The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-26 00:00:00

LORD'S-DAY OBSERVANCE.

Sir J. WALINSLEY moved a resolution, " That it would pro-
mote the moral and intellectual improvement of the working
classes of this metropolis if the collections of natural history
and of art in the British Museum and. National Gallery were
open to the public inspection after the morning service on
Sundays."
The motion was seconded by Sir J. SEELLEY.
Mr. PELLATT moved, by way of amendment, that more fre-
quent opportunities should be afforded for week-day inspection
of the National Gallery, government museums, and works of
art ; also, that the British Museum should be open five days
in the week.

This amendment was seconded by Mr. BAXTER, who argued
that the adoption of the original resolution would be a prelude
to the opening of the theatres, as well as places of amusement
in the provinces, on Sunday.
Lord STANLEY, after suggesting that large deductions
should be made from the weight otherwise due to the vast
number of petitions presented to the house against the object
of the motion—on the ground that they were the result of an
organized movement, conducted by an influential body—ob-
served that the question was not, as bad been alleged, whether
the resolution would offend conscientious feelings, but whe-
ther the offence was reasonable. There was a broad distinc-
tion between permissive and compulsory legislation; but those
who resisted the Sunday opening did not ask not to be com-
pelled to go to places of amusement, but to have power put
into their bands to compel others not to go. He denied the
right of the house or of any tribunal to lay down and enforce
the duty which each man owed to a higher power. The re-
solution contained nothing that interfered with religious ob-
servances on Sunday ; it dealt, too, with only national and
government institutions. Excellent as was the institution of
Sunday, he had known instances in which its Sabbatical ob-
servance had been carried to an undesirable extent. There
was no objection to opening the British Museum and National
Gallery that did • not go to stop excursion-trains and lay an
embargo upon steam-vessels on Sundays.
Mr. NAPIER warned the House that if the step recom-
mended in the resolution were once taken, it never could be
retraced, and Parliament might put in peril one of our most
venerable and most valued institutions. This was only a small
beginning, but by slow degrees the poison would be infused ;
and, however plausible the resolution might appear, taken by
itself, it must be considered with relation to its circumstances
and consequences. The Sunday was said to be a day of rest ;
but the rest was to be means to an end—namely, the spiritual
and religious welfare of man. If the foundation of the Lord's-
day were weakened, its religious observance would be im-
paired and eventually sacrificed.
After some further discussion, Lord PALMERSTON said it
was not his intention to support the motion, but the way in
which he looked at the subject would not be satisfactory to
those with whom he shonld vote. He attached as much value
as any to the observance of Sunday ; on the other band, he did
not think the mere opening two places of resort would of itself
materially affect its observance or infringe its sanctity. But,
those who objected to ,the motion did so chiefly because they
considered it the first step to something more; and this was
an objection well deserving of attention. Concurring with the
majority of the House, that it was not expedient to take this
step, although not important in itself ; considering, on the one
hand, that advantages would be derived from opening these
places, and, on the other, that a great amount of feeling had
been expressed, which was entitled to the utmost respect, and
that it would have a bad effect on the moral feeling of the
country if the House acted in defiance of these opinions, he
should vote, he said, against the motion. With regard to the•
amendment, he suggested that it had better be withdrawn,
and that the matter should be left in the hands of the trustees
of the Museum.

Upon a division there appeared—Ayes 60
Noes 378

Majority against the motion

The Delameiv FOrea Bill was read a second time, after a
brief conversation as to its objects, between Mr. WILSON and
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY.

The Turnpike Trusts Arrangements Bill and the Commons
Enclosure Bill passed through committee.
The House adjourned at 10 minutes to 12 o'clock.

FRIDAY.

The Speaker took the chair at 4 o'clock.
Petitions against the opening of places of public amusement
on Sunday were presented by Mr. Tollemache, from Smallwood,
Weston Betchton,Dane-in-Shaw, and the Wesleyans of Congle-
ton.

Petitions against the Police Bill were presented by Mr.
Barnes, from the mayor and corporation of Bolton ; and by
Mr. Kershaw, from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of
Stockport, signed by the mayor.
Petitions in favour of the Local Dues on Shipping, &c., Bill,
were presented by Mr. Wickham, from the mayor, aldermen,
and burgesses of Bradford, Yorkshire, under the common seal;
by Mr. M. Gibson, from the directors of the Manchester Com-
mercial Association; also, from the Manchester Chamber of
Commerce ; and another from the corporation of Manchester ;
by Mr. Brotherton, from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses
of the borough of Salford ; by Mr. Thornely, from the mayor
And inhabitants of Wolverhampion ; and by Mr. Watson, from
the Chamber of Commerce, Hull.
,Petitions against the Bill for Abolition of Local Dues on
Shipping were presented by Lord Henry Cholmondeley, from
the Marine Society; and by Mr. Tomline, from the mayor and
corporation of Shrewsbury.
Petitions in favour of the Medical Profession Bill were pre-
sented by Mr. Horsfall from the Liverpool branch of the
Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, and from the
medical and surgical officers of the Liverpool Northern Hospital.
CHURCH PROPERTY.—In answer to an inquiry, Lord PAL-
MERSTON said that it was not the intention of the government
to propose any measure with regard to lessees of church pro-
perty while the inquiries of the committee on the ecclesiastieal
commission were pending.
THE KINGDOM OF DUDE.—Mr. OTWAY put a question to
the President of the India Board concerning the instructions
forwarded to the Governor-General of India, having reference
to the territories of the King of Oude.—Mr. V. SMITH replied
that it was well known that for many years the state of the
kingdom of Oude had excited the attention and the anxiety of
our Indian government; that the home authorities had, in
another despatch, left a large discretion to the. Marquis of
Dalhousie in dealing with the question; and to that despatch
no answer had been received.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

The House having resolved itself into a Committee of Ways
and Means, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, previous
to moving certain resolutions, laid before the committee ex-
planations concerning the state of the national finances, and
the reasons for deviating from the ordinary practice of reserv-
ing these details for the budget. He recalled to the recollec-
tion of the committee the statement he made last April, when
he estimated the amount of the revenue, including the loan, at
£86,339,000, and that of the expenditure at £81,899,000,
leaving, by way of margin, a surplus of £4,440,000, which was
subsequently reduced, by a remission of taxation, to
£4,240,000. Supplemental estimates were afterwards voted,
to the amount of £6,135,000, which raised the estimated ex-
penditure to £88,034,000. An .addition of exchequer bills
and bonds had increased the estimated income to £90,139,000,
which left a margin or surplus of £2,105,000 at the end of the
last session. He then read accounts of the actual receipts of
the several items of the revenue, the result of which was that
there was a- deficiency, or an amount below the estimate, of
£1,600,000, while there had been an excess of expenditure
beyond the estimate of £1,960,000, showing that the actual state
of the finances turned out worse than he had estimated by
£3,560,000. After remarks upon the causes of the deficiency
in certain items of the receipts, and of the excess in the ex-
penditure, he stated what had been the precise sum which the
war had cost, the difference between a peace expenditure and
that of 22 months of war being £43,564,000, including Army,
Militia, Commissariat, Navy, and Ordnance. The result was
that we found ourselves in the position of being about
£4,000,000 less capable than he had estimated last session that
we should be, and the object of the resolutions he had placed
in the hands of the chairman was to enable the Government
to place the finances of the country in the present year in
the position in which they would have been if the estimates
had not proved deficient. The first resolution was for a loan
of £5,000,000, which would provide amply for the present,
and leave some surplus for the ensuing financial year. The
entire sum which had been borrowed in the present year,
including Exchequer bills and bonds, was £23,000,000. If
the resolution were agreed to, there would be a further
amount of £5,000,000, making a total of £28,000,000. He
then entered into statistical details of the state of our trade
and commerce, showing that the resources of the country
were unimpaired. The loan, he said, had been arranged
on terms not disadvantageous to the nation. Another reso-
lution related to the funding of Exchequer-bills. These
securities had been, and continue to be, at a discount,
in spite of an increase in the rate of interest ; it
was therefore necessary for the Executive Government
to resort to one of two expedients—either to fund, or to
make a further advance of the rate of the interest. The
process of funding was simply a conversion of one species of
government security for another. The amount of Exchequer-
bills it was proposed to fund was £3,000,000, the total amount
of outstanding bills being £23,000,000. Assuming that the
operation succeeded in raising the price of Exchequer-bills to
par, the saving to the public thereby, in comparison with the
other alternative, of raising the rate of interest, would be
£193,000 per annum. In conclusion, he observed that if the
pending negotiations should produce peace, the government
would have it in their power deliberately to consider the state
of the revenue; but if they should unhappily not so terminate,
it would be their duty to appeal to the House to place the
finances in a position which would enable them to meet the
large estimates that would be required for war purposes.
The resolutions, after a short discussion, were agreed to.
ARMY AND ORDNANCE ESTIMATES.

On the order for going into a Committee of Supply, a dis•
cussion continued for some time upon miscellaneous topics.
At length the Speaker was allowed to leave the chair, and
the House went into a Committee of Supply upon the Army
and Ordnance Estimates.

Mr. MONSELL explained the nature of the votes he pro-
posed—first, the ordnance supplemental estimates for the
expenditure already incurred, and next the army and ordnance
estimates for the present year. In the course of his explana-
tion he showed that the present war expenditure was much
below that at the end of last war ; and he gave a satisfactory
account of the condition, moral as well as physical, of the
army in the Crimea, and of the arrangements lately made for
the benefit of the troops. The supplemental ordnance esti-
mates amounted to £1,346,023, for which he proposed to take a
vote on account. The number of land forces of all kinds to be
voted was 246,716 men (an excess of 30,378 over the vote of
last year), including 22,719 foreign troops; the sum required
for the land forces was £10,950,398, and the grand
total
the effective and non-effective services was £34,998,504,
being
i filo;
an excess of £6,328,007 over the votes of last year. He went
through the various items composing the aggregate vote, ac-
counting for the excess in each.
The supplemental estimates for barrack supplies, wages,
stores, and for the scientific branch, amounting in all to
£1,346,023, were agreed to, as well as the number of the land
forces, and the committee adjourned.
The Delamere Forest Bill passed through committee.
The Turnpike Trusts Arrangements Bill and the Commons
Enclosure Bill were read a third time and passed.
Leave was given to Mr. M. Gibson to introduce a bill to
abolish the Oath of Abjuration.
The House adjourned at twenty-five minutes to one o'clock.

(FEBRUARY 26,: 1850.

AMERICA.

ARRIVAL OF THE ARABIA,

Br the British and North American royal mail steam-
ship Arabia, Captain Stone, which arrived on Sunday, we
have intelligence from Boston to the 13th, and from New York,
by telegraph, to the 14th instant.
The royal mail steam-ship Persia, Commodore Judkins,
arrived at New York on the 9th instant, after a very boister-
ous passage of fourteen days from Liverpool. In lat. 46, long.
46, she encountered heavy fields of ice, which detained her 36
hours. About one-third of her paddle-floats were carried
away, and the huge iron bars which compose the frame were
curled up and twisted as if they had been pasteboard. Not-
withstanding her disabled condition, the Persia made her last
300 miles to Sandy Hook in 24 hours. After leaving Liver-
pool she attained an average of 14 miles an hour, until ob-
structed by the ice. The wharves and shipping in Jersey city
were crowded with persons anxious to witness the arrival of
the Persia. As she moved majestically to her landing, the
throng gave a loud hurrah, which was responded to by a
" three times three" from those on hoard. On the 7th, when
about 600 miles from Sandy Hook, the Persia spoke the packet-
ship William Tapscott, from Liverpool.
The steamer Union, from Havre, via Halifax, arrived at
New York on the 7th instant.

The screw steam-ship Canadian, which sailed from Greenock
on the 25th ult., arrived at Boston on the 13th instant. She
encountered during the voyage very heavy weather.
The United States mail steamship Pacific, which left Liver--
pool on the 23rd ultimo, had not arrived at" New York. It
was believed in that city that her non-arrival was caused by
the ice. Mr. Collins had dispatched the steamer Alabama,.
with a large quantity of provisions and clothing on board, in
search of the Pacific, and for the purpose also of conveying
relief to other vessels presumed to be detained in the ice in
the vicinity of Newfoundland. The U. S. steamer Arctic,.
Lieutenant Hartstein, also with provisions and clothing on
board, had started from New York on a similar errand.

General Cass had fractured one of his arms, by falling down
the steps of the Patent-office.

Mr. Marcy continued to decline receiving the credentials of
Colonel French as Nicaraguan Minister.
The Missouri hemp manufactory at St. Louis had been
destroyed by fire.

The legislature of Texas had passed a bill accepting from
the government $7,750,000 in full payment of the Texan debt.
The money goes to the creditors of the state.

About One-half of the $3,000,000 due to the Mexican govern-
ment, which had been advanced to Santa Anna by certain
capitalists of New York, had been repaid to Hargrove and Co.,
and Howland and Aspinall.
The Irish residents of Cincinnati had bad a demonstration
in honour of the filibusters acquitted of an intention to invade
Ireland. Much big talk was indulged in, and in case of a war
between England and the United States, 100,000 Irish-Ame-
rican bayonets were promised.
About 300 of very poverty-stricken looking men had sailed
for Puenta Arenas to join Walker in Nicaragua, without
hindrance from the U. S. government.
In the senate a motion was made by Mr. Cass for an increase
of the navy. The secretary of war was requested to report
whether any, and, if so, what additional fortifications were
necessary for the defence of New York and Brooklyn Navy-
yard.
The debate on the Central American question was resumed
by Mr. Wilson, who said he gave little heed to the apprehen-
sions of war with England. Merchants continued their trading
without any such fears. It was not very probable that the
Executive desired a war which would extend from the bounda-
ries of that country to the shores of the polar sea gazed at by
Dr. Kane. The only result attained by the Clayton-Balwer
treaty had been a prolific correspondence, and an interminable
discussion, which had settled no point in dispute, and carried
to no result. The treaty had not accomplished what the
people of that country expected. He thought this government
had been over-reached in negotiation. The treaty was one not
fit to be made. He thought the United States should at once
declare it null and void, and stand then just as it stood before
it was made. The course of Great Britain justifies them in
abrogating the treaty altogether. They need not fear her in
Central America. Let her send as many Anglo-Saxons there
as she pleased—no doubt they would make good citizens of the
country when the United States hereafter come into possession
there. Mr. Mason thought that the discussion of the subject
rather embarrassed than aided the solution of the difficulties
surrounding it. He hoped the question would now be taken
in the reference. Mr. Butler did not look on this question as
likely to issue in a war with Great Britain. He concurred in
the American interpretation of the treaty, but hoped the
matter would be referred to the committee on foreign rela-
tions, instead of being further discussed in the senate. Mr.
Foot said Mr. Clayton wished to be heard, but was detained
by indisposition. He moved a postponement of the subject,
which was agreed to.
The Washington correspondent of the Courier and In-
quirer, says : The dispatches from the British Cabinet to
their Minister are said to be pacific and cordial towards the
United States, and to be of such a character as ought to dis-
sipate the slightest shade of doubt that any difficulty endan-
gering the peace of the two nations can grow out of the
Central American questions. It is astonishing how coldly the
public receive all belligerent demonstrations on these episcopal
interruptions to the even flow of British and American diplo-
macy. The discussion in the Senate, illustrated, as it has
been, by the learning, ability, and eloquence of the leading
members of the body,—as Seward, Clayton, Case, and Foot,—
has not even arrested public attention. No one seems to care
what the President or any of the party in Congress have said,
or may say on the British question. Nobody understands why
there is or how there can be any. And the reason probably
is, that most of our grown-up population remember the
wretched farce of 54° 40' or fight.
The New York Herald, in a leading article on Central
American affairs, says that in the treaty between Sir H. L.
Bulwer and Mr. Clayton, the former completely outwitted the
latter.

The Alabama State Convention had passed a resolution
denying the right of Congiess to legislate on the subject of
slavery.
The President had issued another message on the subject of
the disturbances in Kansas, and calling on all peacably dis-
posed 'persons to support the law, and admonishing citizens of
adjoining or distant states to abstain from unauthorized inter-
meddling in the local concerns of the Treasury.
The steamship Prometheus arrived at New Orleans on the
9th instant, from San Juan, and brought San Francisco ad-
vices to the 21st January. The steamer Northern Light left
San Juan on the sth, for New York, with $350,000 in gold on
freight. The news from California is not important. The ac-
counts from the mines continued encouraging. The markets
were unchanged. The baique Isabella Heyne was wrecked on
the Bth, and the captain and mate lost; the vessel and cargo
were a total loss. Affairs at Nicaragua were quiet. The
Government had suspended its relations with Colonel Wheeler,.
the U.S. Minister.
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

NEW, YORK, February 12.
A careful examination of the details of the foreign advices
per the steamer Persia leads to a conviction that peace will,
follow the propositions now under consideration. Foreign
orders have come in competition with domestic operators, and,
between the_two, prices will reach such figures as the flatter-
ing prospects of the community will justify. An impetus was
further given to the market by the disbursement of $750,000
in gold to-day, as part of the Mexican indemnity. The bank
returns for the past week show a slight increase in cash.
Foreign exchanges were in brisk demand, and bankers were
realising higher rates ; there are but few first-class houses
drawing sterling bills below 109. We quote bankers' bills,
sixty days' sight on London, 1081 to 109; Paris, 5.20.
COTTON.—Prices have advanced fully fic. per lb., but ,the
transactions have been restricted in quantity, and the market
must be considered quiet, although holders are firm. The
sales are estimated at 8,000 bales.

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS, EXPORTS, AND STOCKS OF COTTON.
Exports Total Exports Stocks on
Receipts to to Hand and
Great Britain. Foreign Ports Shipped.
1856 1,939,931 728,321 1,155,636 623,479•
18.55 1,284,520 624,865 871,060 375,680
Increase 655,411 103,456 284,576 247,799
BREADSTUFFS.—Business in flour continued dull at the
extreme decline noted on the sth inat., till the arrival of the
steamer Persia, on Saturday morning, with Liverpool advices
to the 26th January; since then there has been a better feel-
ing in the market, and prices have recovered 121 c. per barrel
from the lowest point of last week. Wheat remains without
change. Indian corn is sc. per bushel lower for mixed qualities.
PROVISIONS.—The market was dull, and but few sales
effected. Butter is firm. Cheese, 9c. to laic. per pound.
Inow.—Scotch pig iron was selling in small lots, at $34 to
$35, six months.

FEEIGIETS.—To English ports the rates were rather firm.
The current rates were :—To Liverpool, for cotton, 7-32 d. to
id. per lb.: flour, 2s. 6d. per barrel; grain, 7id. to Bd. per
bushel. To London :—Flour, 4s. per barrel. To Havre :
Cotton, lc. per lb.; flour, 70c. per barrel.
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 9.—The Persia's news was received
to-day after business hours, too late for its effect to be de-
veloped. The sales of cotton to-day have been 1,000 bales.
Sterling exchange, 71 premium. _ _ _

.BlifElectrie Telegraph.)
NEW YORK, Feb. 14.—Cotton has advanced ic. to lc.
middling Orleans quoted lthic.; middling uplands, 10.1 c.;
market buoyant. Breadstuffs little changed. Money and
stock market to-day active. Exchange on London, 9.-tc.
Arrival of specie from California since Tuesday, $1,300,000..
Nothing heard yet of the Pacific or Canada.
NEW ORLEAES, Feb. 13.—Sales to-day 6,500 bales, market
quiet. The last news here from Europe was per Persia,.
which put up the price of cotton ic.; middling is quoted,
91c. to 91c.