The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-07-10 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

political holiday, and has been successful in superseding Lord
WESTMORELAND, as ambassador at Vienna, by the Hon. Mr.
ELLIOTT, a near relative by marriage of Lord Jourr.
Another dreary and sad week has closed on the public as it
broods in sorrow over the dark details which have been trans-
mitted from the Crimea. Very full accounts have now arrived
in relation to all the complicated miseries and mistakes which
appear to have been crowded into the fatal affairs of the 18th
of June. These, if not quite so bad as was at first dreaded,
have turned out considerably worse than it was hoped they
would do. Our losses, although not so extensive as was at
first stated, are in a degree aggravated by the circumstance
that they were almost entirely the result of blunders. De-
spatches from the late Lord RAGLAN and from General
PELISSIER reader this melancholy fact indisputable, and
strong opinions are expressed on all hands in relation to the
sad affair. Viewed in the light afforded in those despatches,
and in the descriptions given by the newspaper correspond-
ents, and by private letters, the affair of the 18th was a chap-
ter of accidents, a tissue of blunders, leading to great and
inevitable slaughter, without affording almost the chance of
a fortunate result. The game of deadly cross-purposes ap-
pears to have begun in the French camp, and to have been
continued with fatal pertinacity on the part of the English.
That action which on the part of our Allies should have been,
and was intended to be simultaneous, was begun prematurely,
and never was anything but desultory. On our part a
similar want of concert and understanding appears to have
been equally predominant and equally disastrous. When
the enemy showed coolness and power, the generals
opposed to them became bewildered and lost their lives. At
first it had been decided that the assault should be preceded
by a cannonade of some hours' duration ; a point on which
Lord RAGLAN placed great and well-founded reliance. Sub-
sequent to this arrangement, General PELISSIER saw some
reason for changing his, mind, and he communicated this
altered intention to his brother commander at a late hour is
the evening. It seems also to have been arranged that the
French attack on the Malakhoff should be made before the
English columns attempted anything against the Redan.
The signal for the French advance was to be the discharge
of a star-rocket, and for this signal the blazing fuse
of a shell was mistaken by General MAYRAY, who im-
mediately ordered his columns forward. In this he was
but too promptly obeyed—he rushed on, and before the
real signal for attack was made, they were repulsed'
and he himself was borne off the field in a dying condition.
Another division of the French attack was equally unfortu-
nate, from the opposite cause. General BZITNET was as much
too late as General MAYRAN had been too early. He was
also killed, and his columns were driven back with great
slaughter, after they had actually planted their eagles within
the Russian works. The absence of combined and simultane-
ous action, on the part of these two bodies; enabled the.
Russians to deal with each separately, and in succession. If
such were the blundering commencement, and such the unfor-
tunate issue of the intended operations on the• part of the
French, the conduct and result of the English proceedings
offer a wonderful parallelism throughout their continuance,
and at their conclusion. The attack on the Redan, which it
was arranged should not bemade until the French established
themsetvesin the Malakhoff, and in which case it could scarcely

have been needed, was made when the French had failed in

their attack. The. French columns were exposed to re severe
and murderous- fire long before they could reach the scene of
their intended conflict, and MAY N'S division was broken in
its progress. On the part of the- English, proper meanee had
not been adopted to, enable the men to get over the parepets
of their own trenches, and they were shot down in twos and
threes as they straggled out of their-fastnesses. It is certain
that two of the-attacking parties were almost annihilated in
less than a quarter of an hour after they had scrambled out
of the trenches, and before they had recovered from the con-
fusion into which they had been thrown in their efforts to get
out of those trenches in which they had previously been
posted. In vain endeavours to form the: men into bodies at
this critical and terrible moment, the-brave Sir Joule Came.
BELL and the equally gallant Colonel YEA' were' killed, while
a perfect storm of grape, cannister, and round shot, together
with musket and rifle balls, swept over and through their
rapidly diminishing ranks. To complete 'the chapter of acci-
dents with which this-sad day's work began and ended, it is
necessary to examine the course of action begun and
carried out by the third division under General. EYRE, in
what appears to have been intended only as -a feint ; but
which in reality turned.out the only success of the- day, and
which if duly supported might have terminated in a real
-victory. This gallant offieer, with a force -of only about four
'regiments, although the effectives of five were under his
orders, made an attack-upon an armed cemetery, in a suburb
of Sebastopol, and carried the defences, four companies of the
Royal Irish making a successful lodgment' in 801 M-houses
within range of the Russian fire, which thvy held against
every opposition for several hours—seventeen, it is
said—vainly hoping for support which should:. enable
them permanently to hold the advantage they had gained.
At four o'clock in the morning, Major-General KERR
established himself within Sebastopol, .and not till nine at
night, after he himself had been carried off wounded; did his
men reluctantly retire, in obedience to 'orders -from the Com.
wander-in-Chief. These houses are represeuted as . having_
been well furnished and plentifully supplied with everything
conducive to comfort, and to these our-brave soldiers 'helped
themselves pretty liberally. Considerable freedom of-remark
has been indulged in by more than one non-military critic, in
reference to the withdrawal from this position after our troops
had established themselves in it ; some of these maintaining
that it might have been retained and converted into, a point
d'appui, from which future operations might have been
readily directed. This, it -is said, is of a piece with the other
proceedings in this war. No small success has ever been pushed
into a great one. Here was at least one regiment which had
forced its way into Sebastopol, and remained there for a day.
The soldiers drank wine and carried off some articles of fur-
niture, together with poultry, guinea-pigs and other-mementoes
of the day's foray, clearly establishing the fact of, their suc-
cessful occupation, and their comparatively unmolested retreat.
Thus we have invariably knocked our heads lustily against
the strong points; but, when we have found weak ones, we have
made but slight endeavour to profit by the discovery.
Since the last scene of this bloody and ill-constructed
tragedy has been played, popular judgment has been much
disturbed. Eefore any of the details were known, intelligence
was received. that Lord RA.GLAN was no more. That his.
constitution,, yielding, to the debilitating influences of the-
climate, and weakened by anxiety, had been overthrown in,
the unequal conflict between duty and inadequate support
from the home authorities-; the fatal result expedited in all
likelihood-.by reflection on.the fearful issue of hie.first and last
failure. If the gallant General or his friends- had reason to
complain of bewilderinginstrnctions and lukewarm supPert—
if either he or they had grounds for objecting to the current '
of popular criticism on his conduct of affairs in the . Crimea,
much.may, be said in,extenuation of thelatter—(the former, if
existing, admits of no defence)—by allusion to popular en-
thusiasm—to the- comparatively small results. and enormous
sacrifices.which have up to the present moment characterised
the. Crimean wareand the general mismanagement which has
been proved to. hang about it from its.commenoement. If
any injustice-has-been done to the• noble soldier. when living,
ample amends have been made to hismemory. His gallantry
and goodness have been themes for every pen and every
tongue. A generous country has. liberally acknowledged its
error. Let the unwelcome topic sink now into merited
oblivion. The honour and the memory of Lord RAGLAN are
safe- ins the country's keeping; he is beyond the reach of.'
censure). and deaf to the voice of praise.
The appointment of a successor to. Lord RA.GI42; still oceue
pies, a considerable share of general attention ; and, although
General SIMPSON has been formally appointed, a strong
opinion is prevalent in well-informed circles that this is but a
temporary arrangement ; and many maintain, as upon good
authority, that the command has been offered to Lord
HAEDINGE, who, it is further said, will accept it. In objec-
tion to this appointment it is urged that his lordship, who is
three years the senior of the late Lord RAGLAN, ie too old to
be oppressed with the cares of so arduous a command—many
maintaining that the active energy of youth is alone com-
petent to cope with the difficulties of such a position. Against
those wha start such objections it is urged that the dangerous
impetuosity of inexperience has been fatally shown in the
results of the attack on the Malakhoff. From even the very
regulated tone of Lord RAGLAN'S despatch, giving ea -
account of the affair, it is evident that he did not
even from the first approve of it, although he yielded to
the inapressement of General PsLIssIIE. What is wanted
is a General with firmness of purpose, and such experience in
war as will enable him to form a just estimate of any proposal,
and abide by his decision on it. The high military position of
Lord HARDINGE, and his generally calm, yet resolute judg.
meat, point him out as well suited to the post ; whether his
physical energies are such as would justify his acceptance of
it, may well induce him to pause for consideration.
The last week or two has been fatal to two veterans long
connected with the newspaper press of the metropolis. Mr.
JOHN BLACK and Mr. JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM, are men.
honed in the obituaries among those whose warfare has been
brought to a close, but not before each of them attained a ripe
old age. The former was editor of the Morning Chronicle
for upwards of a quarter of a century, at the time when it
earned that reputation which of late years its chief conductors
have successfully laboured to dispel. The son of a Scotch .
peasant, Mr. BLACK, like many of his countrymen, began life
with no better education than that afforded by a Scotch
parochial school. Having left the scene of early labour, he
succeeded in placing himself in a solicitor's office, in Edin-

burgh, as a clerk, at a very small salary. In the exercise of
this calling, he contrived to acquire a knowledge of the German
and Italian languages, from refugees, as poor as he was himself,
teaching them in exchange such English as he had himself
acquired. In addition to these he made himself mastor of the
Classics, and so early as 1810 obtained employment as a Par-
liamentary Reporter on the Morning Chronicle. About this
time he translated some German and Italian treatises, on poli-
tical economy, and one or two other trifles. He became editor
of the journal named about 1819, and continued in that
responsible office till 1845, when he retired from public life.
As a political writer, he was much morn remarkable for the
energy than for the elegance of his style; but, full of carefully
acquired knowledge, he at all times brought that readily to
bear upon any topic he had under discussion. This gave him
no inconsiderable advantage in many points, and the facility
with which he could exercise it procured for him the violent
antipathy of COBBETT, whose vituperation of Mr. BLACK and
the Scotch feelosophers was not less virulent than it was ab-
surd. In private life he was a man of strict integrity, of
genial and kindly disposition, and was generally esteemed by
those who knew him. Mr. BUCKINGHAM'S career was more
chequered, and in many respects more marked than that of
Mr. BLACK. At an early period of his life, Mr. BUCKINGHAM
was involved in a literary squabble with some of the leading
officials of the East India Company, in India. which gave a
colour of dissatisfaction and an air of unrest to the whole of
his after life. Defeated as a journalist in India, he travelled
over a great portion of the Asiatic and American Continents,
and published voluminous journals of his travels. Subse-
quently he became connected with the English periodical
press, and assumed the position of a public lecturer. In 1932
he was elected M.P. for Sheffield, and sat for that borough till
1837. The House of Commons, however, was no field for his
erratic and egotistical oratory, and he made no figure there.
Latterly his name was but little before the public.

BENEFIT BUILDING SOCIETIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sac, —A contest in the House of Lords- havin,g recently taken
place in respect of a measure inimically affecting the above-
named societies, and which was successfully opposed by the
Earl of Derby, Lord Ravensworth, Marquis of Salisbury, and
the Earl of Ellesmere, all of whom are connected with our
town, I beg. to, subjoin a statement of the facts of the case,
which will prove interesting to those of your readers who are
connected with, such societies.

Mr. Wilson,, of the Treasury, thought proper'to make the
Benefit Building. Societies the objects of his attack, in the
shape of a " proviso" to a clause of the Friendly Societies' Con-
solidation Bill, which subject is not in any way connected with
Building Societies; and which proviso, if passed, would have
deprived such latter societies of the exemption from Stamp
duties, enjoyed by them under the Benefit Building-Society
Act of 1836.

Immediately on learning of this attack upon them, the
Liverpool Building Societies-. joined together, and formed a
General Committee, which, by the promptitude and energy of
it& proceedings, and the' cordial co-operation of our member,
Thomas B. Horsfall, Esq., and our local nobles, succeed. ed in
defeating the measure in the House cf Lords on Tuesday last,
by 4V votes in our favour, to 43 votes- against us. On which
occasion the excellent and. effective speeches of Lord Ra7ens-
worth; our late member, the Earl of Derby, Lord Monteagle,
and the Earl of Ellesmere, formerly our county member,
tended. greatly to secure the'victory fonts.
In order that members of- benefit building societies should
know who are their friende,. I subjoin the list of those peers-
who voted in their favour :

Housr OP LORDS, TITESDAT. June 26th, 1855.—The follow-
ing composed the majority in favour of Lord Ravensworth's-
motion, that building societies should retain their present ex-
emption from stamp duties :—The Duke of Northumberland,
Marquis of Bath, Marquis of Salisbury, Marquis of Drogheda,
Marquis of Westminster, Marquis of Winchester, Earl of
Derby, Earl of Eglinton, Earl of Malmesburn Earl of Strad-
broke, Earl of Ellenborough, Earl of Stanhope; Earl of Car-
narvon, Earl ofiladdington, Earl of King3ton, Earl of Shaftes-
bury, Earl of Delawarr, Earl of Ellesmere, Earl -of Lucan, Earl
of Powis, Earl of Talbot, Earl of Beauchamp, Earl of Maccles-
field, Earl of Leitrim, Earl of Bantry, Earl of Bardon, Earl of
Warrington, Viscount Bangor, Viscount Hawarden, the Bishop
of Exeter, Baron Wynford, Baron Colchester, Baron Dinevor,
Baron Lyndhurst,- Baron Sondes, Baron Walsingham, Baron
Downes; Baron Colville of Culross, Baron Redesdale, Baron
Bavensworth, Baran Polwarth, Baron Plunket, Baron Vaux,
Baron Monteagle, Baron Lilford, Baron Wharncliife, Baron
Berners.—" Paired,off" in favour of building societies:—Earl
of Orkney, Earl of it Vincent, Lord Farnham, Lord Forester,
Lord Lanesborough, Lord Cardigan, Lord Bradford.
Your publication, of the above will oblige our societies.—
Your's; &c., JOSIAH HOSKING,
CA:airman of the General Committee of the
Liverpool Building Societies.
Brunswick-street, Liverpool, July 2, 1855.

DVS/NESS IN THE CITY.—It appears, from a statemenfrmade
by Mr. Hankey, M.P., at a meeting of the Society for the,Pro-
pagation of the Gospel,. laeldin London, on Friday, that the
returns under the income tax act of the profits derived from
business alone in the City amount to £13,000,000 a year:
PARAGES.PHS have been going the round of the press, to
the effect that Admiral Sir Charles Napier. and the widow of
Rear-Admiral %am, had sustained enormous losses by the
failure of Messrs. Strahan's bank, and •in connection with
MessraaHalford and Co, We need hardy tell our professional
friends that the reports have no foundation in fact.—thiited
Service Gazette.
A YOUNG Woman* was tried on Wednesday in the Central
Criminal Court on a charge of the wilful murder of her child.
It appeared that the infant had died from want of nourish-
ment, and that the defendant had refused to give it suck.
The jury returned a verdict of " Manslaughter," and she was
sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. _
THX,AMENDED BILL, ON- LIMITED LIABILITY has been
printed. Its difference consists in an additional provision, by
which any joint stock company (except insurance offices} con-
stituted under any Act of Parliament, and having a nominal
capital of. £20,000, may obtain a certificate of limited liability
from-the registrar of joint stock companies, upon satisfying
the Board of Trade that' 5 per cent. of their capital is paid up.
Awn," APFAIR.—On the night of Sunday last a man
named William Ewers, living at Gravesend, was engaged. in a
dispute with a woman, and being at high words expressed a
wish ."that God would strike him dumb— if he was net cor-
rect. At that moment his speech failed. him, and up to the
present time he has. not been enabled to speak a word.
Beyond the loss of speech he is in no, way affected, either by
paralysis or epilepsy, so that there appears no physical, cause
for-the impediment.— Woolwich Independent.
Tlz NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERY.—The following is an ex-
tract from a letter dated King's Cove, 3rd June :—" The
fishery in this and the neighbouring_ harbours at this early
season .far exceeds anything_ of the .kind for 30 years-past.
The great misfortune was that but few were in order to catch
it. Some boats in Bonavista on last Friday brought in 26
quintals; some boats-here and in keels have now from 50 to
70 quintals. Herring was so plenty that they took them with
east nets."—St. Jeba's Times, JUUB 16.
lar the Court of Queen's Bench, on Monday, Rosina Fray,
late lady's-maid to Lady Zetlandoned Sarah Potter, house-
keeper in the same establishment; for slander, in imputing_ to
her improper conduct with one of the men-servants, and
stating that she- was_ the author of an anonymous- letter in
which the houSekeeper, on the other hand, was charged with
similar improper- conduct. The jury found the housekeeper
guilty of havingeimputed to the- plaintiff the authorship of the
anonymous letter, and awarded £lOO damages. The lady's-
maid had been,cllsmissed in consequence of the affair, and was
unable to get another place..
AGEICULTSIRAL STAxlsTles of Scoreayr.—The report
of the Highland Society to the Board of Trade, just published,
shows that under the head.of Scottish holdingesented at less
.than £10,„ there. are. 10,144 occupiers, 77,732 arable acres,
25,698 cattle, 4,273 horses, 7,871 sheep, and 8,198. swine.
Under the head of holdings rented at leas. than £29, the,
number of occupants amounts to 26,085, the number of
arable acres, to 160,438, the cattle to 103,711, the horses to
24,735,.the sheep to 141,561, and the swine to 17,481. The
total gives.a list of 42,229 occupiers of all, holdings, 238,170
arableacres, 129,469, cattle, 29,008 horses, 149,432. sheep, and
26,399, swine. A separate return for Orkney gives thetotal
number of imperial acres at 41,8441' of which about 13,517
are in tillage, (only 74 under wheat crop,) and about 17;058
in grass, including 5,865 acres of sheep walks. The stock
inzludes 1,424 horses, 2,078 milch cows, 2,696 other cattle,
1,891 calves, 5,612 ewes, gimmers, and ewe hogs ; 2,1,25 tups,
wethers, and wether hogs ; and 1,336 swine. The gross pro-
duce of Orkney in 1854 was 180 bushels of wheat, 5,727 of
barley, 238,728 of oats, 108,168 of bere, 210 of beans, 132 of
peas, 39,230't0ns of turnips, and 6,532 tons of potatoes. The
average produce of wheat per acre is 24 bushels, of barley 39,
andof oats 36 bushels. Owing to the number of petty occupiers
to be dealt with, almost equalling that of the- tenantry of the
county, and the difficulty of finding the proper persons from
whom to obtain information, the preparation of these returns
has entailed a great amount of time and labour ; but it is
stated by Mr. Maxwell (who reports on the part of the High-
land Society) that the public lies under a great obligation, not
only to the farmers officially engaged in conducting the in-
quiry, but to the many proprietors, agents, factors, poor
inspectors, and others, through whose assistance the returns
have been compiled. Every precaution has been taken to
make them as accurate as possible.
LONDON ON SUNDAY.—The Rev. Thomas Hugo, senior
curate of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, in a letter to The Times,
draws the following picture of a Sunday in Houndsditch :
" In the heart of London, on every successive Sunday in the
year, in various streets, alleys, and courts to the north of
Houndsditch, and therefore in my own immediate neighbour.
hood, are congregated upwards of 15,000 persons, engaged in
traffic of various kinds, and constituting what is called the
City Exchange Fair.' The trade is carried on principally in
Cutler-street, Phil's-buildings, City Exchange, Exhibition-
mart, Harrow Alley, and Petticoat-lane, places notorious in
the annals of crime for outrages and abominations of all
descriptions. The articles offered for sale consist for the most
part of wearing apparel and jewellery, and the fair lasts for
the greater portion of the day. I speak from personal obser-
vation, and inspection, and hesitate not to characterise the
place as one of the very foulest sinks of profligacy and crime to
be found within the length and breadth of London. Of the
15,000 individuals there assembled some are Jews of the
lowest grade, but the great majority are nominally Christians,
uniting together in forming a multitude of the most ignorant,
lawless, brutal, and degraded ruffians that the metropolis can
furnish. In this vile haunt crimes are both plotted and per-
petrated; for, in a spot at the entrance to Harrow-alley, I was
myself informed on the occasion of one of my visits, by one of
our excellent police, that of all the males there congregated, of
various ages, and to the number of several hundreds, every
individual had been a convicted felon. Stolen property is here
disposed of to any extent, 'and no questions asked;' and an
inducement is thereby held to thieves from every quarter to
bring hither the results of their crimes, assured of their imme-
diate and safe disposal. I could furnish you with many details
of this den of horrors : but I will content myself with affirming
that if there be an epithet in the English tongue more descrip-
tive than another of a place reeking with blasphemy, clamour,
and obscenity, and of a loathsome assemblage stained with
every vice named or nameless, that I would select and apply
it to this foulest of foul scenes and filthiest of filthy multi-
tudes. No man can possibly imagine it who has not visited
the place and seen it with his own eyes."