The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

3 THE LIVER-POI -------- ---- - - TO CORRESPONDENTS. ' nearly interested in securing such protection have —the poor unfortunates whom no change can ren- A Shareholder" will find in another part of our paper the posi shewn littl e i nc li na ti on t o d o t h e i r own d ut y t o - d er worse off—will be drafted away to supply the " ticn in which the lines of railway, to which he refers, are at wards the community, and even towards their own increased demand for hands to arise in the manufae present. dependents. They point to the lamentable instances turing districts. We shall have the talents of a We had five reporters present at the meeting of the Church of defection from the straightforward path of con- score or two of Muggerldges employed in selecting, Pastoral Aid Society, but in consequence of the accommoda tion for them being very unsuitable—the speakers addressing sistency and principle on the part of the lords of the for removal to spinning and weaving paradises, the meeting right over the reporters heads—we fear the report soil—to votes on Factory bills and Maynooth bills "widows with large families, or orphan children." will not be found so accurate as we could have wished. We have received a copy of a paragraph congratulating pew- —to their Poor Law legislation and practice—and the commodity which, according to the amiable owner' upon the fact, that the trn&-tees of St. Mark's Church then ask the question, " Why should we hurry now suggestion of an eminent whig-radical mill owner have resolved " upon submitting the incumbency to competi tion for the purpose of securing an efficient minister as suc- to the rescue of those who failed to answer our call, in the West Riding, is the most profitable to grind cessnr to the Rev. Mr. Blacow '' We regret much to see such when objects dear to us were assailed." down into yarns and calicoes. But, then, what will a course adopted. It is not at all consonant with the princi- Alas, there is but too much reason and justice in , become of the pleasing picture, painted by Sir James plea of the establishment, or ca:culated to advance the in terests of religion, although the selection of a popular' such a mode of arguing. But it must not he in- Graham, with respect to the improved condition of preacher may possibly improve, for a time, the property of dulged in. It is dangerous. The question at issue the manufacturing operatives, with whose labour ad tht e pe ed w-o is at all likely w ers. We t o o securest) not thit ) thenk that the mode about to be now with the League is not one of Free Trade only. this pauper supply is to come into competition ? op best qualified minister, as many really valuable men would They have never built up their vast fabric of un- " I can very well understand," remarked Sir James, shrink from any such competition, accompanied, as it possibly constitutional influence for that object alone. The on Tuesday night, " how those working men should may be. with a personal canvas of the trust( es. It would be a point of wisdom to re-consider ;he matter IN e have fullest realization of the principle of Free Trade will overtax their industry, and even call upon their received several communications on this subject, one of not cause the withdrawal from the registries of the wives and daughters to work, that they may obtain which we insert elsewhere. thousands of votes which they have foisted upon subsistence. Necessity might drive them to such A correspondent, who we regret has not furnished us with his name, which compels us to omit materi,l portions of his corn- them, and with which they would control the repre- resources. But if they can understand that by a munication, conveys to us. the following as the opinions of sentation. Having found out their power, and per- change of your law they may be able, without re eminent counsel with respect to the legality of directors of railways dealing in the shares of the ei.mpanies over which fected their organization and their machinery, they quiring their wives and daughters to work as they they preside. "It is stated that all purchases made by a di- are not likely to be cajoled into the folly of laying do now, to live in greater comfort than they have ever rector of a railway, bank or other company, of shares in such them down or of stopping half-way upon the road known a), I have not the smallest doubt that ar tery is illegal, and an application to the Court of Chan. eery wonld compel a restitution of prrfits. Tl , i , opinion is to the achievement of their ulterior objects. We rangements will be made between masters and men founded upon the fact that ahese directors are only trustees, have therefore seriously to inquire what are those as to the period of labour, and so every ground or and consequently under ti•ose rules and laws of equity which govern such parties. No assignee to a bankrupt's estate can objects , pretext for legislative interference will be taken purchase any of the eftets without going through certain The answer will at once present itself to us when away." We have the greatest doubt of the realize forms of publicity, nor can any executor r r guardian buy any we consider who and what are the bulk of the men tion of this delightful consummation. The Corn of the property entrusted to his care. Now a director elected , by a body of shareh ' lders is a trustee for each and every one of whom the League is composed. We know that missioners of Somerset House will soon daub over of his constituents, and of every share ; and it is unjust that in religion they are sectarian ; in politics they are the bright sky, which Sir James Graham spreads he, knowing from his peculiar situation what arrangements may be making for the sale, lease, or amalgamation of the scarcely a remove from republicanism. In this over the manufacturing elysium, with a few of the company's property, should avail himself of that information, crusade against the Corn Laws they have exhibited gloomy tints, and introduce a few of the ragged —withheld, of course, from his principal—and purchase from the bitterest hatred of aristocratical institutions, and and half famished figures of the Goatacre meeting, him that property." __ „ no great love for the monarchy itself. What, then, or of the mothers and children who sat huddled to -01,131) Etberpool *tanbarD. must be the position of this empire, if we permit gether by the cheerless firesides of their miserable ___ - cottages, whilst their husbands and fathers did the TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 17, 1846. nization and strength, and absorbing more and more work of the League by exhibiting their wretched of the representation ? In a League parliament— ness to the midnight moon. We are far from entertaining the absurd notion and how rapidly we are approaching to the return Clever as he undoubtedly is, Mr. Sydney Herbert that a statesman is not to be allowed to change his of such a parliament the community does not at touched upon dangerous ground when he paraded opinions without being taunted with unworthy mo- present suspect—we would not give many years' this solitary demonstration of agricultural labourers, tives. The legislator, as well as the man, has his purchase fora Church establishment, in its integrity, with its " pre-arranged resolutions," in favor of childhood, his youth, and his mature age; and he or for the security of any of the institutions of the free trade, and the declaration of the speakers that who can pass through these stages without having country, which have offended ultra-liberalism by " they could not be worse off," in the face of the his perceptions enlarged and corrected, is little bet- standing in the way of its progress towards supre- hundreds of meetings of the same wretched class, ter than an idiot. Experience is, indeed, lost upon macy. With such a parliament, running riot with at which their sufferings have been attributed to the man who, with the realities of life before his the excitement of the novelty of power, we would Boards of Guardians and Assistant Commissioners. eyes, which prove his early opinions to have been not give much for the prerogative of Royalty itself. Goatacre is dangerously near to Andover, of bone based upon a foundation of sand, adheres doggedly We would entreat of the friends of the Constitu- crushing notoriety; and it was rather impolitic to their advocacy, and even prides himself upon his tion to give this subject their earnest consideration, even to risk suggesting the enquiry, which will be mingled obstinacy and stupidity. In the man, there- —to be wise in time, and take some vigorous steps made, how far the destitution of the labouring fore, we can pardon a change from the opinions of in self defence. It cannot surely be that the Con- masses employed in agriculture is attributable to the the youth. It is a change which not only added servative gentry of England will tamely sit by, and cruel bondage in which they are held by the new experience hut altered temperament warrants. submit to the domination of any combined and Poor Law; and, moreover, how far the blow levelled We cannot, however, carry cur tolerance upon irresponsible body, composed of materials so dan- by Sir Robert Peel against the agricultural interests this point so far as to excuse the glaring apostacy gerous to the security of liberty and property, as is of the kingdom is compatible with the maintenance which we witness amongst statesmen in the present this Anti-Corn Law League. If such a body is to of that law and its grinding machinery. The British day; and of which such startling instances have be permitted thus to manufacture qualifications in farmer may, pos-ibly, by increased science and im been exhibited in the proceedings of the House of every borough and county, the Conservatives must provements in cultivation, along with reduced rents, Commons during the past week. It is seldom that see if they cannot better their instructions, and foil be enabled to compete with the foreign grower of real convictions come so suddenly upon men as to them at their own weapons. corn ; but the British labourer must be fed,—not in allow of their boxing the compass in so short a Union workhouses, or upon wages regulated by the period as has elapsed since the Conservative Minis- Mr. Sydney Herbert, who was placed in the cost of workhouse dietaries, but in comfort and try of Sir Robert Peel—now advocating and intro- ministerial van in the d e b a t e upon M r. Mil es ' s upon sufficient food ;—and when they are promised ducing ultra free trade measures—were advocates amendment, on Monday night, is evidently destined such improvement of their condition, as the result of protection to native industry. The change is too to be a trump card in Sir Robert Peel's hand. We of free trade, they will not allow that promise to be sudden, too violent, to avoid leavin g behind its do not argue this from the selection itself, or from broken. A disappointed man, we may remind him, avowal the suspicion that the abandoned opinion the intuitive perception which the Premier has is a dangerous man. has never been very firmly entertained. There is ever s h ewn i n d etect i ng t h e ex i stence of talent, and too much of strategy about it—something too much we may add pliability, in those around him. We The resolution of the Highway Board on Thurs resembling the military manoeuvre of turning the form our conclusion from the speech it s elf, which day, to negotiate the purchase of the Harrington guns of a captured stronghold upon the flying and i s certa i n l y an a bl e one, an d ca l cu l ate d to ra i se the Watovork ' s, in addition to the purchase already defeate 1 foe, whose hands erected it as their defence speaker at once to a very prominent p os iti on in the madaillif the Bootle Works, will, we suspect be re against aggression, and who looked to reap from it ranks of his party, aaal in the estimation of the garded by the rate-payers with no slight alarm. It protection, not slaughter. house. The most consummate talent, however, i s , no doubt, highly desirable that some strenuous Besides, we expect to see in the avowal of changed may err at times. Many an excellent advocate and effort should be made to secure for the inhabitants opinions the semblance, at least, of modesty, and shrewd witn ess h ave l os t t h e cause entrusted to an efficient and ample supply of water; and most regard for appearances. It is not enough for a mi- them by " proving too much " ; and in somewhat desirable it would have been if such effort had been nister, in whom his fellow countrymen have placed of this position Mr. Sydney Herbert may some day made long ago, before the existing monopolies had a certain degree of confidence, to state, in brusque find that he has placed himself, when, after addu- grown to their present large extent and value, and terms, that he has changed his opinions. Men cing, as one of the strongest of his reasons for the task of affording such supply had been placed want to know the process of that change—when the advocating the repeal of the corn-laws, the wretched in the hands of some of our public bodies. To re early f a ith b e gan to waver, at what time it ceased condition to which the agricultural labourers, for pair the error now, however,—to resolve upon Pur a() o p era t e , and how it came at last to cling to the whose protection those laws had been devised, were c h ases which will require such a serious amount of point from which, through life, it had turned away at present reduced, he clenched the statement, as to money to be raised and charged upon the rate with loathing and horror. Something like this sort their condition, by the following reference to a recent payers—is a matter which calls for very mature of explanation we looked for, especially from such a meeting in Wiltshire : • consideration, both with respect to the price to be man as Sir James Graham. Starting, as he did, in "In his own county, a meeting was lately held at night, given, and the mode in which it is to be effected. early life, from ultra-radicalism, and progressing at a place called Goatacre, which had since been the sub. In our haste to secure a benefit we may rashly gradually through moderate whiggism to conserva- ject of much comment. It was very possible, and he tisrn, there was apparently afforded a guarantee that thought that it was obvious from the force of the reason- inflict upon the town a permanent bu rden. big, that they were not drawn up by working men. This We cannot see, either, that the Highway Board conviction, on his part, was gradual. The wild meeting, he believed, was pre-arranged and concerted by is the best public body to undertake the manage theories of youth were forsaken for more moderate orders ; but he was, in truth, bound to say that the state- ment of these purchases, if determined upon, or opinions in manhood, and conservative opinions in ments of the working men as to the diffic.ilty with which the carrying on of the works when purchased. " mature years. Certainly from such a man w they lived were true. (Hear, hear.) e were warranted in expecting something better than the Readily we admit the ability and great experience in We shall not ask who were the parties to whom heal affairs of many of the members of that body. Mr. Sydney Herbert refers . as having . ordered and meagre and reasonless avowal of change, which isWith Mr. Gladstone, however, we should prefer preconcerted the meeting in question, and drawn contained in the following paragraph of his speech seeing the Corporation undertake the supply of the up the resolutions adopted. Probably it was the on Tuesday night last : town with water. In their hands there could be no " I cannot at all blame my noble friend who has just a t k sat down for the reference he has made to my former meetings in this town. But we may ask the Ho- financial s es,—ne ris k of oppreasive rates to declarations on this subject. I admit that the past de- nourable Gentleman, who appears willing enough outweigh the value of the boon to the rate-payers. claratious of opinion made by a member of this House, to bring forward the statements of the agricultural The Highway Board has, already, ample work be who either leads, or aspires to lead a party, and declara- labourers of Goatacre, "as to the difficulty with fore it, more immediately within its own province, thins made by a first Minister of the Crown, if at variance which they lived," as an argument in favour of free in the paving, severing, and efficient cleansing of with the:course he now adopts , are subjects not unworthy of reference, and which call for explanation. The lion. trade, if he is willing to carry out th a t ar g ument to our growing extent of streets and public thorough member for Northamptonshire made a direct appeal to its full extent, and especially to its bearing upon fares; . and what that body ought to stipulate for is the Government, and challenges us if we had changed another great question connected with the supply of the privilege of taking, from whatever body may our opinions, manfully to own it. I answer that challenge. a undertake the supply of water, sufficient for the f ood. Is he willing to tell us how much of the I do frankly avow my change of opinion, and by that destitution proper and effectual discharge of their own duties. avowal I dispose of all the speeches." (Loud cheers of these miserable agricultural labourers Before, however, taking any step, we should from the Opposition, with counter-cheers from the Protec- is attributable to that inhuman law, which delivers strongly urge the adoption of the suggestion of Mr. tion benches, rendered inaudible the rest of the senten ce . t h em up as b oun d an d f ettere d s l aves i nto t h e h an d s Tinge, visa.: that we should first have some cotn- When a man thus cavalierly " disposes of all) o f th e f armer and th e l an d owner , by h o ldi ng u p prehensive report from a competent engineer, as to speeches" and principles of past years, we are na- b e f ore th e i r e y e s, as the a lt e r na ti ve o f re f usa l to turally disposed to ask, " when will he begin to be su b m it t o hard toil and insufficient remuneration, the best means of supplying the town with water. sincere and consistent," and how do we know that the " coarser kind of food " and the equally hard Do not let us now enter into any patchwork scheme, he is now sincere and not disposed to veer round toil of the Union workhouse ? " They could not when we may hereafter find we might have had a Perfect and comprehensive scheme for half the again at the first change of the political wind, or be worse off under any system of corn-laws," was p money. Perhaps, after all, we may not have to whatever influence it is which directs his conduct ?" the burthen of the song of dole, uttered to the moon the Purchase the Water Companies. We cannot see His own language, in the course of the same night's and the wintry midnight air, by these half-fed and p, debate, affords us a criterion from which to form half - clothed mockeries of men—these wretched tnat it . is at all imperative upon us to pay these i co our own deductions. In June last , Sir James Gra - caricatures of " a hold peasantry, their country's companies the exorbitant prices to which their stock ham reminds the house the following were his opi - pride." Will Mr. Sydney Herbert, or any one for of the nos been i run up, for the right to enjoy, in a town m importance of Liverpool, an abundant sup nions upon the subject of protection : him, inform us how much better off they will be P "On the occasion when the hon. member for Wolver- made by the measures, which he hints at as afford- ply of one of the cheapest necessaries of life. We Hampton (Mr. Villiers) moved for going into committee • should, of course, prefer an equitable and ing all that is requisite to place them in that reasona onposi- the corn laws in June last, I said, 'lt is decidedly my . ble agreement with the companies, to any step opinion, that the prosperity of agriculture must always tion of social comfort, which every accountable • which could inflict injustice on individuals; but, depend on the prosperity of the other branches of the being, willing to work, ought to occupy in a civi- , native industry of this country, and that the public pros- used and a Christian c o u n try ? certainly, we should be sorry to find that the town perity is on the whole best promoted by giving a fair and We suspect much that the operation of the New taxe d pe eb yany ,isto be in rp tuo uninterrupted current to the natural flow of national in- i gain, such, as it appears to us, would be the purchase Poor Laws has infinitely more to do with the present dustry. I will go further, and say, that it is my opinion degradedsuffering and condition of the agricul that, by safe, gradual, and cautious measures, it is ex- 1 of these companies at the present price of their stock. Time for deliberation, however, is what we i pedieut to bring our laws, with reference to tie trade in tural labourer than any question of protection or I contend for. Let us not go too fast. • fa sa.,aa, ~,;#h Jun enund Ilrinnirdo• 'lnv, _ 'Arc*? ortinn 'Me. wl, nin r‘r fb n ri.ennt;/, nn n _ , now —the poor unfortunates whom no change can ren der worse off—will be drafted away to supply the increased demand for hands to arise in the manufac turing districts. We shall have the talents of a score or two of Muggeridgts employed in selecting, for removal to spinning and weaving paradises, " widows with large families, or orphan children." the commodity which, according to the amiable suggestion of an eminent whig-radical mill owner in the West Riding, is the most profitable to grind down into yarns and calicoes. But, then, what will become of the pleasing picture, painted by Sir James Graham, with respect to the improved condition of the manufacturing operatives, with whose labour this pauper supply is to come into competition ? " I can very welt understand," remarked Sir James, on Tuesday night, " how those working men should overtax their industry, and even call upon their wives and daughters to work, that they may obtain subsistence. Necessity might drive them to such resources. But if they can understand that by a change of your law they may be able, without re quiring their wives and daughters to work as they do now, to live in greater comfort than they have ever known (.9, I have not the smallest doubt that ar rangements will be made between masters and men as to the period of labour, and so every ground or pretext for legislative interference will be taken away." We have the greatest doubt of the realiza tion of this delightful consummation. The Com missioners of Somerset House will soon daub over the bright sky, which Sir James Graham spreads over the manufacturing elysium, with a few of the gloomy tints, and introduce a few of the ragged and half famished figures of the Goatacre meeting, or of the mothers and children who sat huddled to gether by the cheerless firesides of their miserable cottages, whilst their husbands and fathers did the work of the League by exhibiting their wretched ness to the midnight moon. Clever as he undoubtedly is, Mr. Sydney Herbert touched upon dangerous ground when he paraded this solitary demonstration of agricultural labourers, with its " pre-arranged resolutions," in favor of free trade, and the declaration of the speakers that " they could not be worse off," in the face of the hundreds of meetings of the same wretched class, at which their sufferings have been attributed to Boards of Guardians and Assistant Commissioners. Goatacre is dangerously near to Andover, of bone crushing notoriety ; and it was rather impolitic even to risk suggesting the enquiry, which will be made, how far the destitution of the labouring masses employed in agriculture is attributable to the cruel bondage in which they are held by the new Poor Law ; and, moreover, how far the blow levelled by Sir Robert Peel against the agricultural interests of the kingdom is compatible with the maintenance of that law and its grinding machinery. The British farmer may, pos,ibly, by increased science and im provements in cultivation, along with reduced rents, I be enabled to compete with the foreign grower of ! corn ; but the British labourer must be fed,—not in Union workhouses, or upon wages regulated by the cost of workhouse dietaries, but in comfort and upon sufficient food ;—and when they are promised such improvement of their condition, as the result of free trade, they will not allow that promise to be broken. A disappointed man, we may remind him, is a dangerous man. We shall not ask . who were the parties to whom Mr. Sydney Herbert refers as having ordered and preconcerted the meeting in question, and drawn up the resolutions adopted. Probably it was the same party which preconcerted two or three similar meetings in this town. But we may ask the Ho nourable Gentleman, who appears willing enough to bring forward the statements of the agricultural labourers of Goatacre, " as to the difficulty with which they lived," as an argument in favour of free trade, if lie is willing to carry out that argument to its full extent, and especially to its bearing upon another great question connected with the supply of food. Is he willing to tell us how much of the destitution of these miserable agricultural labourers is attributable to that inhuman law, which delivers them up as bound and fettered slaves into the hands of the farmer and the landowner, by holding up before their eyes, as the alternative of refusal to submit to hard toil and insufficient remuneration, the " coarser kind of food " and the equally hard toil of the Union workhouse ? " They could not be worse off under any system of corn-laws," was the burthen of the song of dole, uttered to the moon and the wintry midnight air, by these half-fed and half-clothed mockeries of men—these wretched caricatures of " a hold peasantry, their country's pride." Will Mr. Sydney Herbert, or any one for him, inform us how much better off they will be made by the measures, which he hints at as afford ing all that is requisite to place them in that posi tion of social comfort, which every accountable being, willing to work, ought to occupy in a civi lised and a Christian country? We suspect much that the operation of the New Poor Laws has infinitely more to do with the present degraded and suffering condition of the agricul tural labourer than any question of protection or non-protection. The whole of the despotic ma chinery of Somerset House, with its Bastiles and its dietaries, its cruel and unholy severing of the most sacred ties of life, as the punishment of po verty, disease, or old age—its workhouse tests and its heart tests—were set up, ostensibly, to raise the standard of character in the labourer, but, in reality, to reduce the cost of labour. And admirably it has served such real object, as the meeting at Goatacre proved; and ruthlessly it is worked, as the disgusting revelations of the Andover inquiry have placed beyond the possibility of dispute. Re duce the price of the food of the labourer and his family you may—give him a bushel of wheat, or a bushel and a half of oats or rye, in exchange for his six shillings weekly dole, you may ; but you reduce, at the same time, the cost of keeping him and them immured in your pauper prisons. It is the cost of the " coarser kind of food," to which you submit him as the punishment of compulsory or wilful idleness, which is the real test of the price of his labour out of doors. The new Poor Law is the screw, whose energetic and heartless application has brought the poor labourers at Goatacre and else where to that desperate condition, in which they are willing to try any experiment of legislation, or even of violence,—" for they cannot be worse off than they are!" our laws, with reference to tie trade in corn, into a nearer relation with the sound principles which regulate our commercial policy with respect to every other branch of industry." Clearly, Sir James Graham, whilst uttering this speech, was paving the way for the vindication of his present change of opinions. If such references be all the use of the recora of opinions of public the pag.'s of Hansard furnish us such records might be burnt with great ad to the national morality. Statesmen could • " dispose of all their and we should less ominously be re --ity of rendering the text, " put not your trust ►n princes," into an equally appropriate one, put no trust in statesmen. men w more conveniently minded of the The following paragraphs, which we find in the colums of a local contemporary, suggest matter for don of that pertion of the com munity which is not in name and profession alone, but in reality, Conservative. "lip to last Saturday, sufficient transfers of property in Preston alone had been made to place one thousand addi tional free-trade votes on the register. As similar exer tions had been made in other places, there is little doubt but there will be, after the next revision, a majority of free-trade votes for this division of the county.—Preston Chronicle. consul South Cheshire is safe on the next registry, 726 new free-trade votes having been secured." What steps, we ask, are being taken to - neutralise the effect of these most unconstitutional proceedings lanufacture of qualifications ? Not any. We see around us in this great commercial locality—why should we conceal the fact t—men whom the drearri of some vast benefit to arise from the free-trade policy of government has blinded altogether to the operations by which that policy has been precipitated. The League they regard merely as a free-trade "great fact." The organisation which has broken up the old commercial policy of the country—which rules supreme in a majority of our boroughs, and is already stretching out its arms to grasp our counties —can, they imagine, be carried to no further end ; but, its ostensible and original object being achieved, it is to die a natural death. The Cobdens and Brights are to sink from dema gogues into mere calico-printers and cotton-spin ners. We are to have a political elysium—no agi tation—no difficulty save that of estimating the hugeness of the tide of prosperity which is advancing to our shores. We shall be told, no doubt, that employment will be rendered more abundant by the measure in pro gress. The farmer is to drain more, to pursue an improved system of husbandry, in order to enable him to compete with the foreign grower ; to do this, he must employ more labour on his land, and hence will arise demand for such labour, and advanced wages. We believe, firmly, that no such result can arise, in the agricultural districts at least, whatever may be the case in the manufacturing dis tricts. In the first place, we cannot see how the farmer is to afford the required outlay of capital ; or how his landlord, with a reduced rental, is to help him. And, in the next place, we are reminded by the speeches and writings of the agricultural advo cates of the measure—the model-farm people—that the secret of improved cultivation is improved ma chinery and implements, which are to save human labour. There will be no increased demand suffi cient to advance the rate of wages, or to counte:act the operation of the new Poor Law,—that pet in strument of the landowner, which enables him to regulate the weekly dole of the labourer by the cost of that coarser kind of food upon which he can be supported within the walls of the Union Work house. _ _ _ _ Most strongly we would warn every lover of the Constitution and the monarchy of the danger of thus allowing themselves to be misled. They do not, apparently, care to battle very strongly in be half of protection to native agriculture. They have the excuse for their lethargy, that the class most Another anticipation is doubtless indulged in, that the surplus labour of the agricultural districts LOCAL BILLS. Petitions complaining of non-compliance with the standing orders have been presented and referred to the Select committee on Petitions in the following cases: — Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Junction Rail way. Birkenhead and Holyhead Junction Railway. Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Junction Rail way (two petitions). Birkenhead and Llangollen Railway. Chester and Manchester Direct Railway (three pe titiens). Liverpool and Bury Railway. Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railway. Liverpool Paving, Sewering, and Watering. Liverpool Sanatory regulations. Liv, rpool Improvement. Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Extensions. Toxteth Park Improvement. Tient Valley Midland and Grand Junction Railway. West Lancashire Railway. Northumberland and Lancashire Junction Railway. The following petitions for Bills have been severally re ported, and Bills ordered to be brought in : Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, and Midland Junction Railway. Mold Junction Railway. Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Junction Railway. St. Helen's Canal and Railway. Liverpool Docks. Ellesmere and Chester Canal. The Blackburn, Chorley, and Liverpool Railway. Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Preston Railway. Manchester, Sheffield, and Midland Junction Railway. Bills read a first time, and ordered to be read a second : Grand Junction Railway—Huyton and Aston ; Huy ton, Prescot, and St. Helen's ; Warrington and Park side ; Showhill and Portobello, and Edgehill and Huy ton branches. North Union Railway Bill—For vesting in the Grand Junction Railway Company, and the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company, the North Union Railway, and all the works, property, and effects appertaining thereto. Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, (Extension to Caledo nian Railway), and Lancaster and Preston Junction Rail way Amalgamation Bill. The Committee have dispensed with compliance with certain standing orders in the Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle Junction Railway. Since which the bill has been read a first time, and ordcred to be read a second time. The subject of this evening's lecture at St. Andrew's Church is " The Communion of Saints." Private letters from Calcutta to the 23d of December have been received. They contain the important fact that the government had sent round a circular, stating that their advances on hypothecated goods have for the present ceased. The exchange is expected to advance considerably upon this circumstance. Pr HE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SPEECH OF J. BRAMLET-MOORE, ESQ., CHAIRMAN OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE, ON THE SUBJECT OF DOCK EXTENSION. . In compliance with a requisition addressed to the Dock Committee, signed by 76 influential firms, urging that the able speech of their Chairman, on Monday, the 19th ul timo, and " the valuable statistics contained therein (evi dently collected with great care and research) are deserv ing of preservation in a more lasting form than they can possibly be in the pages of a newspaper," and requesting that it should be printed in a more permanent shape, we observe that a neat pamphlet, containing the speech in question, corrected by the Chairman from the report in the Standard, with some additional matter, has just been published, with a map of the new docks. So valuable a document, or one so interesting to the town, and so cre ditable to its author, has not for some time past issued from our local press. Amongst the additional matter of a statistical character introduced is a table of the number of vessels employed in the timber trade in Liverpool, which exhibits some surprising results. The following is the table on which Mr. Moore makes one or two remarks, and we have ap pended a few additional observations : BRITISH AMERICA. BALTIC. Year. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage 1838.. 1839 339 • • 170,591.... 1840. . . 1841.... 1842.... 1843.... 1844 369 189,414 51.... 14,144 1845 453...... 239,854 113....33,792 Thus you see (says Mr. Moore) that in 1844, when the timber trade was said to have commenced its decline, there were then 418 vessels, of 202,471 tons ; and in 1845, the enormous number of 566 vessels, of 273,646 tons. Now, this alone will shew the importance of the timber trade, and how inadequately that trade has been accom modated in Liverpool. There has been an extraordinary increase in several descriptions of timber. I will just notice the Mahogany trade, to which attention was di rected, and particular accommodation afforded, some four or five years ago, by the Dock Committee. The number of logs imported since 1838 is as follows : In 1838........10,918 logs, 1 In 1842........ 7,789 logs, 1839.. 1840.. 7,214 1 1844 16,248 „ 6,600 ~ 28,840 I will now give you, for the last four or five years, the increase for all descriptions of timber in pieces and feet. I will take you back to 1838 : In 1838.. 1839.. 15,000,000 In 1840 11,000,000 16,000,000 j 1841 16,000,000 Mr. Rathbone asked whether these were pieces? Mr. Moore.—They are pieces and feet, by string or sale measure. In callipers they would be about fifteen per cent. more In 1842 1843 9,000,000 I In 1814...... 24,000,000 17,000,000 I 1845...... 28,000,000 The most extraordinary increase exhibited in the first table is that in Baltic timber, from 51 vessels, 14,144 ton nage, in 1844, to 113 vessels, 33,792 tonnage, or an in crease in one year, in the article of Baltic timber alone, of 19,648 tons, in 1845 ; and it is a fact worthy of remark, as showing the great increase of the consuming power of the country, that the price of Baltic timber, notwith standing the increased importations, was higher in 1845 than in the previous year. In the same period, the in crease of tonnage employed in the British American timber trade amounted to 50,440 tons. In the entire timber trade, therefore, we have an increase in 1845, over that of the previous year, of about 70,000 tons, which is considerably above three times the increase of the tonnage of all kinds employed in the port of Bristol for the same years, such total increase being only 21,076 tons. We believe that this evidence of prosperity appeared so im portant to the Government that an application was made from the Treasury for information confirmatory of the correctness of the statement conveying it. Another important item introduced in this pamphlet, and which the chairman of the Dock Committee had not received at the time of delivering his speech, is the export of salt for the year 1845, which amounted to 472,146 tons, against 429,131 in 1841, showing an increase of 43,015 tons on the year. PETITION OF THE LIVERPOOL BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION FOR A RELAXATION OF THE PROFIT BITORY DUTIES LEVIED UPON BRA ZILIAN SUGAR. A petition has just been presented to the House of Commons by this body, signed by their chairman, Mr. J. Bramley Moore, praying to have their case considered in the arrangements making for the reduction of Lnport duties. The petitioners represent, in strong terms, the injury which they sustain by the prohibitory duties upon Brazilian sugar, and the retaliatory spirit which that coun try has adopted towards them. They urge their right to a share in the ameliorations taking place in our commercial code, and the advantages which would be conferred upon the agricultural and other classes from whom protection is being withdrawn, by cheapening the article of sugar, the consumption of which has decreased since 1811 from 26 pounds per head to 16!., pounds in 1841. The question of Brazilian being the produce of slave labour they consider ought no longer to be mooted, now that we import largely so many other articles similarly produced, and that the West India planters themselves import the same sugar for consumption, in order that they may have the whole of their own crop available for the markets of this country. They urge it also on account of vast accession of trade which it would bring to the manufacturer, to whom Brazil has been a large customer, and the advantage which an increase of trade with that country will afford to the shipping interest, and conclude by praying for the importation henceforth into this country of Brazilian sugar upon the same terms as any other foreign sugar. THE NORTH-SHORE COTTON MILL We have on several occasions, during the last few years, had occasion to notice the kindly feeling and liberality evinced by the proprietors of this cotton factory (the only one in this town) towards their work-people, as shewn by their regard for their moral and religious welfare, and their health and domestic comfort, as well as by their an nual festive rural treats given to the whole, young and old, the last of which we had the pleasure to witness, and a more delightful example of friendly and joyous inter course between employers and employed—who joined to gether in the dance on the hamlet green—can scarcely be conceived. It is deplorable to find that the gene rous purpose of these gentlemen should, from the rancour of party spirit, and an ignorance of the facts, be for a moment misrepresented, though but by an in sinuation ; yet such has been their fate, verifying the saying of the great dramatist, " Be thou ever so fair and virtuous, thou shalt not escape the tongue of calumny." They can well afford, however, to treat their puny assaults with a smile, and, from their cha racter, we know it will be one of forbearance and forgive ness. The Mercury of Friday week stated, in effect, " We understand that Mr. John O'Connell was last night to put a question relative to an alleged intolerance practiced towards dissenters in the North Shore Mill of this town." There exists not the slightest ground for such an insinuation, as will be shown in the sequel. We have long bad a desire to furnish some details of the ex emplary management of this mill in the respect alluded to, of which we have been aware from the information of a respectable man in one of the departments, but we were deterred by learning that the partners entertained an aversion to publicity. As, however, they have been hitherto " doing good by stealth." they must now " blush to find it fame;" for Mr. Leonard Horner, the government inspector of factories, has, in his last re port, (having argued them out of this repugnance,) fur nished some highly interesting particulars, demonstrative of the benefits to the people employed of the system pursued, and whicf , indeed, go far to remove some of our main objections to the establishment of mills in our town, if they were similarly conducted. The inspector's statement appeared in the London Times of Friday. We have but room, however, for the follow ing synopsis, to which we have a few additional facts to add, equally creditable to the humane feeling and con sideration of the partners, and especially of the resident manager, Mr. North, "to whose personal influence, enlightened views, and unwearied zeal, (as is truly stated by our contemporary) much of the success of their plans is to be ascribed." The partners are Mr. J. Aspinall Turner, and Mr. J. Garstang, of Manchester, and Mr. It. Ford North—the latter residing here and having the chief local direction. There are employed about 854 hands; of whom 68 are boys and girls under thirteen years of age ; 378 young persons between thirteen and eighteen (chiefly girls) ; and the remainder (263 males and 186 females), from twenty_ one to forty and upwards. Mr. Callon, the certifying surgeon appointed by the inspector, is also the medical attendant on all the hands, young and old, and has a surgery on the premises, where he may be consulted daily—those confined at home being there attended. He receives from the concern £2OO a year, to which all the hands earning upwards of 4s. a week contribute ld. weekly, those earning less being exempt. The deficiency in the amount thus collected, which may be from £4O to £5O, is paid by the proprietors. There is a long school-room on the premises, which is daily attended by the children employed, and also by those of the work people living in the adjoining cottages —altogether by about 200. A night school is also open. The school is open for two hours every Sunday morning. Two separate rooms are appropriated to male and female adults. Instruction is given by 70 teachers, all volunteers from among the overlookers and others employed in the mill, some attending on alternate Sundays, others every Sunday,—Mr. North and the book-keeper acting as superintendents. Spelling, reading, and the church cate chism are taught in the Sunday school, explanations of the lessons read, &c. After this the church service abbreviated, and afterwards a short practical sermon, are read by one of the proprietors, to an assemblage of 300 to 400 persons, chiefly composing the scholars, teachers, and the inhabitants of the cottages, and amongst them are some creditable singers, and instrumental performers (from amongst the hands), the instruments given to them by Mr. North, who has had them instructed. Atten dance at the Sunday-school is only compulsory on the children employed under 13. After this age persuasion alone is used to influence attendance. It is found that those most regular in attendance are the best conducted hands in the mill, and earn the most wages. It is worthy of notice that Mr. North is a member of the Church of England ; Mr. Turner an Unitarian, and Mr. Garstang a Wesleyan Methodist—all acting to,;ether in one com mon Christian spirit. There is a lending library of 300 volumes attached to the mill. and a savings' bank for 6d. to 55., for %Lich the proprietors allow 5 per cent. Mr. Homer notices, at some length, the festive meet ings to which we have alluded, and to which all the well conducted hands, upon their giving proof of being in Os habit of attending some place of inatruction or public worship on the Sunday, (nearly the whole number,) are in vited ; also the New Year's Day supper in the school-room to the teachers and singers, atter which, recitation of pieces, music and singing, with a friendly interchange of senti- Meats on both sides, " tend to make the evening pass both agreeably and instructively to employers and em ployed." To the facts furnished by Mr. Horner, and which are correct to the letter, we could add many others equally honourable to the " management," but must confine our selves to a few, as we know the modesty of these gentle men. All employed who may not be a member of the Church of England are at full liberty to attend their own places of worship, and'are not the less partakers of the general kindness dispensed. Strangers who cannot afford sittings in churches are equally welcome to attend the simple divine service in the Sunday-school. One of these, an old man and constant attendant, was some time ago missed from his accustomed seat. The worthy resident proprietor sent to inquire about him, and finding he was ill, indigent, and enfeebled, had him medically attended, and has since liberally provided for his wants. A store of wine, &c., is kept on the premises, for the use of the sick when recom mended by the surgeon, and additional supplies given out when requisite as a matter of course, and not as a fa vour to be timidly solicited for. Other arrangements are also made by the employers to conduce to the domestic comforts of those of their people who may have pecuniary difficulties to contend with in their families, and to in duce them to habits of cleanliness and providence; and, in fine, we concur with Mr. Horner in his remarks : " It is difficult to say whether we should most admire the benevolence, the confiding practical good sense, or the enlarged view of their own happiness and interest evinced by the proprietors of this factory in these ar rangements. If their example were generally followed, even in a limited degree, one could hardly over-estimate the sum of moral good and individual happiness that would result." THE INCUMBENCY OF ST. MARK'S CHURCH TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR-Fully persuaded of the great interest which you take in the clerical preferments of this town, may I en croach on a small portion of your valuable paper to con tradict a paragraph stated in the Albion of this day respecting St. Mark's Church, in the which it was noticed that " the pew-owners and others of that church would be glad to hear that the trustees have resolved upon throwing open the incumbency of that church to compe tition." As a pew-owner (and I have no doubt all the others will join with me in the same opinion) I am de cidedly against such competition, not only from being perfectly satisfied as to the abilities and strict adherence to Gospel truth preached by its present minister, the Rev. B. A. Marshall, but also from its being an act of the greatest injustice that could be shown towards the said reverend gentleman, should any other person be appointed to that incumbency, after hie having laboured with great ardour and perseverance for the last seven years, and 1 may say to the satisfaction of his congregation. A PEW-OWNER Liverpool, 161 h February, 1846. [Several other letters are in type, which we are compelled to omit.] FIRE LAST NIGHT.—Last night a fire was discovered in the back bed-room of a boarding-house in Ironmonger lane, but the engines being soon on the spot, the fire was speedily subdued. The damage done was about £5O. ST. MARY'S CHURCH, KIRKDALE.— On Sunday morning last, after a sermon by the Rev. D. James, in cumbent, the sum of £l7 was collected at this church, in aid of the Incorporated Society for the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels in England and Wales. BIRKENHEAD COMMISSIONERS.—Last evening, a meeting of the Birkenhead Commissioners was held at their rooms, Hamilton-square, for the purpose of receiv ing a report from the Health Committee, on the building of warehouses, and also a report from the Lighting and Watching Committee, upon the proposed amendments in the Lighting and Watching act. Mr. Greene presided ; but no discussion took place. Upon the suggestion of Mr. Cole, who said that the committee in question, prayed for time to consider the important subject submitted to them, the meeting was adjourned until Monday evening next. On Sunday afternoon last, Mr. Frederick Edwards, late master of St. Augustine's school, and lately promoted to the mastership of the Welsh Charity School, was pre sented by the committee of the former institution with a handsome and beautifully bound Family Bible, together with several other books, as a mark of respect and appro bation for his services during a period of seven years. The presentation took place before the assembled chil dren, when the Rev. Dr. Tattershall delivered a kind and very affectionate address in his usual impressive manner, which was replied to by Mr. Edwards in a creditable way. ACCIDENTAL DEATH.—An inquisition was held yester day, before the borough coroner, touching the death of John Jones, aged 51. Twelve or thirteen weeks ago, deceased was engaged, with another man, in removing some hardware out of a shop in London-road into a cart. He assisted in removing a grate from the cellar into a cart, and afterwards said he had hurt his back, but did not say in what way. He afterwards complained from time to time of his back, and about a month ago was sent to the Infirmary, where he died from an inju-y of the spine. Verdict accordingly, but how he received the injury there was no evidence to show. A number of young women, chiefly servants i❑ Liver pool and the neighbourhood, who had been educated in the Church of England North Schools, were invited to meet some of their former schoolfellows. and to take tea with them on Thursday evening last. The meeting with each other, and with their respected teacher, Mr. McMinn, seemed to afford great delight, and, having been addressed by the Rev. A. Towliu, and the They. Henry H. Higgins, the party broke up, highly gratified, and, as it is hoped, encouraged to persevere in conduct ing themselves consistently with the sound Christian priniiples in which they have been brought up. MELANCHOLY CIRCUMSTANCE.—Yesterday morning, the body of a young, respectably connented man, named John Braithwaite, was discovered floating in a pit near the village of Wavertree. The skull was, we learn, partly fractured. The deceased retided in the neighbourhood of Edge-hill, but had remained a short time at the house of a friend in Wavertree. and, it is stated, was slightly af fected with drink when he went out. How be got into the water, or in what way the injuries were inflicted on his head, is yet unknown, and we refrain from giving publicity to the mere rumours and conjectures that are afloat. He was only eighteen years of age. The inquest will be held before Mr. Heves, this afternoon. ST. THOMAS' CHURCH SCHOOLS.—We are highly gra tified to hear that the nett proceeds of the bazaar in aid of these schools, which we have noticed elsewhere, realized £52. The number of children already on thebooks, although the schools were only opened on Sunday,ia as follows : boys, 140; girls, 170; infants, 90—total, 400. This is a suffi cient proof of the benefits likely to result from the estab lishment of these schools, and we anticipate from them the happiest results. There are about GO children in the ragged school in Albert-street, who are fast improving. The district is, notwithstanding all the efforts which have been made, still in a spiritually destitute condition—there being within it 17,149 souls, and there is church accom modation for only 834, with 83 free sittings. We bee to call the attention of our readers to an adver tisement of a sermon, to be preached to-morrow evening (Wednesday), at St. Michael's Church, in behalf of the Church Pastoral Aid Society, by the Rev. Mr. Close, of Cheltenham. Few societies are engaged in a more useful sphere of labour than that society, and few during the time which has elapsed since its establishment have been more highly favoured. It has conferred, as will be seen from a report elsewhere of the meeting last night of the Liverpool Auxiliary, many blessings on neglected portions of our land. It has brought to light much of the spiritual destitution that prevails around us, and has provided means for relieving it. We hope that so good a cause, and so valuable an advocate as Mr. Close, will induce a large congregation to be present. CASE OF REAL DISTRESS.—By the falling of a ware house in Moor-street, on the 31st ult., a corn-porter, named Peter Lacey, an industrious man, was killed whilst endeavouring, with his fellow-labourers, to make his es cape from the falling building. By this event, a family of five children, of the respective ages of 18, 17, 14, 12, and 10 years, are become orphans, helpless and unpro vided for, their sole support arising from the wages of the eldest boy. This appeal is earnestly made to a benevolent public in their behalf, in the full confidence that a bereave ment so sudden, and distress so severe, will be kindly re sponded to by all who are influenced by the better feel ings of human nature. Subscriptions will be thankfully received by Messrs. Ihler and Co., Goree, (the employers of the eldest lad,) and at the newspaper-offices and news rooms. FATAL ACCIDENTS. —On Friday week a man named Richard Hallows, who worked at warehouses, was em ployed in storing rum in a bonded warehouse at the New Quay. He was seen to be in a state of intoxication. Shortly afterwards, while he was assisting another man to put down the lid of the vault entrance, his foot slipped and he fell to the bottom, and hurt his spine. He was taken to the Northern Hospital, where he died on Thursday from the injuries. —On Tuesday last a man, named Edward M'Owen, went with another man to a house in St. James-road to take down an iron chimney. The lady of the house, seeing that both of them were affected by drink, endeavoured to persuade them from ascending to the roof; but deceased insisted upon going up, and when he got to the top his foot slipped and he fell down into the yard and fractured his skull. He was carried to the Southern Hospital, were he died in a few minutes. LECTURES ON THE ERRORS OF THE CHURCH OF ROME.—The Liverpool Protestant and Reformation Society are worthy of the highest commendation for their exertions, on all fitting occasions, to expose religious error, and to avail themselves, from time to time, of the services of those devoted champions of Protestantism in whose ministrations all true churchmen delight, and who, responding to the exhortation of St. Jude, " Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The present exertions of the society have re sulted in their being enabled to announce that a course of six lectures, on the errors of Rome, will be periodically delivered, in the Concert-hall. Lord Nelson -street, by six of the most able and eloquent divines of the town and neighbourhood. A well-defined subject is assigned to each of these reverend gentlemen, and the lectures will be given weekly, on Tuesday evenings, —the whole form ing a complete exposition of the falsehood, slavishness, and utter apostacy of the Romish Church, as contrasted with the saving scriptural doctrines that led to the Refor mation. The lecturers will appear in the following order of their names :—The Rev. Joseph Baylee, D. James, W. Pollock (St. Helen's), H. Carpenter, T. Nolan, and Canon M'Neile. The first lecture will be delivered by the Rev. Jos. Baylee, this evening (Tuesday),—subject. " The marks of the True Church not to be found in the Church of Rome." Seats will be reserved for ladies in the gallery. From the interest excited on the subject the spacious hall is expected to be crowded. LATEST INTELLIGENCE (BY EXPRESS.) NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE (POTTERIES) LaNs.--if terdav the co mm ittee o n this li n e sat, and the roots , depsely crowded with persons interested, as the ! re i t ma mitten announced on Friday that they would give.' fl a decision with respect to the validity of the subserlP% contract. The objection taken against it was, that clic, of the trustees of the name of Garrett, who bad T o d another signed the deed on the part of the company! a also subscribed to the extent of £2,500 ; and bell, subscribing party, in the double capacity of sharehol on the one part and trustee on the other, it was conteaft.dear that the deed was not a valid one. The committee, B , l ', a great deal of deliberation, decided that as far as L', l l rett's signature was concerned the deed was inTa a though valid as regarded the other signatures, and, the.lls; fore, pro tante, the standing orders had been comPll' with. r , \—.) 1N CORN EXCHANGE.—YarrganAr. lo g The suppq of English wheat by land carriage satnPin s .or very small this morning. Dry parcels were taken readily a t e , quotations; but those out of condition met a dragging gs Old and free foreign moved off slowly without alteration_. value. There appeared to be rather more inclination to Pa chase bonded at late prices, and several sales were efrT; i r, Barley is exceedingly di ffi cult of disposal, and even hest q vain ' ties are is per qr lower. Beans remain the same in Maple and grey peas are unaltered from last week, but W e duce our quotations for white is per quarter. Fine oats tllsin ,..in r; the pi evious rates, but light and inferior sorts must be Wil 6d per qr cheaper. SMITHFIELD CATTLE MARKET.—YEsTganAir• tbU From our own grazing districts the arrival of beasts up t 0 os morning's market was somewhat less than those exhibit , this day se'nnight; but the quality was decidedly good. _fi a attendance of buyers being somewhat extensive, the beef t_, T 7, was steady, at, in some instances, an advance on last We, prices of 2d. per 81bs . A few of the very primest Scototii disposed of at 4s. 6d. per Sibs., but the more general figo7.g that breed was 4s. 4d. per 81bs., at which a good clear o ' — was effected. The numbers of sheep are again small, or about 8,0 00 ,„s le° than at the corresponding day of 1845. Prime old Dor.; moved off steadily, at full prices. In other kinds of sheep c_ti paratively little was doing, yet the quotations were suPP O T,.. - . While commenting last week upon the falling off in the on . bers of sheep shown here in 1845, an important error occurl' e ; Instead of the falling off being three hundred, as we I st stated, the actual deficiency should have been set dos" three hundred thousand. . There were about 2000 shorn sheep on offer this morning• The few prime lambs on offer commanded a ready sale' 7s per Blbs. In calves very little was doing at last week's depreSied currencies. 6 0 The pork trade was steady at late rates. We had on offer pigs from Ireland SHARE MARKET.—YESTSRDAY. A fair amount of business has been done in all the be t l er , descriptions of railway investment; and while prices SL', nerally are well supported the quotations in some few instan; show a siight advance. The Trent Valley shares, which 1 . 39 ), been improving for several days past, have been done as Wg of as 26i. Generally speaking, however, there is very little life activity in the Share Market. PRICES OF STOCKS, &e.—YESTEIIDAY. The market for the English funds manifests a little ti0,.....tt1e58 this morning. Consols for the account opened at 96 to lhe 96k being the price at which the first bargain was done, but dealers evincing a disposition to sell among themselves W ey soon dropped to 961, 9R. For money they have been done 96,.1 and 9€4. Bank stock is 2071 to 2081; 3 per cents. Reduced; 96j to 97k; 34 per Cents. 98i, 98i, 981; Long Annuities, it !GI 16ths ; India Stock, 250 ; Exchequer Bills continue firm at 1 . -- week's prices ; they have been done at 37, 40, 38. Feb. 4k, 1846. NEW YORK COTTON MARKET, JAN. 31 THREE, P.M.—The sales to-day are GOO to 800 bald for French account, at full rates. Exchange dull an declining. Freight to Liverpool very dull. CURRENT PRICES FOR LIVERPOOL CLASSIFICATION . ' New York, 30th January. Mobile & N. Ori• 54 to 6 64 to 62 7 to 7i Inferior Ordinary Middling Middling fair Fair & Fonda .. none. .. 6 to 64 .. 6i to 61 7 to 8 8i to Si 9 to 10 10a to 11 Good fair Fine 8 to 8 nom. Charleston, Savannah 24th Jan. 24th Jan. . 52 to 64 .. 6 to 64 . 61 to Di to t 61 tc 74 t, N. (bleat' 21st none. 5i to 6 6 1 Si to 5/ 6to a 64 to 6/ 6a to 3 7 to 7i 7* to 7i to 7/ 7i to 71 Bto si tollsi 8 none. .. 9 Inferior Ordinary Middling fair Fair 61 to 7 Good fair Fine ..... 7i to 8 none. BIRKENHEAD.—It was seriously talked of yesterl on the other side of the water, i n an ti c i pat i on o f Mr. Jackson being victorious at th e ra il way meet i ng t o -deli that Birkenhead is to be illuminated to-night. It is I d , the report of the committ ee e l ec t e d t o enqu i re i n t o the „I legations entirely acquit s M r . J ac k son o f any co ndo even approaching to impropriety. The Duke of Devonshire has subscribed £lOO toward ° the fund raised for the relief of the poor in Dungarvon• of • BODY FOUND.--On Sunday evening the body it female unknown was found in George's Dock Basin. was removed to the dead-house. Thomasis h Fremantle, appointedmarkt leßa deputy chairman of rt.„lateChiefSecretary4 d, io of Customs, in the room of the hon. Edwi l '' s l ß r o eln ieSawirard art, who retires. The late Rev. Dr. C. Words w o r th h as b equea thed th : munificent sum of £l5OO to be equally divided a mot?% the Society for the Propagatio n o f th e G os p e l, th e Sac'S o for the Promotion of Christian Kno w led g e, and ' 4 ' Church Building Society. gentlemena l) ! place u.O/ 0 a On S t a thetu r Saturday a u s meetingtMansion-house, h ot s o e f , noblemen London, and for thep u t e r pe s taking into consideration measures f or th e re f o rmatted of juvenile offenders, and for checking the growth crime—the Lord Mayor in the chair, and the Bishop ° London was one of the speakers. A MAN, UNKNOWN, FOUND HANGED.—On Sunc i l forenoon, the body of a man, unknown, suspended 1 4 quite dead, was found in one o f M r. B rec kl e ' s b a th' machines, on the North Shore. The body has not to been owned, and lies at the dead-house. It appears q' es , he had been inquirin g f or wor k at some o f t h e f oun do but did not succeed. ei SUDDEN DEATH.—O n W e d nes d ay, a female, na m - : 4 Mary Birket, livin g i n Bi r k e t -street, S o h o, enra plaialyi of being very ill, went up stairs, lay down in bed, l i t shortly afterwards was f oun d qu i te d ea d . F rom a ed mortem examination, it appeared that death was cane 0 by apoplexy. She h a d b een trou bl e d previously 171 asthma. ~...,....-.... riSC' Comm i TMENTS, YESTERDAY, AT THE POLICE,DO-.4 —A fisherman named Ri c h ar d Shaw, charged by his fan. with having frequently come home full of drink, and O fo f ing on Saturday robb e d hi m o f a shawl, was sen t 3 1 1 trial.—Elizabeth Currie, an elderly female, charged vi eir ' robbing a man of a sove re i gn .—A g i r l named Sarah Jorl io i charged with stealing 2 s . 6d. f rom a man named SO Buckley. BARBAROUS MURDER IN THE COUNTY OF y. 7- I FORD.—Great sensatio n h as b een created i n the ner; bourhocd of Clashmo re , i n consequence of thediscoi e • of a murder, committed on a poor woman living wit i l ill ots short distance of this place. The body was found e 0 Monday last in a d ra i n , h av i ng t h e b reast b one broil,. and showing other serious contusions in various Pl s T j ef It is understood that she had been separated from of husband for some time, who has been, in consequealip certain suspicious circumstances, committed to gaol ing the result of the coroner's inquest.—Cork Exatny'," o . APPREHENDED SCARCITY.—The Cork Reporter 0 9 4 10 , —"We m a y s t a t e on w h a t we d eem compe t en t 811 ` 6 01 rity, that the precautionary measures of the G o vernal oo d are on such a sca l e as t o a ff or d an amp l e sup ply of ti q when the ex i genc y ma y ar i se t o requ i re i t . The 4°111306 of Indian corn an d corn mea l a t presen t to b e dell/ e - 00 at the Ordinance s to re s i s 300,000 b us h e l s; b u t, 5 1 100 much greater supply be required, arran g e m ents bace m made by which it can be readily obtained. This viii.o4 at once manufactured at the Lea Mills, and storedqta will be sent fro m th s po r t i n G overnmen t stearlie„V where it may be wanted." From the Limerick Bel", we learn that two vessels, laden with Indian corD , Aer arrived in that port, a nd th a t severa l cargoes , by or'A e or the Government, were daily expected. Commissary ' s to; ral Coffin arrived in Limerick on Tuesday, to proctir e b elo rage for a quantity of corn. A public meeting 005 00 in Youghal on Wed nes d a y, f or th e p ur p ose of de g ilie means to provide ag a i ns t th e i mpen di ng scar citY• 0 0 4 e meeting were unanim ous ly o f o pi n i on th a t th e best ot , of meeting the distre s s was by p rocur i ng emp loYoe the labouring population.. EXTRAORDIN CASE OF OF ARY BREACH OF MARRIAGE.—A case of great importance, a tt fit volving some most extraordinary circumstance!' ?Pr tried on Saturday at the Middlesex sittings, •orl: Prius, before Mr. Justice Wi g ht man an d a special ty; in which the plaintiff, Mary Elizabeth Smith, sa e it Earl of Ferrars for a breach of promise of mar riage' re oiu; young lady, who is step-daughter of a Mr. Smith , y „jib ing in Warwickshire, was just past her 21st year , a " a , el: Earl, who is a nobleman of ancient f a mily, with l e o - itle r ~4 ,01 tates in that and some othe r coun ti es , was t w o yea—„ c e,r l The acquaintance of the p ar ti es , h owever , corneae"_d 1839, and was continued up to the period o f the o pi,i marriage in 1814, during which unequivocal P i ; is were alleged, and the letters containing them li tt 'a hv o f evidence. The defence was, that no promise 000! made, and that if there was, it had been mad e „ipiq A , minority. The witnesses examined for the rot'? proved the acquaintance and meetings, &c., o f thef t pe e , and the handwriting of the letters produced o r b eli e d i not of the most unimpeachable character. Fbe STi f fence it is understood that it will be urged t i c i f Ferrars never was acquainted with the young l a .a b ' e tri/ and that the letters produced are forgeries. after having lasted to five o'clock, was adjourned .4, yesterday morning. f ingif AUTOGRAPHS.—We have had the pleasure 0 e otai ing Mr. Levi's testimonials, which form a vohinloili , teresting and valuable autographs, being the bart` l r iego 3 of persons of distinction in this and other coo n ,' 0 „ 1 : 0 1, eluding many of the Royal Families of Eag,' a France. These credentials must be invaluable "" s kill Levi, as they bear testimony to the consumma te artiste possesses. 16.00 to • de 0 LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, v 0 0 4 The arrival of the steamer on Saturday ereng e t opening of the market a m a tter of curiosity. were received by various parties in different b e general opinion seemed to be, that the crop would u ri or e r average. Holders shewed their stocks freely. 10 ' 1 40 about the same as last we e k. Th e sa l es reached 4 yv to the trade. LIVERPOOL : TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1946 ' g lf PRINTED AND PUBLISHED al TUESDAY MOlt '- 11T in i JOSHUA FLETCHER LACE, of 53, Grovo-street LEONARD ADDISON, of 14, Great Orford-eu"„L' At N. 4, S. Gooses's CIUSICIINT, LIVIISTIP" EVERY