The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-03-22 00:00:00

THE SEA-BOY'S FAREWELL Wait, wait, ye winds! till I repeat A parting signal to the fleet Whose station is at home; Then waft the sea-boy's simple prayer, And let it oft he whispered there, While in far climes I roam. Farewell to Father! reverend hulk, In spite of metal, spite of bulk, Soon may his cable slip; But while the parting tear is moist, The flag of gratitude I'll hoist, In duty to the ship. Farewell to Mother! "first-class Who launched tni And rigged me May Providence her timbers spare, And keep her hull in good repair, To tow the smaller craft. Farewell to Sister, lovely yacht! inn y sea, fore and aft cannot now fore May some good ship a tender Well found in stores of truth And take her Farewell to G e - craft atioaf In home's delig' Alien they arriv at sailing, sclOm give the And Guide Them on their way Farewell to all ! on life's rude main Perhaps we ne'er shall meet again, Through stress of stormy weather But, summoned by the board above, We'll anchor in the port of lOve, And all be moored together! LITTLE THINGS, From the paths of virtue, Oft in sin to stray. Little drops of water, Little grains of sand Make the mighty ocean, , Littre deeds of kindness, And the beauteous land. Little words of love, Make our earth an Eden, Like the heaven above. And the little moments, Humble though they b , Make the mighty ages Of eternity. Little seeds of mercy, Sown by youthful bands, Grow to bless the nations, Far in heathen lands. Lead the soul away LITERATURE. Boons FOR REVIEW, &c.—Books, New Prints, Music, &c., intended for review, may be left at Mr. C. Mitchell's, Red lion-court, Fleet-street, London, addressed " to the Editor of the LivEnroot STANDARD," when they will be forwarded and receive attention. ",11y Novel," by Pisistratus Caxton; or, Varieties in Enylish Life. In four volumes. William Black ciood and Sons, Edinburgh and London For many months past, in common with thou sands of our countrymen, we have turned eagerly on magazine day to the pages of Old Ebony, not for the purpose of plunging at once into the pro found speculations of Alison—not to revel in merriment at the laughter-moving wit of young Aytoun, the laureate of the Scottish cavaliers—nor yet to enjoy the now unfrequent contributions of the glorious "old man eloquent," who, as Christo pher North, is known and loved over the wide world. No ! all these attractions were unheeded, until we had devoured the fresh chapters of the English tale, by Sir Bulwer Lytton. And now that " My Novel" lies completed on our table in the shape of four fair volumes— and we renew acquaintanceship with the fa miliar tale —we cannot help admiring the ex emplary patience which for so many months we must have exercised. For, sooth to say, "My Novel," though a big portentous book, is one that, having once taken up, you cannot well lay aside. Yet is it free from all those sources of false excite ment which too often taint the page of modern fiction; and we can commend it for qualities which are not to be found in the most popular novels of the day. It is not filled with impossible angels in human form, like the creations of Dickens, neither is it pervaded by the false sentiment and the total lack of vital religion which are the prominent features of that author's writings. Except with womankind occasionally (and here he speaks more in jest than earnest, we hope), Bulwer Lytton does not survey the world with the cynical sneer of a Thackeray, unlike the true poet, finding " evil in everything." His paintings are faithful the colouring natural, warm, and lifelike. Though mo delled on the works of Sterne, and interlarded with some very learned and some very Germanesque pas sages which could owe their paternity only to the author of " Zanoni," "My Novel," in many par: s, delineates English rustic life and the recesses of the human heart, as we find that life delineated and those recesses revealed by the unsurpassed pen of Oliver Goldsmith. One remarkable feature of the work is the vast number of characters introduced, and the striking individuality and con sistency preserved throughout—the intricacy of the plot, or rather series of plots, and the distinctness with which all those characters are brought together, and the natural way in which all these plots con verge in one denouement. An ordinary author would have manufactured a score of three-volume novels or a thousand shilling numbers from the materials which Bulwer Lytton has lavishly, and in the plenitude of his extraordinary powers, bestowed upon a single book. The result must assuredly be that "My Novel" will descend to posterity—a most enduring monument of one who, whether as a scholar_or a poet, is equally an ornament of our country and the nineteenth century. To indicate the nature of the plot is unnecessary. Those who are yet unacquainted with the book must make themselves familiar with its delightful pages. We promise them a rich harvest of pleasure and substantial benefit. The young student will there learn that " knowledge is power," only when sanctified by the holiest purpose—when Self is utterly ignored, and God becomes the object of his adoration. He will witness, in the terrible career of Randal Leslie, that fearful bloodless tragedy, how man may amass knowledge and develope the intellect to the highest possible pitch, and yet, losing his own soul, render that knowledge a curse instead of a blessing. The youth venturing into the world of literature will learn, by poor John Burley's fate, to avoid the life-destroying influence of that liquid falsely supposed to yield inspiration. With Festus, he will resolve to dash the winecup to the earth, convinced that— " ft is not worth A soul's great s The wine must sink into the earth, ul must rise!" The soul, the Country squires will benefit by the revelation of the Hazeldeans' daily life ; the peasant will learn to be charitable to those who are their superiors in the social scale ; while the owner of broad acres will desire not to judge the poor labourer in the fields hastily or with harshness ; the spiritual shepherd will be shewn the path of duty, and taught how great a blessing he may prove, if he only wills it, to his people ; the struggle of the brave Leonard will strengthen many a young heart, and show how the battle of life may best be won by self-help and a firm reliance on God ; the people will find that all statesmen are not selfish men, intent upon their personal aggrandisement and the nation's ruin ; and among all classes of men the work will inspire love an d hope. We could wish to see a copy of the book, if not at every cottar's fireside, at least in every village i bran, t will be perused venerable prelate ; it will find a nook in many a quiet parsonage; in the gay halls of the wealthy it will carry its sweet, healthy influence; it will convey gladsome pictures of the country into our busy towns ; and in coming days reveal faithfully to the historian what English life was in the mid dle of the nineteenth century. The Peerage and Parliamentary Director and Co., Lond on . Published under the patron age of Her Majesty's Postmaster-General, this work is designed as a sup plement to the Post-office London Directory. lt i not only a peerage and parliamentary directory, cor rected to the date of publication, but it is also a postal directory, and contains much useful information of a miscellaneous character. The town residences during the session of 1853, and the country seat of every peer and member of the House of Commons in the new parliament, with the offices held by each, are supplied with the utmost accuracy and care. The book is cheap, yet correct in its multi farious details, and very neatly printed. It ought to be adopted as a standard in public offices, and it may be confidently relied on by those who re quire a ready book of reference on the subject of postal arrangements, or that of members of par liament and the peerage. Ke)ly Matthew Paris's English History. London : H. G. Boh n . Of the valuable services which M r . B ohn has rendered by his cheap editions of classical English literature we have more than once spoken, an d none who knows how to appreciate the treasures of his mother tongue will deny the weed of p ra i se which belongs to him. Of the various series w ith which hi s name i s po p u larly identified, the Anti quarian Library, of which the work before us important, inasmuch a part, i s b y no means th e l e ast inasmuch as the works of the ancient writers are the least accessible, few cop i es ex i s ti n g and those treasured in libraries, beyond the reach of the ordinary student. We have now the old black letter chronicles, over which the antiquary loves to pore in innocent enthusiasm, put into readable type and language, and published at a price which brings them within the rea c h of all who thirst after this kind of Inowledge. The present number of this series is the second volume of the English History, by that quaint old chronicler, Matthew Paris, the ,period treated of being from the year 1235 to .1273. It has been translated from the Latin by the 'Rev. J. A. - Giles, D'.C.L., and as it has often been quoted as an authority by modern historians, there are many who will, no doubt, gladly seize -the opportunity of making the re ference for themselves. Storks of Ezglish and 'Foreign Life. London H. G. Bohn. The work before us, which is profusely. illustrated with engravings, is the.joint production of William and Mary Howitt, and forms one of the attractive series of publications known as " Bohn's Illustrated Library." Although William Howitt is no favourite of ours, yet there is much which he has.written in a peculiarly attractive form, and he has treated of subjects which 'have always an interest and a charm for a thoroughly English reader, while Mary Hewitt is still more popular among a very numerous class. We may therefore safely predict for this work a very extensive circulation, particularly as it is brought out in a neat, compact form, with all the appliances which Tender modern publications so attractive in appearance, and at a price which places it within the reach of almost all. Milton's Prose Works. (London: Henry G. Bohn.) The fourth volume of the prose works of John Milton contains the first book of a treatise on Christian doctrine, ,compiled from the Holy Scriptures alone. The original manu script of the work, in Latin, is supposed to have been deposited, from motives of friendship, in the hands of Cyriack Skinner, and afterwards all traces of it were lost until the latter part of 1823, when it was discovered by Mr. Lemon, in the course of researches in the Old State Paper-office. in White hall. The present translation is by the Lord Bishop of 'Winchester. Dr. Sumner has revised and cor rected the work for the new edition, which is printed correctly, and bound in a neat and sub stantial manner. The Steam Nary. Lonbn : Saunders and Stanford. A pamphlet, by Commander lloseason, R.N., in the form of a letter to the First Lord of the Ad. miralty, on the application of screw-propellers to sea-going-line-of-battle-ships. The author gives many interesting details as to the comparative advantages of various applications of steam-power, and argues that for national defences it were better to use large steam-ships to tow men-of-war into action, than by placing either small engines on board the latter, which effect little as regards speed, or large ones, which gives them too great a weight in engines and fuel. Chambers'e Edinburgh Journal. London and Liverpool : Orr. Among the contents of the part just issued of this popular periodical we may notice " Climate and Health in Australia ;" "Storm Phenomena, Cyclones;" " Glass Walls," a subject interesting to horticulturists ; " The Queen's Money-makers," a description of the Royal Mint ; an account of " The Grape Blight " in Madeira ; and an interest ing description of "An Oldfashioned Swedish Wedding." Intellectual and Moral Development of the Present Aye. Edinburgh and London; Blackwoods. The origin of this little work was a request to the author, Mr. Samuel Warren—better known as the author of "The Diary of a late Physician"—to lecture at the Mechanics' Institute of Hull ; and the greater part of it was read on the 28th of last December. The author argues for the intellectual development of the age, not so much in literature, as in scientific discoveries; in astronomy, geology, chemistry, electricity, &c.; and in his own beau tiful language he shows the testimony which they bear to the truth of Revelation. We do not un hesitatingly coincide with all his opinions, but we cordially commend his work to general perusal, for that genuine Christian spirit which pervades it. It is, indeed, the grlceful tribute of literary genius to the truths of religion. The Dodd Family Abroad. No. VII. London Chapman and Hall. Kenny Dodd the Elder, mystified by the mysterious Mrs. Gore Hampton, elopes from his wife and family to accompany her on a gallant expedition in Germany, and for his pains is put in Galignani as an old reprobate, and branded by his wife as a monster. Kenny's epistle, touching this unlucky adventure, is about the raciest piece of wit ever penned by the humorous Harry Lorrequer. Some of the passages describing the scenery of the Rhine are really eloquent, while scattered through.. out the letter there are not a few suggestive and thoughtful remarks. SOCIAL TRANSACTIONS ABROAD. It may sound very strange that we should have formed such a close alliance while in ignorance of these circum stances, and, doubtless, in our own country, the inquiry would have preceded the ratification of this compact, but the habits of the Continent, my dear Tom, teach very different lessons. All social transactions are carried on upon principles of unlimited credit, and you endorse every bill of passing acquaintanceship with a most reckless disregard to the day of presentation for payment. Some would, perhaps, tell you that your scruples would only prove false terrors. My own notion, however, is less favourable, and my theory is this : you get so accustomed to " raffish " intimacies, you lose all taste or desire for discrimination; in fact, there's so much false money in circulation, it would be useless to " ring a particular rap on the counter." THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 1853. more minute inquiry, before any one of the Polytechnic Society would venture to say .it would be prudent to adopt the scheme. But though we are not, perhaps, as a society, or individually, prepared to endorse the estimates as they have been presented to us, yet it is within our province to recommend the scheme on every other account to the Dock Committee, or any public company, whichever may be considered best to carry it out. Some of the most important details of the case may be profit ably discussed, but which have nothing to do with the great question now before us as, to whether we approve of the scheme or not in its main points. On this my own opinion is most decided, and, as a member of the Polytechnic Society, it is my duty to say I most cor dially support ➢fr. Grantham on the main question, without being bound to his details. 1 must beg respectfully and with deference to differ with him as to the mode of working the proposed railway. My own im pression is, that the plan lie proposes of propelling the trains by several fixed engines and several endless ropes—which has been proved in the Blackwall case to be too expensive —and, having the required rope in short lengths, is not an improve ment upon the Blackwall system, and would be found too ex- pensive in practice. And as to locomotive power, it has been presumed would be too dangerous for the purpose. In this I am disposed to agree, and on this account I shall propose ano- ther plan, which I think will commend itself to general ap proval, 'because it is not only less expensive than any other plan, being altogether free from loss by friction, but readily applicable to work the discharge and loading of ships. My belief is, that by the plan I shall endeavour to explain it could be worked by two powerful engines—one fixed at the north end and the other at the south end of the line. Now, the principle I am about to introduce to your notice is not the atmospheric of South Devon that proved so disastrous, nor that now at work between Kingstown and Dalkey, which has continued to work so well ; but what I shall recommend to your notice is that of Cunningham and Carter's patent, by which you have a perfect tube, and not that of the longitudinal valve and slide- It will be difficult to convey the plan to you in words. I will, however, attempt to explain what I mean—which, as Cunning ham and Carter say—a sound air-tight main pipe of sufficient size, extended throughout the line beneath the surface, and a partial vacuum maintained therein by the stationary engines placed at each end of the line. In a doubleline of railway three wheels are fixed horizontally on the road above the rails, and at right angles with them—one wheel being placed within and filling the centre space, and the other two, say 6 feet in diameter, outside the rails. Each carriage is provided with traction or friction rails attached outside its wheels, and extending its whole length on both sides. Propulsion is caused by these rails being brought into contact with the peripheries of the horizontal wheels, which at the proper moment are made to revolve with the required velocity by the simplest machinery, acted upon by the vacuum through branch pipes connected with the main, the action ceasing when the train has passed. The vacuum being maintained, trains may be started at any moment, and the amount of power used proportioned to the train and speed required. The arrangements for starting, stopping, backing, and crossing the line, are simple and effec tive; and authorised persons on the roadside may be ern powered to stop the trains, independent of the conductor. This mode of propulsion is a saving of a very large propor tion of working expenses, and in wear and tear of rails and road. Besides this, the same power can be applied with the greatest facility to the use of ships next to the railway for hoist ing and lowering cargo as may be required, and with the greatest safety. The economy in the application of this power would, no doubt, be very great, and at least worthy of the best consideration of the town. I trust my remarks may at least provoke discussion.—l am, Sir, yours, respectfully, WILLIAM RO WETT. DESECRATION OF THE LORD'S DAY. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Slll,—As I was passing along Scotland-road yesterday morn ing, a little before ten o'clock, the congregation was coming out of St. Anthony's Romish Chapel, and my attention was directed to a crowd collected close by its gates. On crossing the road, I found a man vending tracts at the price of one penny each, and announcing the title-page at the top of his voice. The publi. cation in question was (as far as I could gather from the state. ment) "a full and correct account of the conversion of Lord Charles Thynne from the errors of Protestantism unto the bosom of the glorious and Holy Church," and met with a brisk sale, principally from the congregation as they emerged from the chapel. A little distance lower down was another man ex posing for sale a large sheet of coloured woodcuts, the principal of which were a portrait of his Holiness Pope Pius the Ninth, a representation of our Saviour on the Cross, and the Adora tion of the Virgin Mary. The previous Sunday I witnessed similar proceedings. Now, it occurs to me that as the police have particular in structions to prevent the vending of oranges, apples, Sze., in the streets on a Sunday, even when unaccompanied by a dis sertation upon their merits, they ought also to be instructed to prevent the sale of such publications as I have described. The same rule which applies to apples ought to apply to basks; or, if there is to be an exception at all, it ought to be in favour of the fruit, seeing that most people agree in opinion as to its good qualities, while the two prints referred to are at least questionable as to their character.—l am, Sir, yours, most res- pectfully, Liverpool, March 21, 1853 . ST. JOHN'S CHURCH J. R. 13 RAGGED SCHOOLS, HODSON-STREET. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Sra,—The Rev. W. B. S. Mathias, curate of St. John's Church, in a letter inserted in last Tuesday's Standard, says : It is a " mystery" how the compiler of the tabular statement of the attendance at the various places of worship in Liverpool obtained his information as to the above-named schools. Will you kindly allow me, in the same public manner, to. state that I obtained the information from Mr. Parsonage, the clerk of St. John's Church ; that before the publication of the letter in question, Mr. Parsonage informed the Rev. W. B. S. Mathias that he had furnished me with those particulars; and that also, before the publication of the letter, the Rev. W. B. S. Mathias had censured his clerk for giving so small a return. The " mystery" is not as to who gave the particulars, but how a clergyman, under the circumstances, could so far forget himself as publicly to pretend ignorance on a subject on which he had been privately fully informed.—Yours, &c., 218 t March, 1853 JOHN CALDERWOOD P.S.—I ought, perhaps, to state that, on Friday last. I attended the Ragged Schools in Hodson-street, when the number present was 101. The return complained of gave the average attendance at SO. The clerical and lay superintendents stty the average is 150 to ISO. --~- THE REV. DR. M'NEILE AND HIS REVILERS To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD Sin,—Eighteen hundred and fifty-three has scarcely dawned, when the Papal flag flaunts over Liverpool. The chapel bell summons the faithful, to gladden their sight with the spectacle of ecclesiastics about to constitute themselves into a secret synod—a synod now held for the first time in England since the Reformation. As the crcwd swells in the busy thoroughfare, lo!! a wide space is cleared for the approaching carriage, to which all eyes are directed. And now, descending from those downy cushions, see his most serene Eminence, the Pope's Car dinal in England—sleek and oily in body as he is in tongue and hireling-written pamphlet. Rags and tatters baw at the feet of the rotund Red-stocking, who, through massive spectacles, complacently looks down, and blesses his dear children—a sweltering mass of sanitary sweetness. His Eminence has journeyed hither to view the Romish institutions of a community among whom the meek and gentle Cahill sheds his active goodness. Inflated with visions of the future, he ascends a height which overbrows the city, and, as his eye twinkles from spire to tower and tower to spire, he turns to the band of cowled conspirators, and breathes the hope into their greedy ears, that ere long England will be as she was in days of old—ruled by the Bishop of Rome, and that they shall have possession of those goodly sanctuaries which have been wrested from them by the heretic ! And this man, who breathes the pious wish—who has outraged the British law, and merits the hulks—rolls grandly through our streets ; and the people—those people blessed with the free light of Pro testanism—stand smiling by, while the air is rent with shouts for the bloated emissary of the Papal power. " Thanks to the improved tone of public feeling," the smiles and cheers of free men salute this Cardinal—he who sets our laws at defiance—the leader of a rebellious faction—the appropriator of titles which the Crown of England only can bestow—the sower of sedition, and the prime propagandist of the Pope. Yes, " thanks to the improved tone of public feeling," says the Journal, pan dering to the Papist for his pence. Oh, mistaken scribes ! Ye of the Many-faced Mercury, and the Tolerating Times, and the Jesuitical Journal ! Know ye not that the Pope and the Press cannot agree except where Romanism is less rife than the Christian re ligion. Only when they are not in power do the priests become your cordial, obliging, and most courteous friends, and your most ready paymasters. But he who would restore the Pope to England would put out the Press; or, if it were permitted to live, it would only be under a thraldom the most abject, a degradation the most thorough, and a prostration the most complete. Ye would find an unpleasant priestly police, and not the public, would then be the gods of letters. Ye would then suffer martyrdom—not a brief, easy, and profitable imprison ment in the well-ventilated gaol at Lancaster ; but the martyrdom of an unknown dungeon, mayhap an untold death—alleviated by not even the prospect of the sym pathy of a public permitted to criticise the law or find fault with those by whom it is wrongly administered. The Times would no longer thunder from Printing-house square—its Liverpool namesake would be no more ; the tedium of railway journeys, or the dulness of the dullest homes would alike be unrelieved by the merry Fleet street hunchback; the Martyr-Editor of Liverpool would not, alas ! be seen gleaning gossip from the lips of talkers on 'Change ; the Mercury would be a thing of the past; and the conductor of the Times would awaken some fine mornine to find his innocent antiquarian works honoured by the Pope with a place—in the Index Expurgatorius. Why, then, even for present gain, make yourselves clac quers and pimps to the harlot who sitteth on the seven hills ? The priests will serve you and fawn to you only till the time comes when they may persecute and extin guish you. You laugh right merrily, ye drivers of a Mann trade, ye artful perm of two meters go disci. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF A CONTINENTAL TRAVELLER 1 was always in intercourse with foreigners who live and trade upon English travellers, who make a livelihood of ministering to John Bull's national learnings in dress, cookery, and furniture; andwho,so to say, get up a kind of artificial England abroad, where the Englishman is pain. fully reminded of all the comforts he has left behind him, without one single opportunity of remembering the com pensations he is receiving in return. To this cause is attributable, mainly, the vulgar impression conveyed by a first glance at the Continent. It is a bad travestie of a homely original. DANCING WITHOUT MUSIC Have you ever stopped your ears, I`,,m, and looked at a room-full of people dancing ? The effect is very curious. What was so graceful but a moment back is now only grotesque. The plastic elegance of gesture becomes downright absurdity. She who tripped with such fairy_ like lightness, or that other who floated with swan-like dignity, now seem to move without purpose, and, stranger still, without grace. It was the measure which gave the soul to the performance—it was that mystic accord, like what binds mind to matter, that gave the wondrous charm to the whole : divested of this it was like motion without vitality—abrupt, mechanical, convulsive. Exactly the same kind of effect is produced by witnessing fashion able amusements, with a spirit untuned to pleasure. You know nothing of their motives, nor incentives to enjoy ment; you are not admitted to any participation in their plan or their object, and to your eyes it is all " Dancing without Music." LIFE AND THE GAME OF CHESS I have often thought, Tom, that life is like the game of chess. It's a fine thing to have the " move," if you play well, but if you don't, take my word for it it's better to stay quiet, and not budge. This will give you the key to my system ; and if I ever get into public life, this, I assure you, shall be " Dodd's Parliamentary Guide." SE RIA LS.-- The Home Companion (London : John Bennett) contains some excellent articles, and the proper measure of variety to ensure the patronage of a desultory public. The proprietor promises improvements in future numbers.—The Cheerful Visitor dispenses wisdom and cheerfulness at the hearths of both rich and poor. Some of the articles display ability, and they are all pervaded by good and currect feeling. William Hurton contributes a paper on the prizes obtained in the lottery of authorship, from which we learn that Lady Morgan received 2,000 guineas for her "France in 1839 ;" Bulwer, £1,600 for his "Rienzi," written in two months; Captain Marryatt, £2,000 for " Peter Simple ;" Ainsworth, £lOOO for "Jack Sheppard ;" Dickens, £5,000 for his " Nicholas Nickleby," and £3,000 for " The Battle of Life," which the dis tinguished and lucky Boz is said to have written in a fortnight. Facts like thes e e l oquen tl y di sprove the complaints of Jerdan, that literature (by which he has benefited so much) is an ill-rewarded and thankless profession. IRISH BALLS.-1 got a scrape o ' th e pen f rom Larry O'Kane, enclosin a sort of a card he found outside the coort-house door at Ennis, after a grand ball given by the bachelors o' the town. There was a long list o' thunes for dances printed on one side, and the lady that owned it bad pincelled down on the other the name of the jintleman she was ingaged to for the next set ! keep ing an account, as it were, of her " hop" tbransactions thro' the night. And, dear me, but that was the var i ega t e d list. " Mr. James A—," " Mr. Chas. " An officer 1" and so on, thro' all the fluctuatin' gra dashins of counthry-town society ! That wasn't the way we managed such things in our day—only walked up to the girl, and made her a bow that a Frinch dancin'- masther might be proud of, givin' the flure a scrape o' the right foot, at the same time, that id rise dust enough to set the company coughin' ; and then, instead of sendin' insthructions to the band to play the " Douro Polka," or " Florence Quadrille," the damsel herself would call for " Haste to the weddin'," " Cash in both pockets , " or "The wi n d that shakes the barley ;" and down you went, yer twenty or thirty couple, till every bead o' parspara shin on yer forrid was as big as a pea, and the piper id have to refresh himself so often, thro' the means o' the heat, the drooth, and the fair fa tigue, that he'd begin to play hornpipes bef ore the co a unth a ry-dance . was over; aye, th e and maybe grow personal n clergy happened to be preseut.d—Terryvebrli„noVe o , CORRESPONDENCE. Letters addressed to the Editor should be accompanied by the real name and address of the writer, not for publication, but as a guarantee of. good faith; this is indispensably requisite in any statement-of facts. The Editor wishes it to be understood that lie does not hold himself responsible for the opinions or statements of bis correspondents. LONG SERMONS.-VENTILATION. LETTER 11. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR,—Respectilg the ventilation of churches—to continue—l repeat that the amount of injury done to the constitution of thousands, especially to those of the young and delicate, by long confinement in badly-ventilated churches, is incalculable. The fundamental principle of ventilation is this : that each individual be supplied with one gallon of pure unbreathed air each minute. This is absolutely necessary to sustain health ; and where in our churches is this supply given ? Were a man to confine himself in a chamber filled with diluted carbonic acid gas for five hours •each week, and afterwards be heard to complain of being in a bad state of health, would any well informed person be surprised? Yet this is what most of us are really subjected to, for the atmosphere of our churches is quite as poisonous and injurious. Yesterday I attended a church in the suburbs, where were probably a thousand per sons, yet there was no ventilator nor window open. At first the air was endurable, but as the service progressed evidences could be seen all round of its increasing impurity. Some were drowsy, others pale, in others a hectic flush indicated that something was not right, while the children present seemed to suffer materially. In one who sat near to me I noticed the roseate hue of health gradually change into an unhealthy pale ness—in some yawning showed that nature craved the oxygen which the ignorance of those responsible had failed to supply ; and yet in this neighbourhood we hear of epidemics con tinually, and people "cannot account for it." Can we expect health or vigour, if we neglect the .laws upon which God has made them depend? BeCause no serious result immediately follows the cause of injury —because the neglect of this law is slow in manifesting its full effects—the sufferers fail to trace Whence their ailments (differing perhaps in each according to their different predispositions) flow. Why is spring generally considered an unhealthy season? It is not really so ; but, at this time of the year, the accumulated influences of the close churches and other places of resort during the n Intel begin to tell upon the system. An eminent physician in this town has said that his practice was more than doubles when evening services and long sermons were introduced into Liverpool, and he attributed this to the neglect of ventilation—the ailments being those most likely to be produced by such a cause. It is very easy to allow the noxious gases to escape through ventilators in the roofs of churches, especially when the gas is lighted, and the churchwardens of our churches should really see that this is attended to; and if many of our clergy will continue their "long sermons," at any rate let them do so in a pure atmosphere, where, if our minds are wearied, our bodies are not sustaining absolute injury. —I am, Sir, yours, &c., AN EARNEST CHURCHMAN, Liverpool, 14th March, 1853 LONG AND SHORT SERMONS, To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Six,—l have read two or three effusions respecting long sermons, in your columns, and draw the following conclusion from them—that the writer sits under a minister who under stands the theory of the gospel, but who is as yet a stranger to the practical part of it; for, did he feel inwardly the new creation, he would cease to wonder how ministers feel when they go into the pulpit to preach, and see immortal souls gathered together to hear words which may prove a savour of life to them, and that peradventure the imperishable seed may drop upon some heart there, which will be his crown of re joicing in that day when time shall be no more. I am sure he would then feel that the time he specifies is too short to enlarge upon a subject so infinite in importance, and so full of blessing (if rightly received). He should also recollect that it is through the foolishness of preaching those are saved who believe. Hoping that those of our ministers who are so generous with their talents and time, will still adhere to the full measure, and not curtail their sermons of any part of their fair propor tions, and that your correspondent may find out the secret h will make all sermons, however long, too short, I subscribe myself your obedient servant, OLD SUBSCRIBER. TIIE HIGH LEVEL RAILWAY SCHEME To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Six,—The subject of a High Level Railway along the Docks, as it has been proposed by Mr. Grantham, is too important to rest with a mere surface discussion in the Polytechnic Society, as it certainly had nothing more at the meeting on Monday last. The Mayor, in moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Grantham, entered into the question to some extent ; but, apart from that very excellent speech, the evening was wasted in mere personal conversation ; and when I rose to second the motion, with a view of following the arguments advanced by the Mayor, strange to say, I was considered out of order, and was obliged reluctantly to submit to the desire of closing the discussion. I trust, however, the question will be kept before the public until its merits are fully known and properly appreciated. The object we have in view, I presume, is to consult each other as to whether a high level railway along the docks of this port would be a public benefit or not; and if a benefit, whether practicable, and on what plan to be carried out. We are not to consider how the interests of the London and Western Railway would be effected, nor the convenience or inconvenience of any particular party, whether any party may be damaged or improved—for it will be admitted the impossibility to carry out an undertaking of such magnitude without doing both good and harm among the interests con cerned—but if, in the course of its canvass, the good should appear greater than the evil—taking the case as you will admit it should be taken, on the broad aspect of public good—then we shall be bound to come to the conclusion that a high level railway should be recommended, without endorsing the plans proposed by Grantham, who deserves our best thanks for bringing the case in detail before us so elaborately and so comprehensively, that no one can fail to understand what he means. But I dare say he will admit that improvements may be introduced, and that his estimates are intended only as a mere approximation to the cost. Now, having had the model before us, and three nights' debate on its merits, I have on my part come to the conclusion, and by no means a hasty one, that the high level railway along the Docks of Liverpool ought to be recommended by the Poly technic Society; and I shall proceed to state my reasons for the conclusion to which I have arrived. I am influenced by no interest or motive but the general welfare of the town. I have no pre-conceived notion involved in disputes about the timber trade being carried on at the north or south end of the town, nor whether docks should be extended north or south, nor whether the Wapping Docks are the wisest investment of the dock funds, or the margin of the river occupied by party walls, to the exclusion of ship-building yards, nor as to whether there should be warehouses round the docks or not; on all these important subjects we may considerably differ in opinion; but some gentlemen have not only one opinion, but are com promised to their party by public declarations, and in some cases by interests, direct or indirect, with which a high level railway may interfere. I have no such influences to bear upon my mind ; and you will, I trust, admit my views as impartial. It was hinted by more than one speaker at the meetings, that Mr. B. Poole had the interest of the London and North Western Railway in view in advocating the high level railway. I am not bound to apply motives to any statements; but the posi tion of the London and North Western would, doubtless, be a great support of the high level,andmay be fairly taken as one of its main contributors of revenue; which would not be the case if, instead of two goods' stations by the dock side, there was only one central station, and that situate some distance from the docks. Most of us know how often it now happens that goods at the north station have to be shipped at the south end of the town, and goods at the Wapping station have to be shipped in the north docks, two, three, or even four miles dis tant. It is not claimed that all the goods that come to Liver- We portion of them will; and who will deny that such con would encourage the manufacturers and merchants venienc generally to ship their goods through Liverpool. This, I pre sume, is one of the most desirable objects in view, because it will increase and improve the port. Now, with reference to revenue from passengers, it will be stated that the cost of an omnibus from one end of the docks to the other is only twopence, and that a dozen of these vehicles are enough to perform all the requirements of that kind ; this argument, if it be worthy of the name, applied with equal force to the old turnpike roads as compared with the railroads that followed. By means of the proposed railroad it must be remembered that the north and south ends of the town would be brought virtually nearer together; the same low charge of twopence may be the fare, but a train starting every ten minutes from each end would induce thousands to travel by this read who never go into an omnibus, especially if the means of propelling the train be employed which I shall pre sently describe; the safety of which will be one of the induce ments for all parties to travel by it; and as to a considerable revenue from this source I think there can be no reasonable apprehension, to say nothing of the rapidly increasing extent of the town, both north and south. Much doubt seems to be entertained about having necessary space for working effectually the goods trains on the road. I apprehend each dock will have its side rails ; and if such accommodation be insufficient, you have always the convenience of putting the goods on the quay below the railway; and if inconvenience arises by rail, you are not barred from usingcarts at any time, the same quay room being there for any purpose; in fact, you have double quay room produced by this high level invention, which, taken in any aspect you will, must be considered a vast convenience and improvement of the port, which could not be attained by any other means. There are various mechanical arrangements for economising the space and crossing the dock gates, which are mere shadows for engineers of the present day to grapple with, and which form no part of the present discussion. The subject of rails cross ing the street pavement from the lower shed to any warehouse, for which it would be a convenience, is a mere mechanical matter that could be arranged with great ease and convenience to all parties; in fact, the high level road would practically bring all the waterside warehouse property convenient to either end of the town, and secure a great saving of carriage as well as security of the goods from exposure to weather and pilferage. Mr. Braithwaite Poole has given us a statistical account of the progress of the port in its commerce, and Mr. Grantham has given a faint outline and fair estimate, so far as it goes, of what the revenue, from such undertaking, is likely to be, and also the probable cost, all of which will of course be subject to miler as Christianity and Rome ! But, to my mind, you have cause for grief; for your black-hearted allies, the priests, to me appear a troop of grinning undertakers, trapped in the horrid livery of death, who seek to bind you pleasantly, and then march you off alive to the grave yard of constitutional and religious liberty. It was not enough for the Journal to insert, with a malicious art, some garbled sentences from Dr. M'Neile's latest speech, exposing the wickedness of the Papal sys tem and the character of the Romish priests. The Journal must further give insertion to the epistle of one calling himself " A Protestant." This self-constituted moral policeman, who comes armed with choice extracts from " Don Juan" and illustrations borrowed from the beer shop, thinks Dr. M`Neile, in his " perpetual bother about the (Roman) Catholics," is creating " an intolera ble and dangerous nuisance;" that his conduct " threa tens to be very mischievous to the best interests of society ;" and that it must be " promptly put down," or public meetings of Protestants will be abolished, religious institutions will languish, and benevolence will decay and eventually disappear. " A Protestant" likewise as serts that Dr. M'Neile "takes upon himself the office of lecturing and insulting the ministers of other churches ;" that " all" his speeches "make the thoughtless laugh, the prurient chuckle, the judicious grieve, and the modest blush ;" that he assumes " to himself the privilege of saying anything he pleases—none being able to make him afraid or ashamed ; ' that his " platform performances frequently overstep the bounds of propriety ;" that he delivered " something in Latin" at a meeting in the Collegiate Institution, which was indecent ; and that, in bar-parlours a story " bordering on the improper" is now termed " a M`Neileism." These are the charges in the first indictment. " A Protestant," however, announces his intention of administering not one, but a series of epistolary exposures. Let me examine the foundation on which these charges are based. Beginning with the last, I fear "A Protestant" will receive credit for reporting faithfully the " phrrse ology " of the " bar-parlour." I do not seek to contra dict his statement of the low estimation in which Dr. Nl`lsteile is held by midnight revellers—those who desert their firesides to luxuriate in stories " bordering on the improper" and to levy upon each other " fines of glasses and cigars." Such people too often, like the witches in " Macbeth," sing Fair is foul, and foul is fair." The " something in Latin " which Dr. M'Neile had the temerity to utter publicly in the Collegiate institution was spoken in the presence of the bishop of the diocese. It is to be presumed by all men, and must be believed by every person in Liverpool, that his Lordship would not have permitted a clergyman of his diocese to speak or act in his presence, unchecked, in g way unbecoming the sacred office of a priest. Yet the speaker's conduct (which so shocked the sensitive nature of "A Protestant") was not deemed improper by Dr. APNeile's spiritual superior. That conduct admitted of no rebuke—it met with none. Need " A Protestant "be told that, however revolting the task may be, it is impossible for an opponent of Rome to expose the iniquities of Anti-Christ without alluding to the foul obscenity of her standards. No : it is not at a Protestant meeting in the Collegiate Institu tion that we have to fear the exposure of those hideous masses of corruption. It is the secret working of Romish abominations among poor deluded Papists that should make " A Protestant " quiver with righteous in dignation mid holy wrath. _ _ Dr. M'Neile is charged with " lecturing and insulting the ministers of other churches." What are the insults ? He has witnessed, in common with us all, the baleful pre sence of Rome's emissaries in the streets of Liverpool— beings _ _ - "That look no like the inhabitants o' the earth, And yet are on it"— who walk with eyes averted from the passer-by, or who, if they look up, look only to scowl. He has marked the perpetual cloud which hangs around them ; and he avows —monstrous insult !—that in spite of every effort, he can not find a Romanist priest who will look him fair in the face. A simple truth, which all but "A Protestant" have long since realised, and which he may find illustrated by walking at almost any hour of the day to his own door. But, compare the " insults" of Dr. I\l`Neile with the lan guage of a writer in the last number of the ultra-liberal and eloquently-written Westminster Review. "After traversing the whole of Ireland," says this author, " the observer has seen, perhaps, scarcely one priest who looks even human. Their very preparation for office consists in extinguishing human affections, while the passions seem to be exasperated by the process. It is painful enough to see in Italy the priests, who go about in couples—the fat and thin, the jolly and ascetic; but it is worse to mark the two Irish classes—the brutes and the devils." What will one so tender, and sensitive, and tolerating as " A Protestant" say to this language from the great organ of the British free-thinkers ? But, I hear a voice exclaim, what of Dr. Il'Neile and the Ragged Schools ? Ay, what of them ? Let us hear the story. Roman Catholic parents, steeped to the lips in poverty, are importuned to permit their children to enter an insti tution where they will be fed, clothed, and educated. " No, you shall not take our children,—they are our sole support," is the reply of the depraved wretches. The little ones, instead of going to school, are initiated by their parents in the craft of the criminal, and when in the court of justice the sad tale of parental wickedness is told, the judge and all around him are indignant, the press echoes his wrath, and no member of the community can find words strong enough to denounce the unnatural sin. But I have a companion -picture to sketch. There are cases in which the poor Romanists rejoice at the interest taken in their children, whom they are thankful to see cared for and tended in a good asylum, provided by those whom they know have a sincere desire for their welfare. This, however, cannot be tolerated. A d ar k c l ou d o b scures ' the appy scene. It, in one case, the parent has known bow to do his duty, the priest is there ready and deter mined to undo all that has been done. He threatens the parent with all the terrors that can be invoked—rudely assails the schoolmistress—and carries away the child. Whither ? To starvation, beggary, and sin ; from a life upon which beauteous hopes arid tender loves and noble aspirations had dawned to a life of miseries and fears; from learning to ignorance, virtue to crime, usefulness to idleness ; rnayhap, from a godly career to the gallows. The friend of humanity and the faithful Christian at once points the finger of indignation at the priest, and denounces the wickedness of that falsely-called servant of God who is permitted to instigate his flock to the commission of crime without, unfortunately, sharing in the penalty. As a citizen and a Christian, Dr. M'Neille stepped boldly forward, and lifted his voice against the guilty workers of iniquity, the promoters of crime, and the filchers from the public purse. But the Ragged School philanthropist, who is addicted to " toleration," cannot desert his old principle; and though he would certainly have denounced the parent, he defies you to stigmatize the priest. The exposure of the priest's iniquity he will nor hear, and so, in a mighty dudgeon, and with unseemly ism u n t o t te raill g ; s , f o h r e , r l e o l i l es t .e h s e tli n e jo a r s a s l e p m o b l c y e o m f a h n i s s p p r r e i n s e g r s , c e a . Thisrattles in the papers, and the liberal editor of the Times joins in the cry that Dr. M'Neille is an incendiary, and that the victims of his most foul calumnies are sorely wronged gentlemen ! And now " A Protestant"—forgettinz that Lord Carlisle has recanted his expression of faith in Rome's respectability, and oblivious of the fact that the Medial were pining in Papal dungeons, and a brazen Irish bandit daring to defend their imprisonment in the British Parliament—stalks gravely forward in the pages of the Aurnal, and pronounces his belief that Dr. M`Neile must be " put down." Some will regard with suspicion the orthodoxy of " A Protestant's " creed ; myself among the number. I fear he is one of those who are prepared to join in any apparently popular cry, but very unwilling to prove that "To do good sometimes is accounted dangerous evil." His letter strongly favours the supposition, at all events, that the pothouse is his house of prayer, Byron his Bible ! The insane cry about Dr. APNeile's " mania," as it is called, is, I regret to think, joined in by others who profess Protestantism. Church of England people, who plume themselves on being "moderate" and "judicious ;" " liberal dissenters." whose religion has a strong political hue; as well as philophical freethinkers—to borrow Leigh Hunt's phrase, " such piously-disposed persons as are not of any visible church ;" all take occasion to pour the vials of their wrath upon Dr. M'Neile for speaking what he feels to be the truth. The Mercury and Journal head the assaults with an impudence that knows no blush, a want of principle unsurpassed, and an industry that never flags. _ _ _ The Popish priests may have domesticated detectives in many Protestant families in Liverpool ; this free land of ours may be overrun with Jesuits and social and domestic spies ; the Ragged School originators may see their schemes thwarted and the jails filled by the interference of a violent priesthood ; Cahill may launch with the fury of a madman into a sea of sedition; the Patrick's Day mob may fill the Cmicert-hall with groans when the name of Dr. M'Ncile is breathed ; the Romish church every where may continue to bully the weak and cajole the strong ; but the most monstrous accumulation of iniquities can exercise no influence upon " A Protestant." We have not the faintest hope for him or the peculiar class to which he belongs ; for, of all kinds of madness, perhaps fatuity is the most hopelessly incurable of them all. Dr. Cahill need no longer light his brand on the banks of the 'Mersey. Liverpool can well dispense with his presence. His aid is more urgently required in other English towns, where, alas ! no genius like our friend, " A Protestant," rushes valiantly to the fight on behalf of Rome, backed by unscrupulous members of the press, who, forsooth, are pleased to arrogate to themselves the name of friends of civil and religious liberty. Verily, we have cause to exclaim, " Save us from cur friends !" Liverpool, March 21, 1853. A CITIZEN. PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA. MELBOURNE, JAN. 2, The individual digger is gradually becoming less for tunate. The prizes are not so inviting as they appeared some months ago, and hence people remain at their own occupations in preference to trying their luck at those golden nooks of the colony whither so many fortune hunters have been attracted. Bendigo and Mount Alex ander are the most prosperous places at the present time : last week, fully 30,0 00 ounces of gold were brought from them to Melbourne. I have the authority of a most in telligent couple of young Scotchmen, who are both in business at Bendigo. that the " claims" there are ver y f ar from being exhausted. The Ovens gold-fields are rising ef friend t h e who in h popularas gone este thither, e esteem. I that ave theheard from even a scientific distribution precious deposit is a great advantage; for, although rich " claims" are not so frequently found as at Bendigo, and few great nuggets are forthcoming, still every one shares alike ; and, if you cannot achieve a fortune at once, you may always have what is better than nothing. I think that this way of gathering gold, while much more com fortable to the entire body of labourers, must at the same time promote a steadiness of character and a moderation of desire which will do much to raise the morality of the Ovens above that of Bendi g o or Mount Alexander. It is a total mistake to suppose, as some people do, that the sun of our golden prosperity is setting, and many capitalists, actuated of course by selfish motives, congratu lated themselves with the anticipation that the emptying of the gold fields will throw a vast amount of unempl oyed labour into the market. So that these philosophical and patriotic capitalists, in the anticipated decline in the labour market, are pleased to see the beginning of a happier day for the colony. Then men and women who have nothing to depend upon but their labour, don't take uP these ideas at all ; with far different notions did the majo rity of them come hither ; and I am not at all disposed to think that they will be disappointed. Rumours have been rife of late as to the discovery of new gold fields, and now when a party of diggers-to-be are about to start on their travels, it becomes a difficult matter to decide in what direction they shall go, so numerous are the fields already in operation and those reported to have been discovered. During the past week about 2,000 ounces of gold have been received here ; and, if the production therefore is slightly on the decrease, it is accompanied by a more than corresponding fall in the price of provisions. Flour is much cheaper, though the villanous bakers , with iron hardihood, keep their bread at the old price. If I speak by my personal experience, I should say that in the matter of house-rent, if there is any change in Nei' bourne, it is in favour of the landlord ; but in Victoria you may live much more comfortably, and for less money. Though one or two building societies have been set 0 0 foot, few buildings are being constructed—the speculators in that line exercising an amount of caution which is quite remarkable. Hard by where I live, on the banks of the meandering Yarra,—the Yarra, which has been inworen with much pleasant prose and rhyme by y our go od English poet, Richard Howitt—a complete city of tents has arisen. Some people have brought houses with them —tents of most peculiar construction—and these are no v alive with life. I should think that some thousands of men, women, and children are reposing under these tents while I pen these lines. Without much regard to propriety or artistic rule, each new comer has pitched his temporary dwelling on the first piece of vacant ground lie could find—straightway possession has been taken, and next day he and his family look as if they had lived there all their lives. Happy, and so far contented to all appearance; having great difficulties to struggle with, but determined silently, and bravely to overcome them ; such seem the feelings of these dwellers in " the canvass city," as it is called. _ . As to the crime of the district, it is pleasing to relate that during the year 1852, only 475 criminals were tried before the Supreme Court. As we have no minor court like the quarter sessions of the mother country ; the offenders were charged with all the gradations of c rime- - from the pettiest charge against a runaway seaman to the . crime of murder. Now, it is pretty clearly decided that Victoria. with the daily-extending capital, contains at least 200,000 inhabitants ; so th a t the s ma ll p r oportion of crime is highly creditable, indeed, to a colony, which so many, even of our Sydney neighbours, are pleased to picture as a God-forsaken land, the scene of rapine, rob- • berv, and murder. On New Year's Day I went to the grand metropolitan steeple chase—a most exciting scene; the ground, though flooded with heavy rains, was capital ; and there were altogether twenty-four razping fences to clear. It was somewhat remarkable to see the turn-out of many eques trians, whose appearance " in their best" betokened that they had been but little used to ride their own horse to the races. In the crowd I saw many ladies on horseback who seemed to enjoy the snort, although it poured inces santly the whole time. Some calculate that twelve or fourteen thousand people were present. The winning horse received £3OO and the second £5O, enough, even ill the land of nuggets, to tempt a keen competition. It has been discovered that an organised system exi=ts here by which new arrivals and parties proceeding to the diggings are plundered of their property by a set of people professing to be carriers. One party receives the m oney' for the carriage in Melbourne at a high rate, and consigns the goods to a fellow conspirator at the diggings, hiring a third party to take the goods up at half the price charged. On arrival at the diggings, the other " firm" receives the goods, and takes good care that they do not leav-a his possession until " sweetly" paid for. FOREST CREEK, OCT. 31. My dear Friend,—We had a most beautiful passages and a not very long one either, having got within the bar and anchored on Tuesday, the 28th September , being ninety-four days. The next day we beat up to anchorage at the foot of the river Yarra, at William's Town, where we remained until the Ist of October. We had then to land at our own expense, which cos rather heavy to me, or any one in the same circum stances—but, never mind, that's over. It cost us four shillings each for the steam-boat to Melbourne, and twenty-seven shillings for wharfage ; then seven shillings for carting our luggage about four or five hundred vardS , , to my friend G. N.'s, a wealthy merch an t i n th e t ow n 0 1 Melbourne, who r"ceived us as kindly as it was possible for any one to have done. It was fortunate T found such a friend, as my brother li v e s n i ne or t en m il es ou t, and it was night before we got all put by at Mr. N.'s ware house, and we were completely worn out. My brother's cart was in town next day, and we went nut with it and found every thing as comfortable as I could have wished, much less expected. Brother looks quite as old as he is: but he is healthy, and hearty, and comfortable, 1 1 / 111 making money fast just nor:, and that in the way that he seems to have most pride in. He has a most beautiful house in the prettiest country I ever saw, and it is nicelY furnished, the principal piece, of course, being his wife. I am sure, if you could but see Jonathan's place, you would locsa conceit of all your favourite haunts about Cumberland, more especially Workington He has 2,640 acres of land in fiirm, on lease of - seven years : he is now in his second year ' • his rent is £3OO ; he sublets off 1,640 acres, and that almost clears the whole ; he has' consequently 1,000 acres of fine arable and pasture land 9 5 can be, as beautifully laid out as art could do it, and every article of produce at present at most enormous prices; instance a few—hay at £2O per ton, butter 2s. to 2s. 6( 21 . , eggs 2s. to 3s. per dozen. Cows, that would, two or three years ago, have sold for 10s. or 205., now w orth . £lO or £2O ' • horses, that would i n E ng l an d se ll f or £3O, would fetch here £lOO, or £lO5 ;•in fact, any price fur any thing a person wants is the go here now. The roads 'are dreadful bad in winter—in fact, impassable. if he could get his milk into town, he says, it would be worth £l5 per day to him ; so you may judge what his butte will be. He has 26 fine milch cows at present, with e lot of calvers in the bush, which he intends bringing i n to calve ; they are little or no trouble, as they go out all the year round. lie keeps a number of pigs —from 20 to 40 , as it may happen ; they get nothing but milk beside whet they pull for themselves, and pork sells for about 10d• per lb. I have been gardener for him since I came ; he has about an acre and a half in the front of his house verY nicely laid out and planted with fruit-trees, such as se I English garden. He had the old stands of bees when came, and he got three swarms the day before I left ' • s° 1 suppose, before the season's out, he won't have leg than forty hives; and I suppose they make a quant ity of honey, which is sold at about 6d. per lb. The cattle here are much larger than I expected to have found there; in fact, they would be a credit to my brother John's stock. and you know what they are. Horses are better than 1 thought they would have been. but not so much as the horned cattle. I left Prospect Hill on the 20th October; Margaret remains w ith th em f or a w hil e ; I t hi n k if we had not had brothe r t o t urn to w h en we arr i ve d, she would have fairly given up. It certa i nly is a sa d p lace at present ; no such thing as getting a bed in Melbourne now at any price except at an hotel, which must be bespoke and paid for according to the times. Wages are high ; labourers 10s. per day on the reads ; their hoard , &c., 30s. per week, which leaves 30s. clear ; but men won't stay at the work until they have had a turn at the diggings, and if fortunate they remain ; if not, why tell you then take the other. I shall now endeavour t o tel you something about myself. lam engaged on trial to Messrs. H. B. and Co. Mr. B. is from Middleton-place , near Bootle, and is a grocer in Melbourne, and I am store-keeper for them in the gold diggings. Yes, mY dear friend, on the very ground they are digging up gold' a place between two hills , called Lever Flat ; and around me there are some thousands of people digging, and not e house,wld ex cept wood huts and canvas tents to li ve in, of which there are hundreds here, and in the neighbour ing creeks or flats. lam to have £2 per week for the first month, with board and lodgings. They are not of the most comfortable, I admit ; but when I see no better amongst my neighbours, why I am proud to find myself amongst the heads o f th e town ; an d I d o assure you t h e Y are a motley co m p any , from the refined gentlem a n to the common labourer, of all countries—English, Irish, Scotch , Welsh, German, French, American, and every other country —even China. In this establishment of ours there are the manager, Mr. W., myself, and a Cumber' land man, from Carlisle, who acts as cook and man of all work, and we get on first-rate so far. The diggings here are not doing so well as they have been doing, and parties are I eaving faster than new comers are turning in so much so, that if it continues so another week, it is very likely that we shall have to leave also, and it is not improbable but I may be up at the Ovens, as tl them It is a distance of 130 miles from this ; I am . noes about 82 miles from town. If I go there 1 will have some money before I go down again, either by store keeping or by digging, and I don't much care which. it is quite a lottery : some men just before our door are making £3 per day ; whilst others, eight feet from them, don't get a speck for weeks : but gold is gold when they get into the vein of it. I know this to be the fact, be causeso w e many, are that I know now. g lbu ye rs and lmve it T through hep re present rptire is fingers from £3 6s. per ounce. We take a great deal of money for very little goods here, prices are so high. Fl our an d oat meal ls. 61 per lb. ; sugar, raisins, currants, and soap, Is. 9d. ; tea and coffee, 3s. ; tobacco, 10s. ; rice, is. 3d. ; pepper, 4s. per lb. ; bread, 23. 6d. per 2 lb. loaf ; a pair of boots the same as I wore, that cost me 63. 61, are here 333. ; Wellingtons, . - C4 ; and all sorts of clothing in proportion. Clothes such as I wore in Liverpool are of very little use, except what I wore in the hide warehouse. I am now in a woollen shirt and cabbage-tree hat, and quite like an Irishman. It is my opinion that perseverance will ultimately succeed at gold-seeking—but it requires that ; and the aid of £lOO or so is a great acquisition to those who use it properly ; but many, I fancy, threw it away in trying foolish experiments ; and when they have lost their all are thrown upon their own resources, a nd worse off than those who had nothing to begin with. I think the great body of what are termed unfortunate make a fair day's wages in the long run ; but taking care of it when it is plentiful, I find is a secret here as well as at home. Workmen are coming in here hourly, and calling for a stick of tobacco, to pay for which they will pull out a roll of notes, like a banker, and they are actually lying about the roads frequently. It is a very horrible place here just now though ; and men are struck up, easstthaetytchaelilrit, ownan robbedd dear a. ‘ o ve of all areall armed they l haveo n to t he h e t ra, alm teeth, as it is termed, at our place; we have each a brace of loaded pistols for bed-fellows, and can't take off our clothes for fear of being disturbed through the night. We are rarely without six or ten hundred pounds on the pre mises, temporary though they are, and a stock of perhaps two or three thousand pounds. You will think they are large sums; but when you take into considers , tion the price of goods and the material we deal in (gold)r you will admit it must require a great amount of cash' The purchases go from here once a day to what we terra the main store, where my employer stays on the premises' the place is called Forest C ree k, a b ou t a m il e an d a half or two miles from here. They have stores at a place' called Golden Point, and Fryer's Creek, and also at til e ' Bendigo Diggings, so that you see we are in a large waY' DISTRICT CHURCHES.—A petition, signed by urra rde of eight hundred incumbents, pointing out the very unsay tisfactory state of the district churches at large of the country, is to be presented, after Easter, House, by the Marquis of Blandford ; and in the Upp er ' by the Esri of Shaftesbury. in th e Lower