The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-11-29 00:00:00

PUBLICATION.

POEMS BY GEORGE AIERCER.—London : Saunders,
otley, and Co, Liverpool: The Author, Great
Xewtori,street.
It would be ungracious to dcimpare the verses which
Con:finis:a this little toldme Ntith arty high gtdnriard ; but
the arildsem6fit,aiid crnisdlatioil of a lonely invalid, in
the intervals of pain,, amidst siMft4litig ,pdierty and
hopeless dependence, if not breathing the highest themes
of poetry, have a special interest in themselves. These
poems, as the production of "a ,poor working man,"
of Liverpool, self-educated, and by sickness secluded
from society, and all useful exertion, recommend them-
selves. Some of the poems are very touching and
graceful, exhibiting considerable pathos, with harmo-
nious versification and excellent spirit. We would refer
our readers to the little tolunie itselt:i and have no doubt
it will give pleasure to Many o Gfeoro :Idea's former
friends and companions. When in his health and
strength, some seven years ago, he had hosts of acquain-
tances in Liverpool, and this his re-appearance, and in
the unexpected character of a poet, will seem to them
like a resuscitation from the dead, and must awaken in
them feelings of admiration and sympathy.

THE VOLUNTEkR AidvEmEN'T AND THE
SATURDAY HALF HOLIDAY:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY TIMES.

SlR,—The question of the efficiency of our volunteer
army is now being taken up with a lively feeling of
interest by all who have the honour and prosperity of
the country at heart. The officers and men of this
patriotic army have advanced a considerable way on the
road to perfeetibii in military affairs in the few months
during which.they haVe been in existence. They have
surprised 4+eri the !neat sanguine of their admirers.
Their proficiettey at drill and soldietlike appearance
have astonished some patties rill(); while they wished
well to the movement, had doUbts as to the possibility
of making soldiers out of men who passed their days
behind counters, at desks, or in workshops. Croakers
thought that the people of this country were so engrossed
in the pursuit of Mammon that they had lost all that
noble Chi Valry and desire of emulation in manly and
military sports and achievements which formed so large
a boriStitueat of English c'naritetet in bygone days. But
the Volunteer Movement has Stavin that Englishirien
have not degeneratedtbey are still the worthy sons of
noble sires. The idea of dishoiioui on out national flag,
or the bare whisper of invasion of out sacred soil,
sufficed to call up an army which for patriotism and
enthusiasm is unparalleled in the annals of the world—
Greece, Rome, Carthage, can show nothing worthy of
comparison. The volunteer army of Great Britain is
now an accomplished fact. Even military men—old
seldiers=are beginning to speak of the corps as troops
rf position, and we now seldom hear them spoken of as
clouds of skirmishets dodging behind trees and ditches,
acting as guerillas, &c. No. The " tegalars" have
seen what they ate capable of, and veterans are not
afraid of having them in the van in the day of trial.
They can feel they have men on the.right or left, or in
the centre, . whose courage and devotion are not to be
questioned, and whose discipline is but inferior to their
own, but who in the fiery onslaught of a charge, or in
the more dreadful ordeal of receiving fire, are their
equals, if obt superiors. I hope, sir, after the publicly
expressed opinion of Col. Wilbraham, at St. George's-
hall, on the occasion of the swearing-in of the Volunteer
Engineer Corps, we shall hear less of invisibility,
guerilla, and irregUlar warfare, as applied to our
volunteer army. There is but one thing wanting, as. I
belieVe, to make the volunteer fade everything that it
ought to be, and reader them efficient in a manner to
defy criticism, and enable inspectors to lay aside, in
their reports, that semi-depreciatory qualification of
"excellent —for volunteers." The desideratum, I
conceive, is to be found in the general adoption of the
Saturday half holiday in our town, which would afford
time and opportunity to the different corps and battalions
to form in position, and enable the men to see, in
practice, those manoeuvres which would form the test,
and measure of their efficiency and usefulness in the
day of actual struggle. In fact, without this our
volunteer force will remain .a mere accumulation of
isolated companies, incapable of working together in
large bodies. . .

One method of bringing this important subject before
the public, I would venture to suggest, viz., that the
committee of the Early Closing Association, and the
commanding officers of volunteer companies, convene a
grand volunteer demonstration in St. George's-hall, in
favour of the Saturday half holiday movement, a course
which I believe would have the effect of bringing a
large amount of valuable influence to bear on what has
become an absolute necessity to the welfare and progress
of the great movement of the day.
With your permission, I shall take the liberty of
again referring to this matter, having for the present, I
fear, trespassed rather freely on your valuable space.—
I am &c., VoLo.

moTrlitiemecreratinfidcatceo.m,
el
ee at itilhge'r in h
emtarattdeii;igofintLauornednocne
and Liverpool, was held yesterday. The proceedings
factors, t
are expected to last several days.
From proceedings in Doctors' Commons, yesterday,
it appears that the Rev. James Bonwell, of Stepney,
has so far take} the necessary steps to prosecute his
appeal against sentence, of deprivation.
A rACT VOR THE DEAN o 1 CARLISLE.—A young,
quiet, sensible, good-looking country lass, was asked by
one of the sterner sex, a few days ago, what she thought
of "snuffing and smoking." " Well," she replied,
"snuffing is abominable, but I would like ma man to
be a smoker." "Why?" was immediately asked, "0,
because r see when ma father conies bathe ever sae
cross, as sune as he gets the pipe lightit, and begins a
blast, he's a' pleased again."—Border Advertiser.
MASSACRE BY PIRATES.---MACAO, OCT. 6.—A Com-
munication received by the French consul at Shanghai
from a priest in the district of Haiiuier, near the mouth
of the River 'rangtsse, states that an American barque
had, been chased by pirates, was supposed to have been
captured, and all the crew murdered excepting one man,
who was lying at the above place badly wounded; five
bodies had been found and buried.
CHOKED DY A PIECE OE BEEP.--A.ll inquest was held
in Bristol, on Monday, on the body of James Douglas,
about sixty-three years of age, and by trade a clog and
patten maker. It appeared from the evidence that the
deceased was intoxicated on Saturday night, and did not
get up until dinner time on Sunday. Ile had roast
beef and roast potatoes for dinner. At seven o'clock he
left the house, and came back again about eleven much
much intoxicated. He had cold beef and potatoes for
supper, during which he put a piece of meat in his
mouth, and soon began to cough. He did not speak
after he began to tough, but appeared to be choking
and endeavouring to throw something from his throat,
Within ten minutes after he began to cough he died.
The jury returned a verdict "That the deceased was
accidentally choked by a piece of beef." '
LONDON Rnmouits.—The morning papers, so eloquent
in announcing the object of the Conservative leaders in
meeting at Mr. Disraeli's to be the selection of a guiding
spirit for next session, omit to mention a rumour which
has obtained circulation at the clubs, that, among other
matters, it was unanimously resolved in the Bucking-
hamshire gathering, to expose the foreign policy of the
present Government on the first opportunity, and that
in consequence of the Earl of Derby's illness the attack,
in the Lords would be entrusted to the ex-Foreign
Secretary, the Earl of Malmesbury. It is the dread of
this which has caused Lord Cowley to decide on shortly
making a longer visit to England than usual, and not
domestic matters, as the Radical journals would have us
believe. The entire strength of the diplomatic corps
will be require • dto ward off the blunt of the attack, and
the Government feel precious awkward at the prospect.
A THEATRE BEHIND THE SCENES.—A theatre is like
a Hindoo household, and all the men and women before
you axe divided from each other by the law of caste.
In one corner sits a "singing chambermaid"—a per-
former confined to acting such parts as waiting-women
(with songs) and nothing else. If, in your ignorance
as a young dramatic author, you were to wish her to
take a character requiring the appearance of age, you
would offend her, and the middle-aged lady sitting at
her side, whose dusty it is to play all the "second old
women," and no others, upon that partictlar stage.
On another couch is the "first old woman"—an impe-
rious-looking lady of the mother-in-law class—who
, has her sphere of action as strictly defined as that
of a chess-board queen. Near her you will observe
a rather cheerful, middle-aged gentleman, known
only dramatically as the "first old man," supported on
his right by another middle-aged, rather thin gentle-
man, who is similarly known as the " second old man."
The slim, genteel gentleman, not
very young, who is
talking to a handsome commanding lady, is the "light
comedian," but nothing more. His companion is known
as the " leading lady ;" while the two young men who
are standing opposite to her on the other side of the
room, are the "first and second walking gentlemen."
Near them is that highly important person the "leading
low comedian," almost faced by his more humble brother

actor, the "second low comedian." Two otter -gentle-
men, in different parts of the room, are known respec-
tively as "eccentric comedian" and "utility actor;"
and they have corresponding companions amongst the
Nagaztne, for December.