The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-25 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

In reply to a eorrespondent,;;;;;;;;;;hat the best book
on the colony mentioned is " Swainson's New Zealand." It
is published by Smith, Elder, and Co , of London; and its
l4s.
Under no circumstances can communications be inserted not
accompanied by the author's real name and address, which
are required, not necessarily for publication, but as a guar-
antee of good faith.

HIGH WATER, THIS DAY, AT LIVERPOOL.
Hour. Height.
MORNING 3h. 26m. 16ft. 7i32.
EVENINta 3h. 52n,. 1 14ft. 10in.

~,

C alip Eillles,

MONDAY, JUNE
_26,- 1860.

THE DAY'S NEWS:

By accounts received through America we are
told that' the Chinese Government has acceded to
all the demands of Enkliiirand France. The
announcement, if it may be relied upon, will
be hailed with delight, both because it obtains
compensation for past expenses, and also puts an
end to further outlay, at least for the present. It
also puts an end to the necessity for an alliance
with France in a matter, which, it is to be
feared, might have led sooner or later to certain
difficulties. To the philanthropist, and lover of
peace, it will also afford gratification, as likely to
prevent a great amount of huma❑ slaughter ; for
it is not to be supposed- that this could have been
otherwise avoided. The explanation of this.
sudden termination of the difficulty may
be found' in the fact that, for some time
past, the Chinese rebellion has been rapidly
gaining ground ; and, in the neighbourhood
of Shanghae and Canton, considerable alarm
has been created by the proximity of the insur-
gents. It is probable that the fear of the latter's
entering into a treaty with the foreigners has
decided
_the Imperial Government to accept the
ultimatum offered to it. It had in all probability,
become a question with it of speedy annihilation
or of the sacrifice of its absurd prejudices. It
seems to have prudently resolved on the latter.
It is not probable, however, that these forced con-
cessions will avail the present Chinese dynasty
much. It has, as we all know, for centuries
maintained the same conflict of force against pub-
lic opinion, which has wrecked so many political
systems and upset so many thrones. It is impos-
sible that those effete Asiatic Governments can

withstand, for any length of time, the contact
with European civilisation. Hindostan fell
a prize to England, more by force of
opinions derived from her system and rule, bad
as they often were, than by force of arms. The
same conflict of opinion now rages in Japan. We
have just learned of the attempted assassination
of the Ruler of that territory ; and the fact may
may be set down as a result of their recent con-
tact with Americans. The old Emperor had
imbibed rather enlarged-views .in consequence- of-
his recently acquired familiarity with more liberal
institutions, and was supposed to be favourable
• to the views of the new progressive party, to
whose efforts may_-be attributed the poli!ical
mission to .America—the first ever sent from Japan
to any foreign country. His liberality, no doubt,
won for him the hatred of the old fossils of the
court, iind it was hoped that, iu depriving the
present Regent of life, an end would be put to the
projects of reform with which both the late and
present regimes had become identified. The
failure of the attempt is every way gratifying.
These events, both in China and Japan, are espe-
cially interesting to the student of history. They
are but illustrations of the struggles which have
always accompanied the formation of public
opinion. What have been the contests which
have divided and torn Europe since the middle
but conflicts of opinion ? 'From the time
when feudal customs received their deathblow,
down to the wars of liberation undertaken in
more recent times, men have been fighting for the
same principles which, in China and Japan, are
only beginning to dawn upon the minds of the
population. It will be seen that later telegrams
contradict the reported settlement of the Chinese
question. •

The review, by her Majesty, of the Volunteers
in Hyde Park, on Saturday last, came off with
unparalleled eclat and brilliancy. The weather
is said to not inappropriately, a com-
promise between Volunteer's weather and Queen's
weather, i.e., it was not wet, and yet it was not
very bright. The number. of volunteer troops
reviewed was about 30,00 G, and the attendance
of the public was wholly unprecedented. The
Queen passed along and inspected the whole line
of troops. They then marched past the carriage
occupied by her Majesty,—which occupied an
hour and twenty minutes, during the whole of
which the King of the Belgians and the Princess
Alice stood up in the carriage, admiring the fine
spectacle of an army of volunteers composed of
the intelligence, of the patriotism, and the public
spirit of the three nations which constitutes
the British Empire, passing under review of
its Sovereign. The high encomium pub-
licly pronounced on the efficiency of the
troops by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge,
Commander-in-Chief of the British army, must
have been as gratifying to the Volunteers as it
will be to the country at large for whose defence
they have enrolled themselves. It is perhaps
not too much to say that this great event is one
of the most important that has ever occurred in
the history of the nation. The event of Saturday
last will ever fill a bright page in the history of

England. It was undoubtedly a national mani-
festation of the first magnitude, as being the
.greatest gathering of the newly-organised force
fcir self-defence. It was I, peaceful triumph
worthy of the glorioas reign of the best sove-
reign that ever sat on the throne of the British
Empire. As. we. have already fully pointed out,
however, it is a great turning point in thevOlUn-
teer movement. The numbers of the 'tolunteers
must be increased. Double, treble the present
number will not suffice. Let not the gala day of
Saturday be the culmination of the movement, to
be followed by diminished _zeal. Field days must
be continued in every part of the country, until
not one, but several corps d'ariti,le, with their full
complements of artillery, cavalry, and engineers,
shall have been attained. The question is put,
Have the counties 'cloiietheir. duty ? The towns
have done something, but it is to be feared the
counties have done vex nothing. How is
this ? . Where are the coast artillery—the cavalry
volunteers? It is to be hoped that lords and gentle-
man who have influence over the counties will now
bestir themselves. We trust none who have put
their hands to the plough will now begin to look
back. There are many promising features about
the movement, and we trust that the present is
only as it were the great starting point of the
organisation from which it shall proceed with
increased prosperity until it be crowned with
complete success. In another column will be
found a most interesting account of the whole

proceedings 74"
The rapid expansion of the trade of the Mer-
sey, it is well known, proceeds at such an extra-
ordinary rate as to double itself in every dozen
or fifteen years. This is an enormous fact,
wholly unparalleled in history. Every' year
bears testimony to its truth and permanence.
We have before us ft return,, up to Saturday
evening last, of the rates and duties received
at this port last year with the means of comparing
them with those received during the preceding
year. The total receipts during the twelve
month' s just ended amount to the large sum of
£604,269 135., being an increase on the pre-
vious year of £45,863 16s. ld., being equal to
above eight per cent.. or more than one-twelfth
higher. It is a fact worthy of remark in connection
with this extraordinary increase that the number
of vessels has decreased,-while the tonnage has
increased ; which shows that vessels of a larger
size than formerly are gradually gaining favour at
this port. The number of vessels in 1860 has been
21,136, while in 1859 it was 21,214, a decrease of
78,. -The tonnage of 1860 has been 4,697,238,
while that of 1859 was only 4,511,969,
L *showing an increase of 185,269. The
Ldecrease in the number is insignificant as
compared with the increase of tonnage. Another
_very important conclusion seems to be taught by
these figures, namely, that the increase of the
trade in the two years under comparison is much
-greater in proportion than the mere numerical
increase of the tonnage. This is, no doubt
to be explained by the greater activity of
trade, and also we venture, to infer by
the greater carrying powers of larger ves-
sels as compared with a nearly equal amount
of tonnage in smaller vessels. This may account
for the preference which would now seem to be
given to larger vessels. i
John Blaikie, senior partner of the firm of
John and Anthony Blaikie, advocates, in
Aberdeen, whose recent failure created so
great a sensation throughout the country, has
just returned to Aberdeen from Sweden, to which
he had fled on the eve of the bankruptcy,
and has voluntarily surrendered himself to the
authorities for examination under the Bankruptcy
Act- His public examination will take place
in a few days, when no doubt some humi-
liating disclosures will take place. John
Blaikie belongs to one of the. 'most worthy
and respectable families in the North, andlhe has
hitherto been much esteemed and beloved by all
who knew him or came in contact with him in
business ;: and even now that his career has been
exposed, most people, and indeed those who are
best capable of judging of the circumstances, can-'
nut but regard him with some measure of sympa:
thy, as having been unhappily the victim of some
insidiously evil influence which first led him
astray, and then drove him latterly to fol-
low courses nothing could excuse or exte-
nuate, and which can only be accounted for on
the same principle as that by which we explain
the desperate conduct 0f...a drowning man catch-,
ing at-straws and helplessly striving to avert his
doom, • • t..

.u3a .t

THE 130ROCCIII:1AVBER'S REPORT
ON HORSE RAILWAYS.
This report has been prepared by Mr. NEWLANDS,
in accordance with the instructions of " The Spe-
cial Joint Sub-Committee on Tramways." It
haying been assumed that, according to " our ex-
perience," "both the rude tramroad and the more
Perfect rail, although affording certain advantages
of cheapness and facility, are attended by unques-
tionable evils." The Borough Engineer proceeds
tOrsay----:.--" In order to form an opinicn of the
effect of railways in the public streets, it was neces-
sary. to seek for information from.places where
they are already in extended use, and I accord-
ingly • sought- for and obtained from America a
masi Of evidence—conflicting, it is true, in respect
of . some of its details, but establishing incontes-
tably the following points :-Ist. That the intro-
duction of Horse Railroads, even under monopoly
and mismanagement, has been a boon to the com-
munity, especially to the humbler classes of
it. 2nd. That it has (to use the words of the
New York Herald) organised and systematised
traffic,.and has rendered commodious those streets
which were previously crowded and, impassable by
the irregularity of the-diving."' ;
Much space is devoted in this report toth,e con
sideration of all the ach'erse arguments.that have
been brought-fOrwara by the opponents of Horse.
Railways in America.: in the first place, let it be
noted that among those who have offered unfa-
vourable opinions are enumerated ".The Old
Colony and 'Fall River company," ten livery-
stable keepers and keepers of posting .establish-
ments, five coach-builders,, eight drivers of express
and other passenger vehicles, three teamsters, &c.
The adverse evidence brought forward iu this
report may be summed up as follows :-
1. Horse Railroads interfere with the general
traffic of the town, especially in narrow streets.
2. They • are injurious to ordinary vehicles. It
is admitted, however, that most of these inju-
ries could be avoided by careful driving.
3. Horses are apt to slip when they step on the
rail. This assertion, however, is not proved to
be the fact.
4. Light or pleasure vehicles have a difficulty
in crossing the rails when " crossing quar-
tering," the " wheels slew into the track and
run a rod or two beforelthey can be got out."
5. "Turning out is very difficult of accomplish-
ment in narrow streets, especially for light
vehicles going at a smart pace. At right-
angled turns the fore wheels of a heavy four-
wheeled waggon,
,are easily got out, but the
hind wheels stick:'

6. Carriages have been upset, not so much from
the rails themselves, as from the track occus
pying
.the centre and best part of the road.
The road being high in the middle causes the
vehicles to strike against the curb stones.
There are frequent collisions, too, from vehicles-
being unable to turn out sharply ; but the.
injury in.'*Sn'eli cases appears to be confined to
damaging the axle-box of the wheel of one of
..
the vehicles. ‘'l "3", u'l7!_
7. The difficulty of keeping the different parts of
the road " in surface," the interruption caused
by repairs, and the consequent expense are
overwhelming difficulties.
8. From three to five miles into the country the
horse railways .injuriously affect the traffic of
the
.ordinary steam railroads. .._ ___
9. It is alleged that they have injured the city
proper, both in New York and Boston, by
affording facilities for even the humbler classes
to live in the suburbs, withdrawing their custom
from the shopkeeper of the town, and increasing
the local burdens.
On these objections, however, it is remarked by
Mr. NEWLANDS that "many of the evils adverted
to are -not necessarily consequent on the use of
horse railroads, but arise from malconstruction,
and mismanagement." The whole of the evidence
referred to has reference to a kind of rails and
mode of laying them, which &re now
condemned. M. NEWLAND'S argument "is'
irrefragable. He goes- an- to say :—" When--
it is considered that, in the railroads.
referred to in the evidence, the horse-track forms
a kind of trough in the street, it 'is easy to see
why the evils complained of must inevitably_
follow their introduction. If the gauge is so
wide, which ' it is in most cases, that the wheels
of a light vehicle can get entirely into the track,
then, in the attempt to leave the track, when the'
vehicle is turned obliquely, one wheel must, in
endeavouring to get over the apstand of the.
rail, thrust the other against the upstand of the_
opposite rail, and the vehicle must suffer a wrench,
in which it is not unlikely that its axle may be-
. either bthieor broken. The difficulty and risk ,
of accident from this cause will, it is apparent,.
be increased in the case of a four-wheeled vehicle.
In crossing the: rail obliqUely, too, light vehicles.
are very likely :to- be slewed into the track, and'
there is no safety Rieept in crossing at right-
angles. ' The pOssibility.of these accidents occurring
• ismerety an argument against the particular form
of rails, and ?node of laying them, adopted in
Boston, not against hbrse railroads in general. I
- apprehend that if the horse-track were raised in
place of being depressed such accidents could
not occur, there would be only the wheel or
wheels on one side of the vehicle to• be raised
over the upstand in leaving the track, and
there could not be the slightest - risk of
a vehicle being slewed into the railway in
trying to cross it however obliquely. The road
would als9 be less liable to get out of repair, and
it would.be drier and firmer. The upstand of the
rail would not require to exceed an inch in height
at the most. Now, in macadam roads, the stone
crossings for the greater part of the year offer
more formidable obstacles to crossing than this,
and a little attention will show that, where a road
is composed of macadam centre and paved sides,
there is generally, and unavoidably, a greater
difference of height than this between the paving
and macadam at their junction."
The general conclusion at which our Borough
Engineer arrives is as follows :—" So far, there-
fore, as the traffic is concerned, I see no difficulty
in the way of introducing Horse Railroads. Their
advantages are proved to have been great, and
the evils attending them few, even under systems
of monopoly and mismanagement ; and the evils,
I belieVe, to belong simply to malconstruction,
and may be easily avoided. In all the projects for
Horse Railroads which have been brought under
the notice of the Council, I- believe 'it is 'proposed.
that the carriages should not exceed six feeti in.
width over all, and only a single line of rails is
proposed to be laid. The track would necessarily
occupy the centre of the street or road; and' would
PIA, used by the loaded oninibuses;ilaaVing the
wings on each side for ordinary traffic: if the
rails were laid as above. Suggested, one wheel of a
vehicle on the wings might work in the track,
.and it is: easy to see that there are in this arrange-
ment the rudiments of a systematic regulation of
the traffic in the great thoroughfares." ' . isit t
Mr: NEWLANDS' conclusion is supported by a
mass of evidence. We would direct stte4tion to
the following excerpts from letters addressed to
Mr. NEWLANDS and Mr. BowRINQ, by gentlemen
in Boston. One says :—" When this railroad
movement was first in progress, it was warmly
and strongly opposed ; I did and said all I could
in opposition to it. After a few years of its prac-
tical operation, it has settled down to be a neces-
sity, and probably not one in a hundred that once
opposed it would do so now. It is a great public
convenience, stimulates the occupation of lands at
a distance, and facilitates access to residences
nearer. A road along the extent of your docks,
auT
where the omnibuses now run,.would be a gr ' ti
cotivenienee.7.:zWhether the grade in oxen: fitv
4...-11. .n..;-, ...:i- ,0.,.,A.' ,1.L.1... , .)..,: :...-% -2.1-...-_..1

Edge Hill and Everton is not too great to give
the roads required despatch I am not able to say.
Public opinion has decided that, in our narrow and
crowded thoroughfares, the railroad cars do not offer
as many obstructions as the omnibuses, and even
in a rather narrow street, if there is room for a car-
riage to stand each side of the railway, the public
convenience is but comparatively little obstructed."
Another suggests that " Care will have to be
used in the ' pattern' of the rail ; some of the
horse roads leading out the City have a rail, the
groove of which is so deep that, if the wheels of
a light carriage get into them, there is great dan-
ger of twisting them off, in turning out, unless
great care is used. The road is popular with the
majority of the citizens." The same gentleman
states, with reference to the traffic in narrow
streets : " They don't interfere with the traffic at
all, apparently, in streets twenty-five or t wenty-
six feet wide from gutter to gutter (one line of
rails in these narrow streets)." Now it is proved
by Mr. NEWLANDS that the narrowest street in
Liverpool requiring to be railed is Church-street,
which is only twenty-eight wide from curb to
curb. In this case the railway track would
require to be placed nearer the south side, so as
to leave ample space for two ordinary vehicles on
the north side of the track for only one on its
south side.

Mr. NEWLANDS' report is highly satisfactory
and conclusive. It will confer lasting honour
upon him and upon the borough. We should
think there can no longer be a moment's doubt
that we shall very soon see all our principal
streets lying in the course of omnibus traffic laid
with rails, and that the city railway and cars
will speedily become an established institution.
The other side of the Mersey has had the start of
Liverpool to some extent in this good enterprise ;
but it is clear that the merits of the scheme can
scarcely be tested in those scattered townships.
Liverpool may yet have the honour of being the
first to introduce the Horse Railway into the
streets of a great and crowded centre of popu-
lation and commerce. London will quickly follow
the example of Liverpool, and by-and-by there
will not be a city or town of any importance in
the kingdom without its Horse Railway ; and the
old jolting omnibus will soon become as rare a
curiosity of the past as a four-in-hand mail coach.

SPECIAL TELEGRAM.

DEATH OF SIR E. HAYES, M.P.

We have to announce the death of this gentleman,
which causes a vacancy in the representation of the
county of Donegal. Sir Edward Samuel Hayes, Bart.,
was the only son of Sir Samuel Hayes (2nd bart.), by
the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Leighton, Bart. ;
born in Dublin, 1806 ; married, in 1837, the eldest
daughter of the Hon. H. Pakenham ; graduated at
Trinity College, Dublin; a deputy-lieutenant of Donegal;
a Conservative ; has sat for the county of Donegal since
1831. A. Stewart, Esq. Ards, and Lord Hamilton, son
of the Marquis of Abercorn, are offering themselves as
candidates for the vacant seat.

THE GRAND REVIEW OF VOLUNTEERS
AT HYDE PARK, LONDON.

Ten years since, when the Great Exhibition of
Hyde Park was in progress, it was very gravely
discussed by the commissioners, whether weapons
of warfare should be allowed in a building sacred
to the arts of peace, for wars were at an end,
universal peace was proclaimed, and only the
ploughshares and pruning hooks made from
swords and spears were to be admitted. On
Saturday armed battalions of volunteers swept
over the spot on which that building stood,
to be reviewed by her Majesty upon the
site of that Great Exhibition. More than half a
century hats elapsed since a venerable sovereign
reviewed in Hyde Park an imposing division of
the largest volunteer army which the world had
ever seen. The Queen, as she gazed upon her
volunteer forces yesterday, and looked back upon
the time which has intervened, and in estimating
the position' which she occupies among European
sovereigns, may well feel proud of tho nation
over which she is called to rule, grateful for its
t-and .
--pas courageous for its future. It could not
fail.to )Lle a source of congratulation that during
thy, inrig interval of peace, Englishmen retain in
full'for-de their.aptitude for warlike pursuits, that
•-the'33.-are.ifill 'as- ready as ever for active service,
can still disregard the possibility of danger, and
the certainty of personal inconvenience, in order
that domestic security may be preserved, and the
traditional prestige of a great nation kept un-
impaired. Our volunteers menace no one, and
can cause no sorrow, save in those who envy our
greatness and our power, and every lover of his
country and friend of England must feel sym-
pathy in that great event which yesterday
celebrated the coming of age of the British
volunteers.