; and in conse quence of the engineering skill now available, he thought great improvements might be made, and considerable expense saved in procuring a necessary and constant sup ply. (Loud cheers.) He was also glad that allusion had been made by the last speaker to the quality of the water, for that was almost as important as the quantity. At present they had most excellent water supplied - out of the earth, but it was of a most extraordinary hard description. It was very pleasant to drink, but when it came to be used for domestic or manufacturing purposes, the extra quantity of soap and soda which was required added very considerably to the expense of using it ; and it was a well ascertained engineering fact that the deposit of " fur" at the bottom of boilers, which was so destructive of the iron, and which was occasioned by the lime or chalk con tained in hard water, might be almost, if not entirely, obviated by the use of a softer water. The objects to be sought after, therefore, should be soft water, of a sufficient quantity, and at as cheap a rate as possible. It was also essential that they should not only seek for a supply for the present day, but they must look ahead, for every census showed an enormous increase in the population of the town, and no one could well calculate what it would be twenty years hence. It might, however, be safely inferred, that it wonld not fall short of 690,000, and their resources ought to be such that without any great additional expense in erecting new works, they would be enabled to provide for centuries an ample supply of water for the increasing population of the town, by a cheap and comoaratively small extension of their establishment. Under these circumstances he trusted the. attention of the public would be directed to the subject ; that they would not only watch narrowly the conduct of the present companies, but also the conduct of the authorities, to see that they got not only the required quantity, lout that it was of the very best quality, arid at the lowest practi cable price. (Loud cheers.) Mr. WALTHEW then proposed the adoption of a petition to parliament on the subject, to be signed by the mayor on behalf of the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. TINNE, and carried unanimously. Mr. BRAMLEY MOORE then proposed the thanks of tne meeting to the mayor, for his impartial conduct in the chair, which was carried by acclamation. His WORSHIP in acknowledging the compliment said, he trusted they would be successful in accomplishing the object they had in view. (Loud cheers.) The meeting then senarated. LOSS OF THE COLONIES OF ENGLAND (Continuation of Mr. Buchanan s Letter, from page 2.) Free trade in England in corn will not be the immense practical advantage to the Western States that many sup pose ; but no commercial advantage whatever will induce the Americans to adopt so suicidal a course as to hesitate in their present excellenr policy of becoming independent of foreigners in staple manufactures, so that we should he glad if the present amount of our exports to the United States is kept up, without expecting any increase. Any man who has been among the immensely extended factories of New England, as I have been, must hold this opinion. Far d:fferent is the staple, greatly increasing, and per manent Colonial demand, of which I shall now give some particulars. And that I may not be accused of selecting unfair data with respect to the Cotton trade, I may remark, that of the twat weight of yarn in manufactured cotton goods ex ported in 1815, viz., 202,350,687 lbs., the two leading staples—" plain calicoes," and " calicoes printed and dyed"—referred to below, made up (according to the estimate of Mr. Burn, in his Commercial Glance for the past year, whose general correctness will not be doubted) is 194,080,491) lbs., leasing only 8,280,195 lbs., to be other wise accounted for, as entering into the production of the finer and miscellaneous fabrics, of which, however, the col inies take a fair and yearly-increasing share. Toe total value of manufactured cotton goods exported in 1845, not including cotton yarn and thread, is estimated by the same authority at £l5 282,447. Of this amount, the value of the undermentioned staples makes up £l3 576,279. The fallacy of quoting, in such an inquiry as this, merely gross quantities, irrespective cf the sort of goods exported, is e,emplified by the fact that, of the other great branch of our cotton exports for 1845—the trade in yarns—amounting in weight to 131,937,935 los., and in value to only £6.596,897—an article upon which the least amount of industry is employed, and which is, consequently, least profitable to us as a nation, nearly two-ti.irds, or upwards of 90,000,100 lbs. went to those corn-growing countries of the continent, whose almost worthless commerce with us, we are thus, by our mea sures, preferring to the voluable trade of finiehed goods, of which labour eci Vac gre , ei cmgponcni part provided by our own colonies and the borne trade. By a reference then to Burn's Commercial Glance, for the past year, I find the following to have been the exports of the two leading articles of the cotton rnanu'actures :—" Plain Ca licoes," and " Printed and El ed Calicoes," in 1811 and 1845, respectively, to the undernuted colonial markets. I should remark that I include China, although not strictly a colonial market, partly from its intimate connexion ait h oor East India trade, and the influence which our East possessions afford us in maintaining our relations Kith that country ; but chiefly from the fact of the returns fur 1841 including the exports to both markets. EXPORTS OF COTTON G 000 .4 TO THE COLONIES. ' Calicoes, Printed Calicoes. Plain. and Dyed. 1841. 184 2 . 1841. 1845. Yards. Yazd:. Yards. Yards. BritishWesi 9,831.280, 16 987,145 9 774590 50,729,641 British N.Americl 7.757,332, 11.280,556 10,703.1 5 13.362.173 Cape of G. Hope . 2,0 8,352! 3.394,241 1,9,4,2391 3,520,3 2 India } 'tes , 56 113,462 664 ' 540 756! 2 2.53.5,413 China ' 10.,60,490 2 ,575 -" 2.535,41 3 3 New Holland.... 985 8•23 I 3,901,6 A 997,092 3,850.1,91 T0ta1...... 134,015,431 3 9.36 ~50f 41 920.222 70,081.555 The totil exports of " Calicoes, plain," to all countries, in the two years. Mr. Born sets down as follows: The total exports of " Calicoes, plain," to at/ . in the two years, Mr. Born sets down as follows: Total " Calicoes Plaiu" to all 1841. 1345. Countries . To Colonies as above 134 45,431 ~ sug 36 ',506 „ Balance Exports to other Countries 23'4,901,021 3 ' 3 773.139 „ Titus, in 1841, our ctlonial trade, in this staple article of the cotton manufacture, was to our trade with the rest of the world as 134 to 232 millions of yards, or a fraction .bove one-half.: In 1815, however, the former was to the latter as 31)9 to 303 millions, the colonies having thus b come greater consumers than the whole of cur other markets _ In the article of dyed and printed calicoes, the propor ions son(' thus : " Dyed and Printed Ca- 1811. 1845. lieoes" to all Countries .... 278 748 275 yds. 310,8 , .0f 97 yds. Ditt,, to Col( tues as 920 222 „ yiy 81,558 ~ Balance Exports to other Countries Thus, in 1841, the proportion of the colonial cont•ump- Lion of his moot important class of manufacturrd fabrics, to the con,.uniption of the rest of the world, was as 45 to 232 mil!i , ins, or short of one-fi th; whi!st in 1845, the proportion was as 70 to 240 millions, or upwards of two sevenths. 1 now subjoin the following comparisons, my purpose being to show -Ist, That the trade of our present colonies, through the neglect of the Government and otherwise, is yet only in its infancy, and that it is therefore unfair to judge of• it by the PAST. 2d, Tim , while such trades ai that to the United States are taking (and must necessarily from the increase of their own manufacturing ability take), every yeti-, fewer and fewer staple goods, there is, in the face of every draw. back, a MIGHTILY INCREASING DEMAND FROM THE COLONIES. COMPARATIVE VIEW OF EXPORTS TO UNITED STATES AND BRITISH AMR.; ICA. Plain Calicoes" to United States in Is4l Dittu t.) British America .., 11,9 , 7,053 yds. 7.757,332 rr Balance in favour of United States in 1841.. 4,199.721 „ " Calicoes Printed and Dyed" to United Statts in 1841 Ditto to British America Balance in favour of United States Plain Calicoes" to United States in 1845 12,412,981 „ Ditto to British America Baiance in favour of United States, only .. 532,395 „ " Printed and Dyed Calicoes!" to the United States, in 1845.... . Ditto to British America Balance in favour of British America In 184 , instead of 15,321,866 against in 1841. COMPARATIVE VIEW OF EXPORTS TO UNITED STATES AND BRITISH WEST INDIES. " Plain Cal'ciies" to United States in 1841 11,957.053 yds. Ditto to British West Indii.s Balance in favour of.. United States " Plain Calicoes" to United States in 1845 12,412,031 Ditto to British West Indies Balance in favour of British West Indies in 1845.. Instead f 2,125,733 yards against in 1841. " Calicoes Printed and Dyed" to Un ted States i 1811 Ditto to British West Indies .- :. 26.025.481 „ .. 0.77 1 ,7 2 1 n Ba'ance in favour of United States in 1841.. 16,250,561 „ " Cal;coes Printed and Dyed" to United States in 1815 Ditto to British West Indies -- Balance in favour of British West Aeries in 1845.... Instead of 16,330,501 yards against in 1841 I April 14, 1846. And it may not be iaapropos that I here quote the fol lowing from my letter in the Scaich Reformers' Gazelle of 14th March, as proving the inestimable value of colo nial trade as welt as THE MIGHTY FLUCTUATION VirHICI I IS THE INSEPARABLE CHARACTER OF TRADE WITH ALL COUNTRIES WHICH ARE BEYOND THE PALE OF OUR OWN CURRENCY AND TRAD,: LAWS AND REGULATIONS " I desire shortly to recur to the subject of colonial trade to show its infinite superiority over a foreign trade, or $ merely manufacturing commerce and I take my figures from the official statement of the exports and imports of Great Britain in 1843, not having the later returns at hand. " In the trade between 9titain and ber colonies in the western world, about 60,000 seamen are yearly employed, for whom the amount of wages and cost of provisions cannot be less than £3.500,000 per annum ; and the repairs, insurance, and replacing of capital in the ships £4,500,0 00 more. " In the trade between Britain and India and China* 10,000 seamen are employed, and at a similar rate their wages, provisions, &c, will amount to £500,000; and the replacement of capital and in.urance £800,000; in ally £1,300,000. The whole, or nearly the whole of the sup plies necessary to maintain the-e seamen and tonnage, are the productions of British soil and labour, which, in a national point of view, shows the superiority of such trade over a merely manufacturing commerce. "A comparison of the trade of the eastern with that of the western world, taking the value of imports and exports, stands nearly thu: :—From and to China and the East Indies about £16,000,000 ; and from and to British North America and the West Indian Colonies, £14,000,000. " It thus appears that the latter or British American trade requires nearly five times more ships, tonnage, and seamen to carry it on, than the former or trade to all India and China! thereby affording an incalculable ad vantage to a naval power, and the support of a naval force, and also to the employment of British labour and capital. " From the official statement of the exports and inipi4te of Great Britain to the dill-rent parts of the world forthe year 1813, to which we have alluded, we find that the whole weight of cotton yarn and cotton goods exported. from Great Britain annually is 120,000 tons, and the value £23.500,000. "It follows, then, that one-half the tonnage employed in earning the West Indian exports (value £2,882 441) Would be sufficient to carry the whole cotton export trade of this country ; and as regards the North American trade. one-seventh of the tonnage would be sufficient to carry all that cotton trade about which Mr. Cobden has made sucb a noise, but whose real and great intrinsic importance tO the empire no agriculturist nor colonist has ever shown any disposition to undervalue that I am aware of. " I cannot better fini•-h off this statement than bf repeating that, while the trade of Briti s h A mer i ca an d the West In dies, stated in 18-13 to be only £14.000,000, eiu ploys 2,900 shits of 970,000 tons, and 60.000 seamen, our trade with the United States, estimated at £22,000,00 0 three-fifths being imports of raw cotton, &c..) is carried in 350 ships of 233.000 tons ; and the import from China, amounting to £5,000,000, is brought in 84 ships of 39,7 12 tons. "'The trade of America when our colony in 1769 f 0 plover!, on an average of three years, 1,078 ships, and 28,910 seamen, and the value of the goods taken frogs Great Britain was £3,370,000 ; the exports of the colon/ being £3.924,606. "'The population of the United States is now nearlf ten times what it then was, without any great permanent increase in our exports to America, (causes over which we had no control brought theta down in the year 18421 - t0 £3.528,807.)" _ , . Before closing my remarks, I desire to recur to the disingenuous conclusion of Sir Robert Peel's great speech, which I have quoted from. Yes. the Premier triumphantly concludes—" This what you hove to dec . de by your vote on this question"' Will you advance or will you recede?" And again— " What should be the motto of a country hke Should it ace ince or retrovrade 1" Now, Sir Robert Peel knew full well that be had not shown, and could not show, how FREE TRADE is tO 1,4; vance, even temporarily, any one of the great interests ,0 1 this country. And Sir Robert Peel knew, moreover, that neither by any class of politicians nor any body of men in England felt, or expressed, any wish or determination TO RECEDE OR RETROGRADE IN THE LIBERALITY OF OUR LEGO' LATION for the regulation of commerce. Nor is Sir Robert Peel ignorant of the fact that ADD PARTIES ARE WILLING AND ANXIOUS TO ADVANCE to the greatest extent they think they can without giving a fatal blow to the industry of our own people, whether artisan§ or agriculturists. All that Sir Robert Peel's former friends charge bin s with is that HE SHOWS HIMSELF DETERMINED TO GO FORWARD IN THE DARK ! They only demand an explanation, and it seems high time that they should do sn, when they can now see in the Premier scarcely the shadow of his former principles. P,,u , ing, Sir Robert Peel's followers simply address their political leader as HAMLET did the Ghost of hu father— Hamlet—Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak ; I'll go no further. Ghost—Mark me. [This is Sir R. Peel to the life.] Hamlet—l will. Ghost—My hour is almost come, When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames Must render up myself. Hamlet—Alas poor ghost ! But the nielanenoly fact is, that the British Govern-, merit is now, and has for nearly twenty years been, hands so morally weak as to have no real control of the greater affairs and interests of the country. The statesmen of the present day aspire to no more than to be (apparently unconcerned) lookers-on at the fights of the Free Triders against the Protectionists, and the Freethinkers against the Protestants, and side witb the winning parr y for the time being. such men as ChathAn. Pitt. For. Fad Grey. Canning' Wilberforce. and Anti-Corn-Law Villiers, disdained t 0 count numbers in their moral contests; but the fact isr that the present and the other governments we have had. since the days of Canning, have not had the moral povvel in England and her dependencies, even of the Norths and the Walpoks of the last century. I am, Sir, your obedient humble servant. ISAAC BUCHANAN. THE PARISH OF LIVERPOOL AND THE NEI POOR LAW. The Mercury says, with reference to the New Po°,, r ; law Act, and our local act, that the control of tu Poor-l a w C o m m i ss io n e rs is a s co mpl e t e un d er the l a tter it would be under the former. " The fact he saY. , ; " that we are under that control ; we have been for or e , years under that control ; and the Legi s lature i5,,,„1 termined that we shall continue under that c.mtrol. Is an immoveable, remediless fact." Now we tell the Mercury, and we tell our felles parishicnets that, p rac ti ca liy, we are no t , un d er our, l'Cto act, under the co n t ro l o f th e comm i ss i oners to nears,' ' rs j same extent that w e s h ou ld b e if p l ace d un d er th e gen e u e act, and the, the result is one of mercy and charity to o s c avev e, poor. Look at the ordinary dieta r y of our writ kiw ti . It is liberal compared with that in unions where the o . missioners have full scope for the exercise of their NJ, ers, and has never been attempted to be in , erfer , d 0 . 1 06 although the assistant commissioner has remarked li g e it as being " too good." The sick dietary is in ir si n '. it condition—" too good"—and, if we remember riob' e fe t i was a " liberal of the Mercury school," who proP,,t, to exchange it for a more meagre one. Th' scale of o b ' e!c door relief given by the select vestry is regulated by own discretion, and not interfered with by the corn' ▪ if s'oners. In short, under the preetint act, the vestrY ti o the b idy which exercises authority in the administ r° ,o of the parish funds to the reli f f our poor, and 11 01 commissioners roe the body who have the shadow c' ▪ o r authority. They hang over the vestry to check a n Yilelf Bible' johhing"of which our contemporary prates so g oo . Strange, by the bye, that a whigstadic.l can never titer template the existence of power, in public or local "fur; without assoc at II: wiir h it the loss of honesty I .—"b ut goo titer they are for all practical purpose an incumurauc' an annoyance. The Mercury in part admits this. He admits tl e co Commissioners cannot be safely relied upon as go' f e iorls the Vestry in cases of emergency ; and that their el'i t ' bi te. uoon questions submitted to them always come I°° ,,,al l i Rut lie says it is the local Act which causes the `' e - d bY t The Commissioners—innocent beings—are bewilders the fact of iheir having to consult a special law , i'L g er° of having to act upon one which they have at their Toe ends. Yet the two are alike! So at least says 0° gacious contemporary. h It is a caste of time, however, to argue with -- e to co cury ; and we tear it is equally a waste of tim e ti o i d upon our conservative fellow townsmen to oPP - nse to insolent dictation of the party which it represen hr . whose modesty will be apparetit from the tact theY to generously proposed that of the 15 select vestry Men d elected this day, 12 are to be of liberal politic I ''l roVi three a loch they allow to thrk con,ervative part a ,r 1 1 ,199„ selected by themselves) The object of the ' F a o n clique is supremacy in parish affairs—a hold ig io rio",. Faris!) purse, and an ebselute control over the regl s to 0; If ,the conservatives of Liverpool choose to subut i . t , it is their affair; and they will have to regret thei'dioliP ness and lethargy when they feel the feet of fa pressing upon their necks. NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELP III. hid Last night this theatre, under its improved fort.„ we have already noticed, was opened to the 1 01 ": hos,!; Misses Cushman, celebra/ed American actresseet. 1.P1," engaged for six nights, being the stars of the even l 7 t ist&, c o audience was a bumper one—inconveniently so; s o 0" was the effect produced drat we shall not attemPt ~titles; a crit'que of the acting, much of which, from the ness of the gods was inaudible, and the whole ° ti h,to was certainly marred from the same cause —s° I t l t l to ` at i that a request for quietness had to be conveYerutho3 audience by one of the performers from Miss herself. us of judging, we must say that the Romeo of thi °was; So far however, as our opportunities of bearie!,S.l,ll°;risv,il splendid performance—in many portions perfeotil,atrolcro well distributed amongst able hands ; and in others. reminding us of some of th e °l ,ero ' 4 16 upon the British boards. The whole of the characio ite m an d t he thefi the to ft ~B we must say, is without exception the prettiest the e bot Amongst the audience we noticed some or bset ce h t a t , amongst our gentry and me-chants. W e ° S et: the management have secured the service s of ooieef tleworth, the late active and courteous box b ° of the Liver Theatre. LIVERPOOL: .946. TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 490, PRINTED AND PUBLISHED /,‘ EVERY TUESDAY . 111 °,. BY , et. 10 " - JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53. Grove-slog. LEONARD ADDISON, of Is, Great Orford ono, At No. 4, ST. Gsoass's Clll44llOis UV"?