The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-11-28 00:00:00

BANKRUPTS.

James Toiney, Queen's-road, Chelsea, grocer.
Richard George Papps, Barbican, builder.
Angus Jennings, and William Taylor Jennings, Little
Tower-street, ship stores and commission merchants.
Andrew Irwin Birrell, Liverpool, licensed victualler.
Benjamin Richardson, Wordsley, Staffordshire, glass
manufacturer.
Thomas Sadler Reed Derby, silk Manufacturer.
Maria Coward Conistor, Lancaster, grocer.
Henry John Mitchell, Park-street, Grosvenor-square,
linetmed victualler.
William Read, Dorset-street, builder.
Edward Turner, Marshside, Lancashire, grocer.
Edward Thomas, Staffordshire, iron merchant.
Benjamin Rhodes, and James Rhodes, Nottingham,
brass founders.
William Richards, Pontypridd', alaniorgansbire, com-
mission agent.
William Fairbridge, Mrkleatham, Yorkshire, butcher.
Edwin Dayson, Sheffield, music seller.
Fairbridge, jun., Redcar, Yorkshire, butcher.

BOOTS FOR WINTER 1

r 1 IHE CHEAPEST BOOTS in TOrii (quality con-
sidered) are to be had Of
KEXNigd, BOOTMAKER,
91, LORD-STREET.
Calf Elastic Boots from 16s. Od.
Stout Balmoral Boots from lBs. 6d.
Dress Elastic Bpots from lss. Od.
REGULATION LEGGINGS.
Ladies' and Children's Walking and Dress Boots and Shoe
in every Variety.
F. W.

pßomoLi,

36, Catittoll-8141:8Et
(OPFOSITE. PARKER- &2'
• Li VERPOOL,

Has ninth *satire in informing his many kind Friends and
the Public that ho has just added to his well known splendid
STOCK of JEWELLERY,
SILVER AND ELECTRO--PLATE,
WATCHES, DINING ANIS ISYtAWING-ROOM CLOCKS,

DRESSING C-ABES, WORK-BOXES, AND DESKS,
bUTLERY, AND FANCY ARTICLES

too numerous to meniion, the.following choice specimens of
art and workmanship, viz :

The Largest and Finest Assortment of

CORAL BROOCHES, BRACELETS, NECELETS, HEAD
ORNAMENTS; EARRINGS, STUDS) PINS) Szt., &c.,
ever imported into Liverpool; together *ith
Some very 'Choice SPecitnea of
ONYX AND SHELL CAMEOS ENAMELS gic
. .•. •

all at exttimely. moderate prices. itis celebratCd-4,Ock o

FIRST-CLASS ALVINIIMUM 1:1001)S, _ .
has also been re-sorted, and *ill be found very complete in
all its branches%
F. W. P. would call particular attention to his Stock of
JET AND BOG OAK ORNAMENTS
which he can confidently state Is the iandsomest and largest
out of London.

The entire Y:ecess which has attended the opening of F. W.
Promoli's New Establishment, has induced him to spare no
exertion or cost to meet the tastes and requirements of his
many liberal friends and supporters, and therefore every
novelty of the seasons is added to his usually very choice
stock. The economical plan on which his establishment IS
conducted, and the advantage he derives from

CASH PAYMENTS%
together with his long experiente in 15tibiness and connection
with Liverpool will,. ice dikes be a sure guarantee that a
very moderate trait will be charged on all his goods.
A Manufactory for Jewellery, &c., is attached to the
Establishment, thereby ensuring Punctuality and Economy in
all Orders and Repairs.

F. W. PqtOMOLI,
30, CHURCH-STREET,
(OPPOSITE PARKER,STPIttP,
LIVERPOttL:

W. H TOOKE,

SUCCESSOR TO
F. L. ITAUSBURG.

THE JEWELLERY' STOCK,

IS CONTINUALLT Strtnn.rkt. WITH GOODS OP THE NEWEST

CHOICES' tHISIGNS, AND IN THE GREATEST VARIETY.
SILVER and PLATED_ TEA and COFFEE SERVICES,
DESSERT STANDS (Diner 3 la Russe),
CENTRE PIECES, FLOWER VASES,
TEA•TRAYS and WAITERS,

CORNER DISHES and DISH COVERS,
CLARET JUGS, CAKE BASKETS, &c.

A large collection of Fancy Articles suitable for Presents.
All of the Latest Designs, and the Quality Warranted.

An Inspection is respectftilly

OLD POSTOFFICE-BIIILDINGS,
CHURCH-STREET,
LIVERPOOL.

W. H. TOO K E,

SUCCESSOR TO
F. L. HAUSBURG.

.CLOCKS.
•
OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS AND THE NEWEST DESIGNS CONSTANTLY
RECEIVED kitai iut mAtf3FA6T6itY IN PARIS.
WATCHES.
LONDON-MADE LEVERS,
WITH ALL THE LATEST IMPROVEMENTS.

W. H. T. has made arrangements with the most eminen
makers for a continuous supply of this article in the newest
and most elegant designs, combining the best constinetion
with every recent and *valuable ifhproi,enient, by which the
perfect efficiency of each Watch can be gnaranteed,

LIVERPOOL WATCHES,
Of the best make, warranted.
GENEVA WATCHES,
From the best Manufacturers, warranted.
Every description of Watch made to order.

OLD POSTOFFIOE-BITILDINGS,
CJITIRCH.STREI3I;
LIVEItisOOL.

THE ItETURN OF THE PRINCE

OF WALES.

"Altogether) What with wind, hail, and rain, it was not an
encouraging cruise, especially as fresh provisions were out,
even to the vegetables, and there was nothing to eat but the
saltest of salt ship's stores."— Vide Tinzes, Nov. 16.

Our fears are at an end, the Prince ofVitales

Is safely landed on hid hatitieehote
Though hail and lain and constant eastern gales
Have rendered tedious his passage o'er.
Most travellers by sea confess that though
When starting on their voyage all are gay,
But very Soon they find things sonie*hat slow;
And strive in vain to kill each deny day.
'Tis a hard task when in a swift " Cunarder,"
But in a Wit-Of-battle ship still harder.

The mighty vessel pitches, jumps, and rolls,
Day after day, and chiefly under sail ;
For such ship carries but small stock of, coals;
And so her screw is not of Much avail:
The only happy time in such a case
Is 'Mich eaeh weary passenger within her
Around the cabin table takes his place,
And soothes his spirits with a first-rate dinner:
Those in the "Hero" found but small relief
In dinners off sea biscuit and salt beef.
The Prince bore his priVationis like a man,
And hevir once Was heard to find a fault ;
Tboligh, as the Times' long description ran,
The food was all " the saltest of the salt."
Yet still, we are informed, on one occasion,
When all at breakfast time assembled were,
His Royal Highness made an observation
Which raised a sigh from every bosom there;
"On this dry biscuit," he was heard to nitltter,
"Oh, that we had a slice of 'KELLY'S BUTTERS"

lIE BUTTER PLACE
IS TOP OF WILLIAMSON-SQUARE.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
THE TUSORY OF Ciacui.tir, Sronms.—Through a misapprelien-
SiOn of our reader, the name Of Captain Jinnian, who spoke
on Monday night, at the meeting of the Literary and Philo-
sophical Society, was altered to Inman.
_ _

HIGH WATER, THIS DAYS AT LIVERPOOL:
Hour. Height.
MORNiXO • 10h: 56m. 115 ft. 10in.
EVERnkro r 11h. 13m. 15ft. 9in.

(4e pally (bus.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1860.

NEWS OF THE DAY.

There is a ministerial crisis, or rather a ministerial
deadlock, at Rome. Cardinal Antonelli and Monsignor
de Merode have fallen out, and the consequence is that
the Pope finds himself without any advisers whatever in
temporal matters, To increase his perplexities and add
to his anxieties) he is threatened with a Visit from
rtancis It., which, considering the hospitality for Which
Pius IX. was some twelve years back indebted to the
father of the now all but hOtiseless, young monarch,
cannot well be reftised. in vain the Holy Father
otered to send another representative to Gaeta in the
room of the Nuncio who had withdrawn. Francis IL
has replied that the step is unnecessary, as he
himself meditates joining his Holiness in the
Sacred City. &held than a fiirther
cation In Italian affairs of no little importance.
Francis tI. is about to share with the feeble potentate
who now exercises merely a nominal sway over a few
hundred thotisand people, the protection of the French
eaglesi and we are now invited to regard the "Eternal
City as a grand centre of revolutionary and clerical pro-
pagandism"—but, it should have been added, under
French Imperial control.
King Victor Emthandel has receited an address from
the Archbishop and clergy of Salbrto, to WhiCh his
Majesty replied that "faithful td the tradition of his
house he had never sought to injure the Catholic faith
or its ministers; his sole object being to raise from
abjection their common country; that he trusted the
Roman question would be arranged so as to safely guard
the real interests of religion ; and that Venice also, that
Niobe of Italy, would be restored to the united family
of Italians by the combined exertions of all and by the
blessing of that Providence, of which he felt he was but
the instrument. He had no personal ambition what-
ever, but deep solicitude for fatherland." His Majesty
must also have felt grateful to the deputation for the
opportunity they thus placed in his way of making
these declarations, which must have been satisfactory to
at whom they are for the most part
his Majesty's own mind, whatever may be their recep-
tion by others
aimed.

The elections for the municipal council of Berne, one-
third of which is renewed every three years, have just
resulted in the choice of all the more advanced candi-
dates by great majorities. Among the new members
elected is M. d'Utnnah, who was President of the Nat-
tional Assembly of Prussia in 1848. The liberal party
having shown much dissatisfaction with the policy of
the government, and manifested intentions of decided
opposition in the approaching session, the ministry have
adopted conciliatory measures, with a view of averting
this danger. One of the conditions proposed by the

malcontents is the dismissal of all the functionaries
belonging to the feudal party. It appears that the
government is inclined to accede to this demand. M.
de Mirbach, vice-president of the regency of Posen, has
been recalled,

SO great is the stareity of Specie in Austria, and so
low the resonates of the Treasury, that a decree has been
issued for creating notes for the low sum of ten kreut-
zers, a sum somewhat less than a halfpenny.
The conferences relative to the cession of Venetia
were continued on Sunday, when, in addition to the
representatives of Austria and Russia, the Prussian
Minister, M. de Reus, was present.
From Spain we learn that the marriage of the Infante
Don Sebastian and the Infanta Donna Christina was
celebrated with much pomp, in the Royal Palace, in
presence of the Queen and King.
The new cast of the Prendi ministry is piiblished.
The reappointment of Count Flahault, whose wife is
the Baroness Keith, only datightek and heiresi of the
late Admiral keithi as AnitiaSaaciel' to the Court of St.
appears to give general satisfaction. Lady
Keith is the owner of extensive estates in Scotland, but
as her marriage to a French nobleman was most repug-
nant to the ideas of her father, who hated every
Frenchman with all the genuine aversion of a tar of
the old school, the estates were tied up in the strictest
manner. The Baroness and her husband reside almost
constantly abroad.
The tePoilts introduced into the constitution of the
legislative bodies in Prance by the Eiiipeior)bontintie to
receive a lame share o .atteiiiibit at the hands of the
English as well as the French journals. The discussion
of them in France has succeeded in throWing into the
background even the 'tied 'inestiOn of allican or
N4ioleonie inclePendenbe, as regards the Roman See.
(ii the former subject a Paris correspondent makes the
following observation, which is worthy of notice.
" There is," he says, " another influential party in
France with whom the Imperial Government are some-
what at enmity, and even Louis Napoleon must be
aware of the danger of multiplying hostile facts. The
French bar has lately shown signs of great irritation
at the inroads which Crown innotatioriS hale inade On
the freedom of 'the adVocate, COnaidering that . the
bar has 'WM alindat Alone, ithong Praia institutions
as the pAsti'ye opponent of Liberalism, it is natural that
Lotus NapoleonshoUld not wish to embitter and inireaie
the alienation, and add the la*yeii to his list of ene-
mies. His list edneetsions, whatever they may be
worth, are in favour of the Liberal party in France, and
he may have so far understood the symptoms of his
country's disease as to have decided that', a promise of
more talking is the best remedy." Yes—but it will
necessitate others, which must eventually be conceded)
but which ought not to be the less prized because effected
gtadually.
ElseWliefe a Variety of interesting details will be
found recorded of the progress of the allied forces in
China, and of the circumstances under which Mr. Parkes
and other gentlemen were captured by the Tartar
Horse.

One of the chief items of news from India, is thu
opening of the East Indian Rail*ay is fir as Rajmahal.
The Governer derietal aid all his Court, and the
tiAng gentlemen of Calcutta, amounting to about
200, were invited to proceed in a special train from
Calcutta to Rajmahal, there to dine and sleep and
return next day by another special train. His
cellency being at Barrackpore; a station about 15
miles film Calcutta, the talcutta party proceeded in
the 'train until they reached that station, where
as great preparations were made for the reception of the
Viceroy as for Royalty itself ; and after the usual Royal
Anthem and presenting of arms had taken place, the
train proceeded at the rate of about twenty Miles an
hour to its destination. The line was in excellent
order throughout. His Lordship made an admirable
speech at the banquet given to celebrate the event:
The dates by the Calcutta Mail are tq October
The teienialelidations of the Comniitiee kir the Revi-
sion of the Tariff are that duties on piece gooods should
be calculated according to the weight of each piece at a
uniform rate of 13d. per lb. They also recommend
that duties on all articles which produce less than 500
rupees a year should be swept away altogether. Another
suggestion is the return to the 5 per cent. ad valorem
duties, but the finances will not admit of this. Trade at
Calcutta was dull, and markets dverstoCked:
An order has been issaed by the Conimandei in Chief
et the Madras artily, abolishing three regiments of Ma-
dras light cavalry, and reducing the strength of fifty-
two native regiments to 600 privates each.
The death of a boy from flogging is stated to have
occurred at Exeter on Friday last. The boy was a pupil
in the Devon and Exeter Central School, Coombe-street.
He was only nine years of age. He complained to the
surgeon, some days previously 16 his death; that he had
had Nen iiracit by one of the teachers with a "pointer,"
WhiCh " made him feel sick." The coroner adjourned
the inquiry till after a post mortem examination had
been made.
A despatch from St. Petersburg, dated the 20th inst.,
states that a continued thaw for several days had caused
the ice to disappear from the river as well as the gulf.
It is announced; with inference to Cotiiiiidnioation
with the Continent, that the specie trains between
London and Folkestone, in connection with the tidal
service to Paris, will be continued every day during the
month of Deceniber; arid also those between Boulogne
and Paris on the days When the ordinary fast trains do
not afford a convenient correspondence with the boats.
The result will be to furnish a daily tidal service equally
convenient in every respect as that which has been so
punctually performed during the summer season, with
the sole exception of twelve hours being allowed for the
transit instead of ten and a half. Notwithstanding this
increase of time, the service will be perforated much
more efficiently this winter than it has yet been during
the interval extending froth NeVerritier to April, arid for
the first time the interpreting conductors travelling
throughout each day in charge of the luggage have
been retained during the winter season.
It is stated that the increase in the rate of discount
lately announced by the Governer of the Bank of France
has pinchided no unfavourable effect either in denitrier-
cial or manufacturing circles. More caution, however,
is observed in making sales on credit. Manufacturers
of articles of luxury have received many large orders
within some days past; and they are not alarmed at
having to pay an increased late of discount. Parisian
tradesmen of all descriptions were, however, really
alarmed at a report current that the bankers had de-
cided not in future to discount bills having 90 days to
run. It is now well known that the Governor of the
Bank of FranCe has nd intention of adopting such a
measure, at Ida for the present. Maritifaetilrers are now
occupied more especially in preparing to meet English
competition. It is confidently asserted that the French
Government, in compliance with the wish expressed by
the owners of saw mills; is about to open a negotiation
with the Government of Stdcliholni; for the admission
of Swedish iron into Prance, if not free, at least en the
payment of a moderate duty. It is likewise stated that
on the conclusion of the treaty of commerce new pend-
ing with the Cabinet of Brussels, Belgian produce will
be admitted into Prance on the same tetnis as British
produce.
Small-pox has manifested itself on board the Han-
nibal bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Rodney Mundy,
at Naples; arid also on board the Renown, at Naples,
Which latter on the 15th November, had upwards of a
dozen cases:
During the past week the drift boats at Bt. Ives,
Cornwall, haiie brought in from 606 to 8,000 herrings
per night, which have sold at 3s. 6d. per six score. One
boat caught no less than 10,000 pilchards. None have
been seen from the hills as yet. On the Devonshire
coast unprecedented quantities of sprats have been taken.
At trilham there is a strike among the fishermen, which
has arisen in consequence of certain resolutions passed
by the Fishing Insurance Society; with which tile Men
do not agfed.
The French papers are full of a vidriderftil tablet pre-
pared by the Maison Chollet, of whose preparations chlr
Crinienn soldiers must have so many grateful recollec-
tions. One Of the new preparations about the size of a
visiting card, put into hot water, will furnish a eapital
rich soup, and the lifoniteur de P ..drme'e declares that
100,006 rations may be packed in the space of three
cubic feet (or nine feet nine inches square).
The fudge Ordinary yesterday p'renotinced judgment
in the Shedclen case: Reteld that the letter of NO*,
12th, 1798, was a genuine document. He concluded by
stating that the petition of Mr. and Miss Shedden must
be dismissed. The other learned judges concurred.

I Petition disniissed accordingly:
It is stated that the London and North-Western Arai,
way Company do not intend to resist or contest the
claims for compensation to the relatives of the cattle
droners killed near Atherstone station. The loss which
the ednipany will sustain by the accident is estimated at
, •
Small-pox is ravaging the fair city tlf Feithi int eon-
sequence of one of its unvaccinated inhabitants catching
the disease in a railway carriage, in which a person with
the small-pox was travelling; and it has also been intro-
duced into Leith through the mother of a child that
had small-pox being sent to the child's birthplace on
applying for relief.
We understand that the London and North-western
Railway Company do not intend to resist or contest the
claims made against them for compensation to the rela-
tives and friends of the cattle-drovers killed on the
Trent Valley line by the catastrophe which happened
near Atherstone. The pecuniary loss to the company
by damage done to rolling stock, expenses connected
with the late inquiry, the destruction of cattle, and
ten lives, is estimated at £20,000.

The first portion of the new copper, or rather, we
believe, bronze coinage, was issued yesterday, consisting
of pennies, halfpennies, and farthings. The execution
is very good, and the new coins are altogether much
handsomer than the old ones, but their comparative
smallness immediately sirikes the attention.
Among three millions of people more than 7,900 ille-
gitimate children have been born in the first three quar-
ters of this year. It is chiefly in the north-eastern and
the southern districts that the excessiye incontimence

manifests itself. In the counties of Aberdeen and Dum-
fries one in every six children was illegitimate. There
are one or two parishes in which a fourth of the births
during the quarter were illegitimate, and in one instance
the negistrar notes that there was not much difference
between the numbers of the legitimate and the illegiti-
mate children born—eight and six.
A notice was issued by the Speaker of the House of
Commons oii the 2nd instant, fixing the election for
South Notts within fourteen days of that date. Lord
Stanhope is the only candidate in the field, and there
does not now appear any probability of an opposition,
the Liberal part of the constituency deeming it fruitless
to oppose his return.

MEETINGS

MrdMEl.

HUMBUG is a generic term in the natural history
of man; which ernlirdeeS many silb-genera, with
their several species and varieties. This geniis,
when fully understood, is very loathsome to
behold ; but one of its most prominent charac-
teristics consists in its inherent power to conceal
itself under a false face, and pass itself off for
anything else than that Which it really is.
Indeed its Very existence and siicceSs depend
upon the adroitness With Which it is able to put
forth this peculiar faculty: Aniong an Unsuspec-
ting people; therefore; We find " the humbug"
flonriShitig inimensely. As there is no scarcity
of unsuspecting people, there is no lack of hum-
bugs. In short, humbug so frequently succeeds
now-a-days, that half-enlightened people seem to
believe that nothing else will take any hold of
men's minds and purses; and thus we hear from the
lips of such people the words; " Humbug for ever"
--;•" There's nothing goes down like a bit of
hinninig thinatnig carries the day ';—" Hum-
bug binds the spheres together "—and 'llimiibug
makes the World gO round !" Perhaps one of the
Most rainpant humbugs of our day is the religious
and philanthropic humbug, of which there are
endless varieties. The most recently imported spe-
cimen in Liverpool is that of the "midnight meet-
ings for fallen women." This species of humbug
first appeared in London; and after a fair mea-
sure of success in that great hotbed Of
its true character was found out and it dis-
appeared. It now shews face in Liverpool
here it will doubtless have its career of popularity
and applause—again to disappear and again to
change its local habitation. We are not in the
least sanguine that any exposure of ours will
have the least effect upon its " run ;" because we
know that the class among whom alone it
prospers, and upon whose credulity it lives,
have a wonderful power of shutting their eyes
and
,minds to everything brit the influence of
the latest specimen of the genus in question.
Every genuine hiimbug must profess to have a
very specious object in view. What could be
more " taking " than that of the reformation and
restoration of fallen women P A searcely subsi-
diary element of success in any humbug, is the
novel; startling, and outre shape or form of action
adopted in its operations. Could anything be
More Striking than the idea of midnight meetings
between pious old gentleineii arid tdllen Women?
Thus the goodness of the object and the oddity of
the means combine to give the philanthropic
world double assurance of an unmistakeable and
most promising specimen of humbug. We might
be content to study the appearance of this object of
natural history With the same tool deliberation
. ,
as we would examine the stamens of the Leonti'don
taraxacunt by a roadside, but for one reason :
the latter popularly bears the name of a certain
juvenile nuisance, although as a plant it is innocu-
ous if not useful ; the former professes to be a bless-
ing, but is in reality an evil sure to be followed by
setting donSequeii66: All liiiihliugs are hi the
end injurious. We know no species of humbug
fraught with more mischief than of the " mid-
night meetings for fallen women."
" The Social Evil" is a new name for a very
ancient and very painful fact. Its cause and
cure have been subjects of much anxious conside-
ration iri the histories of great cities in all ages.
While no attempt to eradieate it has ever stc-
ceeded, many of the experiments tried for its
repreSsion have had an entirely opposite effect.
This may be no reason why we should not use
the most strenuous efforts to remove the plague
spot; but surely it teaches caution in dealing
with so old a sore, and warrants us in deprecating
all rash and ill-advised experimentalism with so
deeply-rooted a disease of the moral world. That
the promoters of the midnight meetings set up a
most desirable object of attainment who shall
doubt ? That sonic little good May be accom-
plished by their mode of operation is quite' sup-
posable—indeed, it were most pitiable to think
that their extravagant labours should go alto-
gether unrewarded by some apparent and tem-
porary advantage, But these admissions are
apart altogether from the question as to the
balance of good and evil commingled in the
results of this midnight device. Whether we
judge this nocturnal adventure by the test
of ordinary propriety and probabilities of
success or by the light of experience, we
shall find it condemned as a product of certain
mischief, counter-balanced by highly uncertain
and Most problematical benefits. In the first
place, what is the adtantage of meetings at any
hour ? And secondly, if meetings are' to be held,
why at the unseasonable hour of midnight ? Is
the Mind of a fallen woman more susceptible of
a good impression surrounded by her vicious
associates, or when addressed individually and in
the absence of her compeers in guilt l Are not mid-
night Meetings more calculated to afford facilities
and temptations for plying the infamous trade of
prostitution than to counteract It ? Is it not
notorious that one of the most serious drawbacks
to all assemblies and gatherings protracted into the
dead of night is that they throw weakly members of
the community into harm's way ? Could this evil
assume a more aggravated form than that of con-
gregating fallen women at midnight to sip tea
and coffee, to eat nice cakes, and to gather around
them the sickly-sentimental halo of a pretended
penitence and desire for reformation ? Is it not
notoriously one of the vile arts of the "profes-
sion° to affect a feeling of horror for a fate which
they have' voluntarily challenged ? How many
young Merl have been in caught in the snares of
wily penitents touchingly appealing for commis-
setation rind money, as women know. best how to
appeal ? HoW many instances are on record even
of clergymen having been taken unawares by
this process of trifling with a seductive vice ?
Veyond all question those midnight meetings are
against all our antecedent views of decency and
probable usefulness for any righteous purpose.

But we may have been mistaken. Perhaps the
results haire proved that -what we have deemed
common sense in this matter is decidedly at fault.
What have been the actual results of the midnight
meetings ? Now, we shall not give a moment's
belief to any of the grosser reports which have
teachtd us as to the horrible abuses said to have
resulted from thew occasions. But that they do
not touch the root of the evil, and that they have
been followed by much mischief, we bold to be
easily demonstrable. Setting aside individual
and unauthenticated testimony, we appeal to
public facts. It is only necessary to consider
what is actually or possibly meant to be achieved
at these meetings ; namely, to convince the
women of their error, by kindness to induce them
to repent, and, by opening up a way of retreat,
to induce them to abandon prostitution. Now,
no one who knows anything of this unfortunate
class of society is ignorant of the fact that they
are most keenly alive to their own degrada-
tion. Many of them would most gladly for-
sake it, if their worse nature would let them.
All of them know well that the only insur-
mountable obstacle to their reformation lies not
in the, thorny path that leads back Ito virtuous

life, but in their own incapacity to adhere to it.
There is not one of the class but knows exactly
how to reform and obtain restoration. Not a few
of them,—perhaps more than is popularly
imagined,—do obtain positions in ordinary
humble life; to say nothing of those who make
chance hits above that sphere. They, therefore,
for the Most part keit upon this midnight
meetings humbug as a piece df diniisenient, by
which inc j may either increase their gain id
trade, or pleasantly diversify their disgw,—..-+in.e' f e
by a temporary retreat from its avocations, dr tt
. „
sort of letiten absence froth its gaietieS; only to
return to their former 44i :kith a leexier
appetite for its orgies and obscenities. 'hie
of prostitution are maintained not by ignorance
of the sin or of the ways of escape, but by the
want of aspirations fdr it higher life: To remove
the evil fruit we must nip it in the bud. Le
our ragged and industrial schools and churches, and
the spread of the higher education among our female
and male population have full development, and
we shall hear less of the social evil) and hate 10§
occasion for Midnight Meetings tor fallen. *onieill
To attempt to phick this bad fruit without
sapping the roots is a hopeless task; and will fail
to dinlinisli the
What have been the consequences of recent
attempts in Liverpool to deal with the grown
evil of prostitution ? We have had a campaign
against brothels, their keepers and inmates, and
what has been the consequence ? We answer by
reference to the report of the Head-Constable for
the year: He says there has been an apparent
diminution of the thinibers; hitt he attribitteA this
to the carefulness Of the thiforttinateS to conceal
their Wheiealiou- is from the police. What daii
this practically amount to ? To this. You may
now, by a little careful observation and inquiry,
discover " a sly house" almost next door to you,
even in the most respectable neighbourhoods.
The nuisance has not been suppressed but dissemi-
naled throughout the whole town, The poison, like
that of a suppressed disease; ha 6 hot been destrdyed.
t •
but absorbed by the general syitent; to the great
peril of every vital function. Is this a small
evil, or is it an egregious and oligPTI mistake
Few people will hesitate in their answer. These
midnight meetings . have only had one trial in
Liverpool, and yet it resulted in a serious POliie
case. For the details we must refer back to our
impression of Monday last. One such case made
public, may safely be taken as the index to many
such like catastrophes which will never reach the
public eye, These, at least, are two known filets,
df tlieiiiseli es highly gignificant and d propos:
Nor is this the whole disadvantage: trei:j7
pass upon the good-nature of the philanthropic
public tends to dry up the available sources of sup•
port for really worthy schemes of utility, When
a At public finds Wit iri the did that it
haS been imposed Upon, by the hiiriihilg of et day;
it is apt to become unduly cautious and niggarfilY
towards institutions really meritorious; and thus
the work of sound and fundamental reformation ie
stunted df niean§ and snridiinded With unnedes•
sary obstaelbe to its eificielq: Let every truly
philanthropic mind beware of neii-burgled
bugs with fine pretensions and glaring appoint-
ments. Real goodness is always unpretending
and unostentatious. A shilling given to a ragged
sehool will do more good in removing the social
evil than a pound iiiireri for the purposes of
midnight meetings with fallen iv:Otheii: A
genuine philanthropic humbug is the greatest di
Social Evils.

THE REFORMATION OF FALLEN WOMEN.
STATISTICS OF FEMALE CRIME:

Various efforts have from time to tirtid iridcie hlo_

the philanthropist, the benevolent, and the respeottld bf
our fellow-townsmen, to check what has been properly
designated "the Social Evil" in this town. A short
time since the powers of the law, were brought into full
fnrrp nzainst the "fallen ones,"—the police had a special
duty to perform in watching their places of resort,—
many prosecutions were instituted by the authorities
against the keepers of the different places where they
nightly resorted,—and some were imprisoned, fined, and
banished ft-0M the town. Still " the Social Evil"
exists in all its enormity; and after the shades of
evening our streets are a disgrace to' any civilised town.
There is now another movement the' Idpis for the
reformation of our female denizens, or, at least, for
that class which is considered "the most fallen," big
statistics will show that they are not the most degraded
or brutalised of our female population; for in the awful
category cif crintes perpetrated in this large and populous
town we find wonien faking a most undue proportion.
We refer to the midnight meetings now about to he
held for the regeneration of that unfortunate andpitiable
class. Could the objects of the promoters of this move-
ment be carried out, it would indeed be a great deside-
ratum to society. Bat from past experience we are
almost inclined to' doubt its practicability. Midnight
meetings and class gatherings may be' productive of good
amongst certain classes, but for that class it is intended
to benefit we fear it will prove 'Utopian. In too many
cases they are too much, inured to the' degraded life in
which they exist to be permanently led from those paths
of vice, and the allurements of the gay society with which
they ate surrotmdedf by either spiritual exhortations of
tea and cakes. Would that it were otherwise.

The degraded state of a portion of the female popu-
lation of this mighty emporium of commerce, has fre-
quently been alluded to with regret by those who are
called upon to administer the law ; and with a view of
further elucidating this important question, we will
furnish our readers with the female criminal statistics
for the past year, founded on the most reliable authority.
And while no doubt they will be read with painful
interest, they may form a subject for contemplation
amongst those who take a deep interest in the subject,
and may lead to some practical results in removing such
a stain upon the character of the town. With that
object in view, we will commence by referring to that
great bane on the social morals of our youth of both
sexes—prostitution. At the present time, it is a well-
known fact, there are no less than 513 houses of al-
fame kept by females, while there are no less than 2,256
prostitutes on our streets. Of the latter, during the past
year, 537 have been apprehended by the police for the
first time, and 762 as old offenders, making the total
number of these characters taken into custody 1,289,
the apprehensions 2,572; and the total number sum-
marily convicted has been 846, and thus there has been
1,700 convicted. Next to prostitution comes drunken-
ness, or as it may be termed an ingredient in the same
class of offence. 4,662 females have been apprehended
for drunkenness and disorderly conduct; 2,449 were
discharged, for be it remembered that for the first
offence in this class as well as the former, the parties
are invariably admonished and discharged or fined;
and 2,222 were convicted and sent to prison for various
terms.

But black as the foregoing is upon the fair fame of
our town's escutcheon, blacker is still to come. The
female population of Liverpool have found ample work
for the magistrates, and have, as we before observed,
taken an active part in every conceivable crime. The
magistrates have summarily disposed of 9,203 offences
committed by females, 4,190 of whom have been dis-
charged, and 5,013 convicted. Amongst the offence;
for which the 5,013 have been so convicted, we find 53
for aggravated assaults upon women and children, 148.
for assaulting the police, 385 for common assaults, and
9 for cruelty to animals ; for wilful and malicious-
damage, 135, for punishable misdemeanours, 383, for
deserting their families, 5 ; forty-one girls under 16,
years of age have been cenvicted for larceny ; 379 above
that age pleaded guilty to larceny of property under the.
value of 55., and 50 for frequenting places of public
resort to commit felonies. The total number of female.
summarily convicted has been 5,013.
While the magistrates have thus summarily dealt,
with the foregoing crimes, there are others which come'
under what is termed "indictable offences," and were.
apprehended and taken before the magistrates, not
having summary jurisdiction in the matter, andla;lnongst
those we find 33 females apprehended for wounding;
with intent to do bodily harm; manslaughter, 2;; con-
cealment of birth, 2; bigamy, 3; assaults with intent
to inflict bodily harm, 7 ; larceny from dwelling-houses,,
6; larceny from the person, 470; larceny by servants,.
30; simple larceny, 362 ; receiving stolen goods, 45 ;.
obtaining goods by false pretences, 20 ; forgery, 2;.
possessing base coin, 31 ; and keeping disorderly houses.
20. Out of 2,025 persons apprehended for these in—
dictable offences, 1,053 were females, 609 of whom
were sent for trial.
The above facts speak for themselves. Comment is
scarcely necessary, as they but too clearly prove the
degradation of our female

RETIREMENT OF MR. CROO*, V.P.—We believe we
shall be found correct in stating. that Mr. Crook, who
has sat as one of the representatives of Bolton in Par-
liament since the summer of 102, intends to resign his
seat as soon as the forms of the house will admit of his
p
acceptance of the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds'.
John Risk, Esq., an extensive engineering em lover in
Bolton, is spoken of is his probable successor.