The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-02-08 00:00:00

alantcb. TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS, NlTANTElVl;;a7 . lKHiihifdk,ECdentlemanly, Well-Educated YOUTH, who would have an opportu nity of acquiring a knowledge of Reporting and Counting- House Business. Apply at the Office of this Paper. WANTED, by a Liverpool ARCHITECT, of ex tensive practice, a respectable and well-educated YOUTH, as a PUPIL Address to J. M A: modertite Premium wi Standard-office. WANTED, by a YOUTH, aced IS, respectably connected in Belfast, a SITUATION in a first-rate MERCANTILE ESTABLISH 3IENT, where a competent knowledge of that business may be acquired. Address to Was. NEWETT, Ship Broker and Coal Merchant, 9, Queen's-square, Belfast. LOANS OF MONEY. BOROUGH OF LIVERPOOL. T HE CORPORATION OF LIVERPOOL are prepared to receive LOANS OF MONEY, For Periods of Three, Fire, or Seven. Years, at 10s. per Cent. per Annum. Interest payable on the Ist of January and Ist July in every The Security is the " Liverpool Water Account," composed of the Rents, Rates, and Charges for the supply of Water within the Borough of Liverpool and the Neighbourhood for Domestic, Trading. Manufacturing, and other pnrposes, and for Shipping, THE BOROUGH FUND BEING A , OR COLLATERAL SECURITY FOR THU LANDS, TENEMENTS, HEREDITAMENTS, TIRE COP.PORATION FOR THE PRINCIPAL. Applications to be made to CAPES ASIILIN, Esq., Treasurer, Public -offices, 2, Cornwallis-street; or to the TOWN-CLERK, Town-hall, Liverpogl; from either of whom further particular may be obtained. By order, WM. SHUTTLEWORTH, Town-clerk Town-hall, 22nd January, 1853. AND THE INTEREST ND ESTAT.: LIVEP POOL DOCKS. TENDERS FOR STATIONERY AND PRINTING. THE COMMITTEE of the LIVERPOOL DOCKS do HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that they are ready to re ceive TENDERS for the supply of STATIONERY and PRINTING, which may required for the different Depart• ments of the D ock Estate. The -Contract to be for One, Two, or Three Ye ars, from the Ist - of 3,l — arch next, at the option of the Committee. The Tenders for Stationery and Printing must be made separately. Patterns of th e var i ous Books and Forms, and Samples of the qualities of the Paper, &c., in use, may be seen at the Offices of the respective Departments. Printed Forms of Tender, containing a List of the Articles, together with an estimate of the probable number or quantity annually required, may be obtained at the Office of the SE CRETARY, on and after MoxnAYnext,thepth February instant. Sealed Tenders, addressed to the Chairman of the Dock Committee" and endorsed "Tender for Printing," or " Sta tionery," must be sent to the Office of the SECRETARY, not later than WEDNESDAY, the 23rd February instant. By order of the Dock Committee. BAWL MASON, Secretary Dock-office, Revenue-buildings, February 71/i, 1853. TO he SOLD, a large HOUSE and SHOP, in a leading Street, together with Fourteen HOUSES at the Back. The Tenure is Copvhold. The present Rental is £194 Bs. Price, £2,300. The Tenant now occupying the House and Shop is willing to take them on a Lease for Seven Years, at a Rental of per annum. Apply to Messrs. BYFoRD and ANSDELL, 44, Dale-street. ALDWMIKE HALL, YORKSHIRE. TO be LET, FURNISHED, fit for the reception of a Nobleman's or Gentleman's Family. and may he entered upon at Lady Day ne x t, wilh the MANORS of ALDWARKE, wOODLAITHS, and DALTON, comprising extensive Woods and Plantations. Detached from the house are a range of C oach -houses and Stabling for thirty horses; also, Vinery and excellent Gardens. ' Forty-five Acres of LAND, chiefly grass, ThnY be had with the house, if required. Aldwarke Hall is two Miles from Rotherham and ten from Doncaster, and within easy reach of Mr. Lumley's and the Badsworth Hunts. i i "r further particulars application may be made to Mr. -.olDoicncsoN. Osherton. Worksop. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BANKING COMPANY. INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER, 1847. THE Court of Directors grant LETTERS of CREDIT and BILLS, at thirty days' sight, upon the Company's Bank, at Adelaide. The Exchange on Sums above - 'lO is now at a Premium or Charge of 2 per Cent. Approved Drafts on South Australia Negotiated and Bills Collected. Apply at the Company's Offices, No. 54, Old Broad-street, London or at the LIVERPOOL BOROUGH BANK, the Corn- Pany's Agents at Liverpool. PPlicatioo4' London, let February, 1853 Harria on the say Ocwald-std reet 71 ? e 't It:lining !Pi 3* with three of Fn (1-street, buildingt, ld of a u" WILLIAM PURDY, Manager, LIVERPOOL GOVERNESSES' INSTITUTION, 31, IS OPEN for th e RECEPTION of RODNEY-STEET L E ADIES , who are desirous of having a comfortable Temporary Residence. ENGAGE MENTS are arranged without Expense to either Party. Full particulars may be had on application to the Lady Su perintendent. NV. H. BAINBRIGGE, Honorary JOHN LIGHTBODY, I Secretaries. of Mr• I ° , condition pal Two v - OUGH, 0 s wh o nd Mr. leading the said pl i rds, or tb THE FEMALE JESUIT ABROAD. ti bellin. A 0 wn open! pe re.mentio 0 rds, or the (PROM A TOUR or INQUIRY THROUGH FRANCE AND ITALY BY EDMUND SPENCER, ESQ•) of Child° The next morning, at Capua, while breakfasting with our gallant friends, the waiter announced a French lady, the Countess de L —e, an elegant, lady-like, woman, who, although somewhat past the age of love and romance, might still be termed pretty. She stated that the object of her visit was to petition for a place in our carriage as far as Rome, and another on the outside for her servant, offering to pay her share of the expenses. She apologised, in the politest manner, for the intrusion, by saying, that being unprotected, she trusted the unsettled state of the country might he pleaded as an excuse for the liberty she bad taken; adding, that she knew by placing herself under the protection of Englishmen —a name synonymous with all that was brave and honourable—her safety would be insured. !ration to inEENoto, C.HRO/ .pooh NES. d$ r dispose be g D r i C " 0 1) :°;; InberreP 0 1 and WOW under re,i ;a, Itail o V ow used° Who could resist such a flattering speech ? My friend, whom we termed the philosopher of Boston, looked at his companion, the poet of New York, and both cast a searching glance on their English brother ; and presuming their feelings agreed with mine, and that denial was im posssible, we made our wishes and convenience submit, though, with shame I confess it, very reluctantly, to our gallantry. ine and i l' d quality' sold for a t n 1847, " K O nd of verpool Kith o' o 4 chester ad uction, The circumstance would have been too trifling to re cord, were it not illustrative of the social character of the country, and the protecting care with which a traveller is watched on every side by the secret agents of this most suspicious government. Before we quitted the hotel, a kind friend placed in my hand a slip of paper, in which he cautioned me to beware of the lady, as he knew her to be one of the most dangerous women in Italy—a perfect Jesuit in petticoats —a spy of the police, and that her ser vant was, in all probability, a priest. In addition to her personal charms, and great amiability of manners, our fair Jesuit, as a linguist, was admirably qualified to carry on any political intrigue with success. She spoke the Italian language almost with the fluency of asuntsateilveenhyshweealllsotok c n o e n w ve th rs e e nglish, German, and Spanish As may be supposed, it required a great deal of acting on m prt to mystify howev y era• • • so clever a woman. I succeeded, , drawing fro her an admission that she s engaged, with other pioum s French ladies of high rank wa , in endeavouring to convert the English aristocracy, while travelling on th e continent, to the Catholic faith. If her representations might be relied on, and I have no reason to doubt them, she was on terms of intimacy and corresponded with several of our great Roman Catholic families in England and Ireland. She spoke most affec tionately of her dear Lord and Lady Fielding, of those shining lights who had seen the error of their ways, and embraced the true faith—Messrs. Newman, Wilberforce, and Manning —and stated how instrumental she had been in their conversion, This, with her allusions to many other Persons of distinguished rank in England, suspected to be wavering in their belief of the doctrines of the Reformed Church, affording additional confirmation to the opinion I had long entertained, that a widely-spread organised conspiracy exists, the object of which is to undermine the Protestant faith of England. What the object of our fair countess could have been in thus unceremoniously introducing herself to our society, I could not discover. The two American gentlemen I travelled with spoke no other language than their own, except a little French ; she could not therefore suppose them to be political emissaries. Perhaps, in the first in stance, she concluded from my name that I was that great apostle of modern Romanism, Father Ignatius, on a pil grimage to Rome. Or it may be that, as French imagi nation often sees more than the reality, her suspicions in vested me with some character to which I was a stranger —a revolutionary agent travelling under a false name, or I know not what. However this may be, our amiable fel low traveller must have been speedily convinced that nei ther his Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies, nor his Holiness the Pope, had anything to fear from the propa gandising propensities of her fellow travellers ; and if she were really desirous of reaching Rome in any seasonable time, the distance we travelled each day must have been too short to meet her wishes ; there were a hundred objects of antiquity to be visited in a country where every inch of doe ground is interesting. Consequently, a ft er t wo d ays ' t tir oeY, she bade us adieu at St. A ga th a , w ith many ex aresions of gratitude o n h er s id e , an d o f regret on ours ; t'uti'vre once more expressed our thoughts, an d gave vent 011 ) 1E fe tlings, as if we were breathing the free air of dear n golnd. THE• L i on to Ind AC$ ...... rDON' 's of fished w~ 'e WINO e a Ai done e Lb Life P t e read} or Jars M e ;# bus , fi d , Mr. .I°P London' lers of ti° UPAI%' .reet standil l/f MILS' t , Per Ceo„, per An 6d• spec?, Is.exP; specig° Is. eXtri' first fi' A ai l A an— g gencie 1 ua ab ie o f ILL td, frc'" circle of g e i Z it ts T- - -Her Majesty is entertaining a large amongst whom are h the Duk r e . f a o n tln D ed u . chess °Fa N t et i o n u d r s s o . r, On Friday Macbet was pe the purp ose her Majesty held a Privy Council for "" e °f for the high-sheriffs for all the counties in England'agnd Wales, with the exception of Lancashire and Cornwall. A CABINET CouNctr, was held on Saturday, at the Foreign -office. The Earl of Aberdeen, the Lord Chan cellor, the Duke of Arg 11, Lord John Russell, the Duke Chan of Newcastle, Lord Palm y erston, Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Granville, and Sir William Molesworth attended. DpiniC 43 l Pill ° 0 at o trY • duri o i, uness A l d 1! 1 v t )lessrl rell THE LATE EARL OF BEAUCHAMP has left property to the amount of upwards of £ 700,000. THE Ilox. JANE FRANCES B I CKERSTETH, only daugh ter of the late Lord Langdale, succeeds to the family estate in Herefordshire of the late Earl of Oxford and Uortimer, who died without issue on the 19th ult. EARL GRANVILLE, Lord President of the Council, gave a grand dinner on Tuesday to the Cabinet Ministers and the great officers of state of the Queen's household, for the Purpose of settling the roll of sheriffs for the present year. h, do it " My d ear Frederick, do, pray, take your t Your pockets !"—Fred er i c k. " C ann ot hands In re,i dear ; all our me n at C am b r i dge wear t h e i r legs by taki g lralp.oncekeutts, 1" and I could n 't di sgrace th e col- fare ilS 'elf Al'. 'elf tlO, aroP,r A dentibsN:eirNe tz 1 ,19 l e q s cip e A DENTIST. k t eth of boe For And finds those Whom F ate has left without; provision fo h• n By pulling other peo r ple 7 s O o te ut I THE MINNESOTA PIONEER relates how a singer dis ocated his jaw in attempting to sing " highHe, .owever, got the school for which he was contending with arivgl si ng i ng - master, who did not attempt that note, and did not dislocate his jaw. the west. T hus music progresses in BEsnElLs c 'STITUTIO' h instruCtlO in to sub Mil, No. 10, 1 01 stant, at DO pies of the 0 dirP e of large is Royal it° Royal Hl t rom the n of the ;Hod, fronl he Blind, V Christ on' 'Rome, ate', the ClergYl' the 14tbi ll ! Cataloguet 4 o, at his VI previoUS LE FOR elve o'cloct i treet, on ; a P Bl together. ES; 15 LO ERTON. re Pim) tease )1u Glass )N, To -Y e Eleven if the excel' two Fe ts r lookcase o f sses in aii t o evings, Lad flair-c) vice, Chit a,, o Table, c,70 .ins, d with a Ct r ditto. P o inted Ches rers 111a1a 0 ad the wholl gues had P ON-ROAD that he ; iousekeePO; lth s, the IOW; )inner St; ;s, Gas Ch a p ing in a 50fa,,., 31 ; .Isonte tl lideboarke nniere, -r, k Windood and Fire:2', Sets of ' Ditto , sts of Dra g Tables, vr Ltstand, ~CF ul Kitcbett f Sale, all (11 rhitecliaP el. --1 ; Six o'cloc:, n, Castle ;, tions of so' be expected THE LTVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1853. L IVERPOOL MECHANICS' INSTITUTION SCHOOLS. I THE LOWER SCHOOL, 1 THE. HIGH SCHOOI I THE GIRLS' SCHOOL, I THE INFANT SCHOOL, and THE EVEING SCHOOL, ARE NOW OPEN. Pupils may be entered for the remainder of the half-year. A Prospectus, containing particulars as to terms, &c., may be had on application at the Institution. W. NICHOL, Secretary Mount-street, Ist February, 1853 TO CORRESPONDENTS. We shall be happy, at all times, to receive communications on subjects of local or general interest ; and if ourfriends their sip;na- will be good enough to authenticate the same tures, for our own satisfaction, we shall feel obliged Eiberpoot tanbarbf THE INCOME-TAX. WHATEVER may be the particular views of the new CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER on the vexed question of the Income-Tax, the subject must, perforce, occupy his attention, from the simple fact that the present Act will expire in April next, and the necessities of the Treasury imperatively demand its renewal in some shape, or a substitution for it. Notwithstanding that this impost bas now been borne for ten years, every succeeding year has in creased the objections to it, on the ground of its inequality, its injustice, and the evils inseparable from a system of direct taxation. The objectors, however, have generally confined their attention to details, and numerous have been the suggestions for rendering its pressure more equal, as though it must necessarily forma permanent source of national income; but they have left out of sight the strongest objection, which is to its continuance in any shape. When first proposed by the late Sir ROBERT PEEL, it was distinctly asserted to be a mere temporary expedient, in order to provide against a temporary deficiency of Revenue, and five years was suggested as its probable duration. It has now been sub mitted to for double that period, and yet, instead of agitating or boldly demanding its repeal, men talk and write of its permanent infliction as an inevitable necessity. It may be, and is urged, that the CHAN CELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER cannot spare so large an item in the Treasury receipts ; but this necessity has solely been created by constantly de voting any accruing surplus to the relief from indi rect taxes, in preference to that which all admit to be the most grinding and oppressive of any. Even now, when the surplus exceeds two millions, if the Income-tax were reduced one-half, and, at the same time, extended to a much lower limit—say £6O a-year, as was the case with the tax which ceased in 1816—a step would be gained towards its ulti mate abolition ; and what is more, it would press with far less injustice on the tax-paying class. During last year, a Committee of the House of Commons investigated the subject, and examined numerous witnesses as to the evils of the system, but their attention appears to have been confined to the distinction between precarious incomes and those derived from realised property, without turn ing a thought towards the only efficient remedy of abolishing the tax altogether. A measure, which if not practicable at once for financial reasons, might have been partially accomplished, by redu cing the rate from sevenpence to fourpence in the pound, with a prospect of diminishing it still further as the Exchequer was able to bear the loss of it. Such a remedy would have cut the Gordian knot of difficulties which seems to surround the question, have alleviated the injustice which all admit to be now inflicted, and reserved for the time of need a source of revenue which should only be resorted to in case of necessity. An able political writer in Blackwood's Magazine of this month has entered into an elaborate exami nation of the details of this question, which, from the necessity of its being soon brought under dis cussion in Parliament, is of more than ordinary interest. Unfortunately, however, he assumes the continuance of the tax to be a financial destiny which has become inevitable, and his arguments are based upon this assumption. Keeping this in view, he reasons most fairly that a distinction should be preserved between those evils which are inherent in the very nature of any Income-tax, and those inci dental defects arising out of the specific system of our present statute, which are more or less capable of being alleviated or removed. These evils he classifies as exemptions, the facilities of evasion, and the inequalities of the tax. In his objection to the first stated evil we readily concur, as no tangible reason has yet been shown why the limit of taxation should be pined at £l5O, except that dangerous principle,—which, no doubt, actuated the author of the measure—of lessening the number of objectors. It was the fear of the lower, and, therefore, the more numerous, class of the £lO householders in the towns which induced the shifting of the burden from their shoulders to the class above them. PITT, with more justice, and infinitely more moral courage, placed the limit as low as £6O a-year on uncertain incomes, and subsequently as low as £5O, while there was no exception on income from realised property. Had the same plan been pursued, not less than a million persons would have been subject to it ; but the PEEL policy was to buy off the opposition, and, therefore, only 340,000 persons now pay the tax, leaving 660,000 persons exempt, who would have been chargeable under Mr. PITT's Act. This is a crying injustice, which no argument can palliate, and is a proof of the mischief of that pressure from without which was perpetuated by the Reform Act. As the writer in Blackwood has well observed, it is the first and most essential general rule of every equitable system of direct or compulsory taxation, that its operation should be universal ; but the pre sent system is a direct robbery of those possessing incomes above £l5O, in order to save those whose incomes are below that amount from any payment whatever, although each derives the same relative share of the advantages of civil government. It is admitted, however, that so long as such a tax is necessary there should be some limit of exemption, and, as the amount assumed by Mr. PITT was above the limit of 20s. a-week, which was supposed to be required for actual necessaries, there is nothing in present circumstances which renders such a standard otherwise than a fair and a liberal one. Nor is such a system without example elsewhere, for in the United States exemption is unknown, and in Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Austria, the limit of exemption is very low. The second evil of the facilities of evasion is shown in the immense proportion of surcharges for deficient and absent returns, when compared with any other source of taxation. In allusion to this subject the writer we have referred to says : " Among the witnesses who appeared before the com mittee in the spring of last year, was a certain Mr. JEFFERY, draper of Liverpool, who had been delegated by the Financial Reform Association of that city to expound their views as to finance in general, and the Income-Tax in particular. In the course of his examination, he states it as his opinion, that if the tax were fairly adjusted, a false return would be a very rare thing indeed. On being asked what induces him to think so ? he replies, with a naive simplicity, which must have been quite refreshing to the committee in the midst of their disagreeable labours, " Because, when a man feels that he is fairly taxed, I believe it has been found he does not object to it." So charming a piece of innocence occurring in the midst of the most startling revelations of sy3tematic fraud on the revenue, looks as oddly out of place as a verse of Watts' Hymns in the Newgate Calendar. If there be any truth whatever in the worthy draper's charitable aphorism, the Income-tax must be the unfairest under the sun ; for never, surely, has such a mass of evasion and deceit been exposed to the public as in the volumes before us." He subsequently points to various modes of eva sion and direct frauds which have been practised, arid suggests several remedies for obviating this manifest evil. These are, that the Commissioners should have authority to order the production of books, in order to verify the statements of profits in trade ; that they should require an oath to all claims of exemption; that the returns under sche dule D should exhibit the gross amount of profits, and the deductions be claimed ; that the profits of every business should be returned in the division where it is carried on ; and that employers should make a return of all salaries paid by them. Such a mode of remedying the evil complained of would but increase the oppressive and inquisitorial nature of the burden ; but if it should have the effect of augmenting the opposition to the tax itself, it might so far prove beneficial, and, as in the case of Mr. DISRAELI'S proposal to double and extend the House-tax, open the eyes of the Free-traders to the evils of direct taxation, which they so loudly ap plauded until an attempt was made to apply it to themselves. In commenting on the third objection, as to the inequalities of the tax, the writer enters at some length into the theories which were advanced by certain actuaries who were consulted by the Com mittee, and who recommended a system of capi talising incomes of various kinds upon a" presumed estimate of their relative value. He shows the utter inutility of such a system to abate the alleged grievance, and concludes an essay which is entitled to careful perusal by a recommendation of the plan proposed by Mr. DISRAELI, to preserve the present distinctions and the separate schedules, and, while the tax on realised property is retained at the pre sent rate, to reduce that on other incomes one fourth, but at the same time to extend the area by lowering the limit of exemption. LIVERPOOL TOWN COUNCIL. MEETING YESTERDAY. The adjourned monthly and special meeting of the Council was held yesterday, the Mayor presiding. Before the regular proceedings commenced, Mr. Councillor BRADLEY denied that at the last meeting on Wednesday, he applied to Mr. Alderman Parker certain opprobrious terms, imputed to him in the Mercury of Friday last. The words " 1 will fight you," were applied by Mr. Parker to him (Mr. Bradley). The MAYOR said he did not hear the words. Had he heard them from that end of the room, he should have felt it his duty to require their instant withdrawal. THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE COUNCIL AND THE DOCK COMMITTEE ON THE WAPPING DOCK CONTRACT. ADJOURNED DEBATE ON THE After some discussion, as to whether the debate upon the Dock Committee's proceedings should commence de novo, Mr. Bigharn and other members being of opinion that it was desirable to re-commence the debate as a special Council, in order that the proceedings might be legal. The MAYOR asked if it was the pleasure of the Coun cil to have the whole of the Dock Committee's proceed ings read ? The TOWN-CLERK advised that at least that part of the proceedings on which the veto had been moved should be read. Mr. BIGHAM, in order to make themselves doubly sure, would have the whole of the proceedings read. The Mayoß.—Perhaps, in order to save time, the Council would consider them as read. (Cries of " Yes, yes.") _ . The Deputy TOWN-CLERK then read that part of the Dock Committee's proceedings on which the veto had been moved. After a conversation, from which it appeared that the MAYOR had not the power to prevent those gentlemen from now speaking on the question, who had addressed the Council on Wednesday last, his worship put it to the members who had already spoken upon the question not to go over the same ground again. The debate was then resumed by Mr. J. B. LLOYD, who vindicated the vote he had already given in favour of the veto. The more he thought upon the matter the more he was convinced that the Council came to a right decision upon the question. No one looking at the advertisement for the contracts, and taking it in connexion with the explanations since offered by the Dock Committee, could come to any other con clusion than that it was intended to deceive the Messrs. Baker and the public, and that, notwithstanding the advertisement, the Committee from the first in tended to execute the works by their own engineer ; and if that had been understood it was ncrt likely that they would have had a single tender pre sented to them. (Hear, hear.) But leaving this part of the question, he considered that Messrs. Baker's tender was, after all, the lowest, as it included all the casualties. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Lloyd, in continuation, contended that the very resolution come to by the Dock Committee (since the Council exercised the veto), offeting to compensate the Messrs. Baker for the expense to which they had been put in making out the tender, showed that the Council was right in the course it had taken, and that the Dock Committee was wrong. He had heard nothing to convince him that the Council was wrong in exercising the veto, and he should therefore vote for the confirmation of the veto upon the proceed ings of the Dock Committee with regard to this matter. Mr. AVISON, for the very reasons alleged by Mr. Lloyd, was of opinion that the Council ought not now to exercise its power of veto. The resolution passed by the Dock Committee, referred to by . Mr. Lloyd, supposed on the part of the committee that they had done the Messrs. Baker an injustice by not informing them in the adver tisement of their intentions with regard to their own sur.' veyor. It was on the ground of such an omission by the Dock Committee, that he (Mr. Avison) had supported the veto. But now the Dock Committee came before the Council in an entirely different. form. They had passed this resolution, seeing that they had done wrong, and called upon Messrs. Baker to inform them what expenses they had been put to in preparing their estimates. But what do Messrs. Baker do ? They said,—no doubt influ enced by certain parties in this town—" We will not agree to your proposition at all, but we will refer the matter to Mr. Stephenson or some other engineer." Their object, no doubt, was, in referring it to Mr. Stephenson, to get the contract. Now, as Dock Trustees the Council had no right to thrust any such terms upon the Dock Committee. The Dock Committee themselves were supposed to know what was the best course to pursue in the execution of their works, and he (Mr. A.) thought the Council ought to be very cautious before leaving such a question as this to the arbitration of an engineer. (Hear, hear.) On these grounds he had come to the decision to give a diffe rent vote to the one he gave on the last occasion. Mr. BRANCKER followed on the same side, being of opinion that as the Dock Committee had offered reparation to Messrs. Baker for the error they had committed, the works should now be allowed to proceed. He strongly urged this course to be pursued by the Council, on the ground that the trade of this port would sustain a serious loss if the works were not allowed to proceed. He shrunk from dwelling upon the dangerous and difficult position in which the port would be placed, if the Council now threw itself in the face of the Dock Committee. Mr. GARDNER was of opinion that the Council would stultify itself if it did not adhere to the veto. Rather than that he would say, let the Dock Committee take all the power into its own hands. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Moss, on the same side, said he hoped the Council would not be induced, by any temporising policy, to come to a different decision to that at which it had already arrived. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HENDERSON also supported the veto. Mr. lIALHEAD could not see his way clear to vote against the veto. He confessed he should have been extremely relieved if he could have voted the other way, but there was a principle in it, and the question ought to argued on that ground. (Hear, hear.) Mr. FERNIHOUGH. in a warm and energetic speech, also supported the veto, and after going into a number of statistics relative to the different tenders, in order to show that that of Messrs. Baker was the most advantageous, and ought to have been accepted, he defended the Council from the aspersions which had been cast upon several of its members, in the Dock Committee. Over and over again the Council had been told by certain members of the Dock Committee, and parties in the town having particular interests to serve, " If you veto the Dock Committee's proceedings, we will go to parliament, and take your powers from you!' That threat was nothing new, as every member of the council must know. He concluded by observing, that the consistency and dignity of the Council demanded of them that they should confirm the veto which they had already exercised. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Alderman MOLYNEUX was opposed to the veto in the present case. With respect to the veto, he agreed that it was very desirable the Council should possess the power to exercise it, but then it should be applied in a proper manner, and acccording to the common sense and justice of the case. In the present case he felt that the ' veto would not be exercised in accordance with discretion and common sense, and he feared that many parties had been carried away by a feeling 7 -he would not call it enmity—but by a feeling of jealousy, against the Dock Committee. (Hear, hear.) He hoped gentlemen would see the propriety of not vetoing the proceedings of the Dock Committee, seeing the resolution which had been passed with reference to the Messrs. Baker. Mr. LITTLEDALE expressed his intention of opposing, and Mr. John Gladstone of supporting the veto. Mr. TOBIN, in an argumentative speech, warned the Council against the consequences of now exercising the veto, and defended the Dock Committee from the charges which had been brought against them as to allowing Mr. Hartley to see the estimates, and then send in a second estimate. He showed that both Mr. Hartley's estimates were sent in at the same time, and opened at the same time as that of Messrs. Baker and the other gentlemen. He taxed Mr. Bigham with inconsistency in bringing forward a resolution in the Dock Committee, with the view of bringing about a settlement of the dis pute with Messrs. :Baker, and then coming forward in the Council to veto the committee's proceedings. Mr. Ald. BRAMLEY-AIOORE, whilst agreeing in the propriety of the Council possessing the power of vetoing the Dock Committee's proceedings, did not think that this was the time to exercise that power. He did not think the Council should hold out its authority by interfering with a body which was purely of an executive character, such as the Dock Committee was. (Hear, hear.) They (the Council) were not there to control the acts of the Dock Committee. The Dock Committee was the executive. The Council had already sanctioned the plans for the con struction of the new dock, and now lie thought it was theduty of the Council toallow the Dock Committee to carry out the plans in the beat manner. He (Mr. Moore) would dismiss Messrs. Baker entirely from this qnestion. The Dock Committee was the party to carry the contract out, whether it was with Messrs. Baker or any one else. This was not a question between Messrs. Baker and Mr. Hart ley, but the question was whether the Dock Committee was entitled to leave the execution of these works in the hands of their own well-tried servant. He therefore ap prehended that. if the Council considered their duty as trustees, they would confine their arguments to this part of the question. It was a well-ascertained fact that the Council could not initiate—that it could not recommend anything in dock matters—that it could only say yes orno— that its simple duty was to prevent awasteful expenditure. In doing that the Council was doing its duty to the town, and to the bondholders of the estate, and there the powers of the Council ended. (Hear, hear.) The speaker then at some length proceeded to combat the arguments made use of by Mr. Fernihough and other speakers in favourof the veto, and after defending the Dock Committee generally, including the course taken with reference to the Dock contracts, he concluded by asking the Council to reflect upon the injury they were inflicting upon the, inhabitants and the port by interfering with the progress' of these works. The accommodation that was required for the trade of the port in that neighbourhood was con siderable, for notwithstanding the Dock extension which had during the last few years taken place, it was notorious that all the Docks were now full, and here was one of the most important Docks in the town, which would open a communication from the south to the north, and which he believed would bring a very large amount of revenue to the Dock Committee, threatened in the stoppage of its construction by a dispute such as the one now before the Council. He left it to the Council to say whether they would, in these days of unrestricted competition—fa laugh) take upon themselves the responsibility of leaving those works in their present state.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. BIGHAM next addressed the Council in favour of the veto, and, in reply to the charge brought against him by Mr. Tobin, said he had determined to support stated the vet o on this occasion in consequence of its having been in the Dock Committee, since the veto was last exercised by the Council, that the works would be proceeded with in spite of it. • Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE in supporting the veto strongly condemned the wordinguostfthed in regarding th a t advertisement for e the tenders. The public were justified ifi advert i semen t as bona fide, and as intended to be acted upon. If it was not so, would any mem b er of that Council tell him by what right in law, or in equity, the Dock Com mittee could presume to sport with the interests of indi viduals ? It was to be presumed that Messrs, Baker could not have placed themselves in the position they had done, and make a correct tender, without incurring a considerable amount of outlay. They were strangers in this town, and he should lay they could not have lacuna an expenditure of less than £5O or £lOO. Was it to be said that such gentlemen were to be made mere sport or bye play, in order to inform the Dock Committee's Sur veyor what thework could be done for. (Hear, hear.) There was a trite saying that a man's word was his bond, but he would ask could that remark be reasonably said to be true when applied to the conduct of the Dock Committee in this matter ? He said that the proper construction of the advertisement was that the lowest tender would be accepted, and Mr. Tobin himself had just admitted that a little more care in the wording of the advertisement, on the part of the Dock Committee, would have prevented all this dispute. He (Mr. Gladstone) quite agreed with Mr. Tobin in that opinion. Perhaps Mr. Molyneuz would have said "a little more common sense," because the common sense, according to Mr. Molyneux, was all on the side of the Dock Committee. (Hear, and a laugh.) Now, he (Mr. Gladstone) thought that there was not only common sense in the Council, but he might add that it dared also to be honest. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. G.) was anxious for an adjournment of the last meet ing, for two reasons. He thought it would give breathing time to the Dock Committee, and also to the Council. He believed they had been told by the Chairman of the Dock Committee that, when they met on Thursday last, they did. not consider themselves in a position to do any thing in connexion with the matter, in consequence of the Council having adjourned to this day. Now, he quite dis agreed with such a conclusion. It was true that, as regarded the Council, it might be said that it was in a state of suspense, but there was this before the Dock Committee, whether it was prudent to persist in a course which was illegal, (Hear, hear.) The Dock Committee had said, notwithstanding the veto, that Mr. Hartley should go on with these works. The Council had said " No, we think you are bound to take the lowest tender, and that was Mr. Baker's." That was before the Dock Committee-, but their dictum had gone forth, and by it they said they would be bound. Now he should like the opi nion of the Town-Clerk as to whether the Dock Committee could stultify the acts of that Council. Mr. Bighatn had told them that Mr. North said in the Dock Committee, on Thursday last, " You can go on with the works, notwith standing the veto of the Council." We had, in fact, been told that the Dock Committee could do as they liked, and that was the long and short of the matter. Now if that was so, he (Mr. Gladstone) was not disposed to take upon himself the responsibility of having anything to do with the acts of the Dock Committee. He must confess that although he was one of those who would be happy to see a way of escape on this question, yet the arguments had not convinced him that he should vote differently to what he did on the last occasion. They had nothing for it but to come to the same decision they had already done, and to maintain their rights. (Hear, hear.) Mr. GUEGSON having said a few words in opposition to the veto, Mr. TURNER, M.P.. as chairman of the Dock Com mittee. replied. He said that, after the protracted debate that had taken place, it was not his intention to speak at any length, but it was right that he should correct one or two erroneous statements which had been made on the present occasion. He was a good deal surprised to hear from Mr. Lloyd such words as " deception" applied to the Dock Committee, looking at tha gentlemen who formed that committee. Mr. Turner reiterated his assu rance that the advertisement was issued with the intention of accepting any tender that might have been much below Mr. Hartley's estimates. Mr. Gladstone had used the words bona fide. He (Mr. Turner) repeated that the advertisement was bona fide. It was issued with the intention of giving the contract to some of the parties tendering, and there was no ground whatever for what had been openly stated by some, and in sinuated by others, that there was no intention of giving it to the contractors. If there had been a lower tender than Mr. Hartley's it would have been given to the party so tendering. He must say that with reference to this transaction the acts of the Dock Committee had not been discussed with that fairnesswhich he often had had the plea sure to witness on former occasions. Everything that had been done by the Dock Committee had been held up in a captious or an invidious sense. There seemed to be an impression that nothing that the Dock Committ ee cou ld do or had done on this question could be the right course. (Hear, hear.) With reference to the second resolu tion that was passed by the Dock Committee he did hope, when Mr. Bigham proposed that resolution, that there would be an end of the question altoge ther, and Mr. Bigham certainly led the committee to expect it. He said that lie thought it desirable to get rid of the matter. (Hear, hear.) Had they then not a right to expect that Mr. Bigham would, on this occasion, have been in favour of the views of the Dock Committee ? (Hear and laughter from Mr. Bighorn.) He (Mr. Turner) was at a loss to know what had changed Mr. Bigham. It had been stated that, since that resolution was passed, directions had been issued to go on with the works. Now, the fact was, there was no such resolution on the books, and it was not so. He had also examined the engineer, who said it was not so, Mr. BIGHAM—The words that fell from the Chairman of the Committee were, " You had better not go on with the works, Mr. Hartley." Mr. TURNER, in continuation, explained that the only works gone on with was the removal of the gridiron, which had already been sanctioned by the Council. The Dock Committee throughout had shown a desire to act in obe dience to that Council. At the last general meeting of the committee an unanimous opinion was expressed to the effect, that as the Council had vetoed the proceedings, the works ought not to be proceeded with, and as they saw injury was being done by the delay,he was asked to get the opinion of the Town-clerk as to the propriety of calling a special meeting of the Council for the purpose of altering their decision, and the Town-clerk gave his written opinion that a special Council could not be held. He repeated that they had shown a desire to show deference to the Council, but every step they had taken seemed to have been cora plaine.l of. He had felt a desire to promote harmony, and, therefore, he had felt very much hurt at the way in which his efforts had been met. He found that every act and every word were so turned and so twisted, as almost to make one doubt one's own actions. Mr. Fernihough had commented in strong terms on the lan guage said to have been made use of in the Dock Commit tee, towards some members of the Council. He (Mr. Turner) was sorry that such language had been used, but Mr. Fernihough ought to recollect that words fell from him at the last Council which were almost sure to provoke remarks in reply. In conclusion, Mr. Turner entreated the Council not to persevere in the veto—not to persist in a course which would inflict very great pecu niary loss on the Dock Estate of the town, and which would retard to an indefinite period that dock accommo dation which was so much wanted. The TOWN-CLERK having read an opinion he had re ceived from Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Mr. Cowling, and Mr. Alillward, to the effect that the proceedings of the Dock Committee were not complete until the Council had confirmed them, A division on the amendment for vetoing the Dock Committee's proceedings took place. The votes were— For the amendment 31 Against Majority The MAYott said that, as the majority on the amend ment did not amount to two-thirds of those present, the number required to veto the Dock Committee's proceed ings, the amendment was lost. The following is an analysis of the division : For : Messrs. Mellor, Woodruff, Bigham ,W. Nicholson, Bradley, Moss, Godfrey, Banner. Fernihough, J. Glad stone, jun. ' Toulmin, Clayton, M'Nicoll, Flemin g , Gard ner, It. Gladstone, Lloyd, Johnson, Picton. Nicholson, Hodson, Beckwith, Henderson, Horsfall, Halhead, Alder men Langsdale, Bennett, Preston, Parker, Bent, and the Mayor-31. Against: Messrs. Aked, Anderson, Thomson, Holden, Turner, Littledale, Tyrer, Holt, Avison, Tobin, Brancker, J. M. Wood, Stewart, Gregson, Boyden, Aldermen Holmes, Robinson, J. N. Wood, Bramley-Moore, Moly neux, and Chilton-21. The proceedings of the Courts of Law and St. George's Hall Committee, Markets Committee, Education Com mittee, Gaol and House of Correction Committee, Town hall Establishment Committee, Health Committee, Gar dens Committee, and Church Expenditure Committee, were severally read and confirmed. The procedings of the Water Committee having been read, a motion was proposed by Mr. Banner to supply several of the public charities with water at a reduced charge, and after some discussion was rejected. A motion by Mr. BXGHAM, that the committee prepare for the next meeting the present state of the Rivington works, was passed, and the prcceedings were then con firmed. Whilst the deputy Town-clerk was reading the report of the Library and Museum Committee, Mr. TEIOMPSON drew the attention of the Mayor to the fact of there not being a Council present; and, in consequence, the pro ceedings were somewhat abruptly brought to a close about half past three o'clock, there still remaining the reports of several committees to dispose of, besides me morials and other business which will have to stand over until the next monthly Council, unless a special Council is convened. [We are requested by Mr. A. Henderson to state, that as soon as the Dock Committee's proceedings were over, he went to Kent-street, to hear appeals against Corporation rates, and was engaged there up to half-past three o'clock. This will account for his absence when the Council was counted out.] THE ANTELOPE.—The Postoffice authorities have ad vertised that shipletter-bags will be made up for Australia by the steamer Antelope, which will leave Liverpool about the latter end of this month. THE EMIGRATION FEVER.—At the present moment there are advertised for sailing, from the port of London alone, to New South Wales, South Australia, New Zea land, and Van Diemen's Land no less than 98 ships, em bracing an amount exceeding 40,000 tons. f M elt on i d n ayne. CHURCH PASTORAL AID S OCIETY.—The anniversary wiliol;te s h e e e l m d o to n be .Sunday of this society ju dge from the sixty sermons announced. deputation this year consists of two clergymen from Liver pool,ltsclaiifmwse to w a s y u pp The London —the Rev. E. Auriol, Rector of St. Dunstan's, and the Rev. H. Hutton, to whose care the Duke of Bedford has entrusted the important parish of St. Paul's, Covent-garden. Cambridge supplies a third clergyman— the Rev. J. H. Titcomb, Incumbent of the populous parish of St. Andrew-the -Less, and one of the first who carried out successfully the plan of preaching in the open air. The Bishop of Chester presides at the meeting on Monday evening, and on Tuesday there will be a public breakfast at the Adelphi, at which the deputation will attend. THE GREAT CORN SWINDLER.—At the Central Cri minal Court, on Friday, R. F. Pries, 31, described as a merchant, of Crosby Hall Chambers, was arraigned on the charges of forgery which have recently created so much interest in the city. There were three indi c t men t s —th e first charging the prisoner with feloniously uttering a re ceipt for 7,323 quarters of wheat, whereby he obtained £lB,OOO from Messrs. James Holford and Co. The second indictment was upon a like charge for money obtained from another firm ; and the third was for obtaining £9,000 with intent to cheat Messrs. Tgnace, Schulhoff, and Co., bankers, &c., Gracechurch-street. The jury, after a mo ment's deliberation, returned a verdict of "Guilty." Mr- Baron Alderson then sentenced the prisoner to be tran sported for life. It was stated that the whole of the enor mous sums the prisoner had obtained had been absorbed in his extraordinary speculations in the corn. market, TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 8, 1853. THE SHIPPING INTEREST AND THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. MR. LINDSAY'S LETTER. WE called attention last week to an article in the Quarterly Review, commenting upon that portion of the late Budget which referred more immediately to the proposed relief of the Shipping Interests. The defence of the EX-CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER has since been taken up by Mr. W. S. LINDSAY, a Shipowner who has been disappointed in his Parliamentary aspirations; and his attack on the Quarterly writer has been endorsed by The Times, in that anti• Conservative spirit which cha racterises most of its lucubrations. The key to Mr. LINDSAY'S elaborate letter may be found in his great anxiety to laud that portion of the Free trade policy which left British Shipping open to competition with foreigners ; and all the foundation of his argument is the simple fact that during the last year there has been a great increase in the ton nage employed. This he attributes, in his party zeal, to the repeal of the Navigation Laws ; whereas, if he had been as candid as he is confident, he might have seen sufficient cause in the immense impetus to emigration, owing solely to the discove ries of the gold fields in Australia, and indebted in no way to the changes in our commercial policy. He proceeds to argue upon the various points touched upon by the reviewer; but a little more than a superficial examination of his reply will show that he has wandered from the question at issue, and really given no answer at all. Upon the question of Light-dues, he leaves out of view that the proposed relief was from the interest paid for the purchase of private lights, which it was shown has been reduced to a very small sum,—and from the charities contributed by the Corporation of the Trinity House, which are exclusively for the benefit of decayed mariners; and coolly suggests that the expense of maintaining light-houses should be borne by the State, although they are for the exclusive benefit of the Shipping interest. But while such a proposition is talked of as a relief to the Shipping interest, it must not he forgotten that it can prove no compensation to British Shipowners for the repeal of the Navigation Laws, as it would be shared equally by foreign Shipowners who take part in our trade. In the question of passing tolls, Mr. LINDSAY is equally unfortunate in his objec tions ; for, whatever may be the respective value of Ramsgate and Dover as harbours of refuge, the charge, as we stated last week, is only one half penny a ton, and that, so far from being a burden upon the Shipowner, is repaid by the owners of the cargo. The objection to the proposed alteration in the system of Pilotage, this Liberal champion of the Conservative Minister disposes of by the simple assertion that an outward Pilot would make the re tureVoyage at a cheaper rate on the ground of his being on his way home. He, however, leaves alto gether untouched the stronger objection that such a mode of competition in this important branch of the maritime service would weaken, if not altoge ther destroy, the maintenance of an efficient body of Pilots in the outports, which now forms such a va luable aid to vessels on homeward voyages. There may certainly be a saving in the cost of a Pilot, but it will prove a miserable economy when a ship with a valuable freight may have to depend upon the chance of meeting with a Pilot on his way home. The question of Salvage is disposed of with like infelicity. He does not meet the arguments of the Reviewer that the crew of a man-of-war are entitled to be paid for services rendered to a merchant-vessel in distress, which are extra from their ordinary duties, but cites certain instances in which he alleges sums of money disproportionate to the ser vices rendered were demanded and paid. The abuse of a system is but a weak argument against its fair and legitimate use, and yet upon this Mr. LINDSAY appears to rely in order to sustain his at tack upon the Quarterly Reviewer. Let us, how ever, look upon the probable, or rather possible, effect upon the abolition of all'compensation in cases of assistance rendered by a Royal ship to a merchant-vessel. We can readily understand, apart from the promptings of humanity, the zeal which would animate the crew of an ordinary vessel to risk their lives in the attempt to rescue a ship from danger, in the largeness of the reward which is almost certain to follow their success. But can we expect the same anxiety to encounter the hazard which ordinarily attends such enterprises in the seamen of the Royal Navy, if the law should de prive them of all compensation for their services ? There is certainly a distinction to be drawn between the two cases ; but reward should always follow extra services, or they will be at best but grudgingly performed, and perhaps refused altogether when most needed. That part of Mr. DISRAELI'S statement which proposed a remedy for the Shipowner for sailors taken on board ships-of-war, Mr. LINDSAY stig matises as " moonshine ;" but he would go a step farther, and deprive the men of the right they now enjoy of leaving the merchant-ship for the Royal Navy. He writes in the true spirit of a Shipowner who has no regard to any other interest than his own—a quality not common to his class—and would deprive the seamen of a privilege which, after all, would only he resorted to in an extreme case. His concluding 'remarks about manning the Navy are dictated in the same spirit of selfish mo nopoly which he professes to decry in every other class. He admits that though Shipowners have the right to man their vessels with one-fourth foreigners, yet not more than one-sixth, or even one-eighth of the seamen employed belong to other countries. Notwithstanding this, he would open the door to the indiscriminate employment of Danes, Swedes, and Germans, in order that British seamen may be brought to a due sense of the benefits of competi tion, and be driven to enter the Royal Navy from their being less required in the Merchant service. The whole tenour of Mr. LINDSAY'S appeal seems based upon the assumption that the activity of the Shipping Trade—which is mainly, if not solely, owing to emigration—will be of permanent duration ; and still further, he claims for his own class advan tages at the expense of the class dependent upon it. In this respect he has shown neither judgment nor justice, and would have been more usefully employed, if he had devoted the great experience for which he claims credit to devise some means by which the prosperity of the Shipping Interest should have been placed on a more permanent basis. Apart from the emigration mania, which has proved a temporary relief, the British Shipowner has been placed in unfair rivalry with :the cheaper built and cheaper manned ships of foreigners, and the in justice will not be remedied by extending it to British seamen, MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. THE resumption of the business of the Session of Parliament will take place on Thursday next, under the new Administration, whose policy and whose principles have yet to be discovered. The first business may be the issue of such writs as have been rendered necessary by recent changes; but, even supposing that the principal Ministers hold the places they have accepted, there is much to be learned as to the sacrifice of principles which have enabled them to do so. The public will be naturally anxious to know whether Mr. GLADSTONE has become more Radical, or Sir JAMES GRAHAM more Conservative; whether Lord ABERDEEN has gone over to Lord JOHN RUSSELL, or the latter returned the compliment; whether Sir WILLIAM 'MOLES WORTH has given up his crotchet of the Ballot, or the PEELITES conceded it; whether, indeed, amidst this fusion of antagonistic opinions, there is likely to emanate any one intelligible principle. The Times, with a nonchalance which is amusing, supposes the difficulties of the Budget to be got over, and predicts a course of easy sailing in legislating upon petty reforms. The suggested measures are,—a system of Decimal Coinage, which has no other practical value than upon paper; the ge neral management and administration of Railways; the reform of the Customs; the London coal-tax; and the sanitary improvement of the metropolis. Why not have added the encouragement of clair voyance for the detection of crime, the ocean penny postage, and the promotion of universal happiness ? It may be asked, is it for this that the Conservative party have been over thrown, to substitute an Administration of "all the talents ?" But before an approach can be made to such a conglomeration of petty legislation, the first step has to be got over; and this may prove, as in many other undertakings, the chief difficulty. Finance has been the greatest stumbling-block to Whiggish Ministers from the first time they tried their hands at it, and there is nothing in present circumstances to make the task of constructing a Budget more easy. The ominous appearances of war are admitted by all but the braggarts who fret their little hour upon the Manchester stage, and the national defences must be provided for; nor will the unfulfilled promises of the Radical part of the Ministry, for some measure of Parliamentary Reform, be suffered to fall to the ground by their ultra adherents. To divisions within the Cabinet will be added the powerful phalanx of the Con servatives in Opposition ; and the Romish Brigade, though deserted by the two or three who have been bought over, threaten to turn the scale against the ABERDEEN mixture. All these obstacles will have to be surmounted, before a step can be taken in the direction pointed out; and long before that time we may hope to see a change which will put Liberalism in the minority, and restore the Con , L i servative voice of England to its constitutional position. The battle has once more to be fought, and our Representaves will best perform their duty by ridding the country of its present rulers. THE TIMES' MENDACITY. WITH all the pretensions of The Times to be the leading journal of Europe, there are few who place the slightest reliance upon its adherence to truth, while its inconsistency has become proverbial. There are, however, occasions, when the extent of its mendacity, and the grossness of its perversions, are such as to justify particular allusion to them. It is well known that one of the greatest faults of Lord JOHN RUSSELL and his party was that direct encouragement of Romish heresy which led to the notorious aggression, and that the only real check interposed has been by the Conservative party. Yet, in the face of such glaring facts, of which none can be ignorant, The Times of Friday accuses Lord DERBY and Mr. DISRAELI of having been ready to concede to the most groundless, clamorous, and most despicable influences more than Whig, Tory, or Peelite had ever conceded before. All this virtuous indignation, which strongly resembles the morality of a faded harlot, has been excited by the simple fact that the Ultramontane party in Ireland, in their hatred to their treacherous allies the Whigs, preferred the Conservative can didate at Carlow, to the renegade Mr. SADLEIR. With true Jesuitical craft, the Irish Romanists have shown their teeth to the new Administration, for they know their value, and are determined to abate nothing of the full price for their ad herence. They have therefore changed their tactics into laudations of the Ministers they helped to outvote, and for this the leading journal of Europe attempts to fix a foul charge upon the Conservative leaders, whose sincerity and zeal for the preservation of the Protestant faith it knows not how to appreciate. With a mockery of candour, which increases the enormity of the slander, The Times professes to admit that Lord DERBY and Mr. DISRAELI are not to be blamed because they receive the praises of the Tablet, and then proceeds to justify the calumny by the paltry pretext, that the late Government consented to Mr. Serjeant SHEE'S Tenant-right Bill for Ireland being referred to the Select Committee to which the ATTORNEY GENERAL'S Bills on the same subject were referred. Of the falsehood of this charge, the writer must have been fully aware, as it was well known that the consent was given without the slightest intention to admit the principle or the details of the Bills, but simply to save the time of the House from a vexa tious discussion, which was threatened by the Irish members, and which would seriously have inter fered with the progress of public business. And yet, upon this simple fact, so artfully perverted, The Times has the audacity to charge a Conserva tive statesman with having " come forward with a law wresting from the landowners the possession of land, and bestowing it on persons having no claim to it except a contract for its occupation." Such an instance of malignant slander is a disgrace to the British newspaper press, and shows the extent to which the exercise of unlicensed power may be carried. LCTEURES AT ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.—The Rev. W. F. Taylor has announced his intention of delivering a course of anti-Papal lectures in St. John's Church, on the Tuesday evenings during Lent. The first lecture on this evening. Subject : " The Apostacy." REPRESENTATION OF BLACKBURN.—It is reported that Mr. Eccles, M.P. for Blackburn, is about to resign his seat, and it is also confidently stated that addresses will be issued in a few days from Mr. W. H. Hornby, in the Conservative interest, and Mr. Montague Fielding in the Radical interest. Viscount Duncan, it is also reported, is likely to come forward. THE REV. DR. COOKE, of Belfast, preached two ser mons in Islington Presbyterian Church, on Sunday. The discourses were characterised by the doctor's usual bril liancy and power. The congregations on both occasions were crowded, especially in the evening, when many were unable to gain admission. The collections, including £1 from Mr. Joseph Neal, of Hanley, who was unable to atteild f =Milted to 485.