The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-23 00:00:00

JUSTICE AND GENEROSITY.

• THE English are a charitable and a benevolent
people, whose compassion is easily moved by
representations of want and suffering, real or
spurious. That this national weakness—if we
may apply such a term to so amiable a trait of
character—should have been seized upon and
abused in every conceivable way, is not astonish-
ing. Nor is it at all unusual, at this season of
the year, to find that a dead set is being made in
all sorts of forms, and from every possible quarter,
upon public benevelence. But it is at all times
of no small importance for the general body of
the middle and upper classes, to whom these
appeals are made, to be fully on their guard as
to the real merits of the several claimants, and
especially so at such a crisis as the present, when
real and unmitigated distress abounds to an
almost unparalleled extent. Nothing operates
more prejudicially upon the cause of true and
permanent benevolence than the blind, indiscri-
minating, and injudicious exercise of oharity.
The pernicious consequences of prornisationS alms-
giving, sooner or later, become patent to the
most impulsive .minds, and the discovery has too
often the effect of drying up the very fountains
of open-hearted compassionateness and liberality.
Enlightened benevolence will always recognise
the truism that the prevention of an evil is
better, easier, and cheaper than any cure. And,
in regard to those cases of poverty, the recurrence,
of which we need never hope altogether to pre-
vent; intelligent charity will always seek to
apply its aid, so as not to aggravate the pro-
ducing causes of distress, as might be done by
really, however unintentionally, holding out a
premium to recklessness and improvidence in any
-class of the people. In short, while charity has
its own proper province, it is also subject to
blunders—it has its uses and its abuses.
The misery and distress now prevailing among
the working classes in almost, all parts of the
country does not admit of denial ;. neither is it to
be imagined that the enormous amount of spon-
taneous liberality which has been manifeSted by
all sections of the more fortunate members of
. society, is at all in excess of the necessities of the
moment. On the contrary, there can be no doubt
that, notwithstanding the numberless praise-
worthy efforts which have been voluntarily made
and the usual claims which have been met by the
administrators of our Poor-laws, there still
remains a vast amount of unrelieved poverty,
hunger, and nakedness, enough if possible to melt
the very -stones and move them to pity. But let
us consider how far this painful state of matters
might have been prevented, with a view to the
adoption of better regulations in .future, so as to
avoid the recurrence of so widespread and
unmanageable a disaster. The more immediate

cause of the present catastrophe has been the pro-
tracted frost, whereby hundreds of thouSandS,
have been "frozen out" from the exercise of their
usual vocations. Now the question comes to be
ought the *orliing lasses to be permitted to fol-
io* a tenrse Which thus renders theni liable to
the eitrerlieSt ikant A the iiiost ineleilient season,
of the year d Wh stithitd Med in Constant
...emPloynient all the rest of the year round be
redUced to starVation by a break in their work'
for a few weeks ? If society' is to be held respon-
silire roi'thelr niftititellatice tinder adverbs Circum-
stances Whieh ifeintic cad ecintiol; 14 not
society entitled to insist that those men shall lay
aside,'some provision for such contingencies under
.
prospermis circumstances? If an employer who.
pays his workmen a fair Wage for emery working
day year! is expected to Make sortie effort
tcit his, men and their families during NA and,.
snow when work is an impossibility, is he
not justly entitled to insist upon his work-
'men themselves taking some thought of to-
morrow, and
,Making.:'some provision for the
contingency of a severe winter ?; , In short, why
should: not the system of a weekly deposit by
Workilielfhe as neatly AS practiaable'llniVeisaily,
insisted upon; so that Wheil in prosperity they
should -be, Made, te.4tiVe *healer they Wifilta tit
not ? Under .proper afrarigeinent such ‘a rule
would scarcely eVer be objeetcd. to. Already' it
is in eitensiVe gelation in some large establish-
ment:, and always with marked success. There
seems 'little itaSOti to dOtibt that the system
.thight.be made to Wori adttiirably and Uniiier7
eally,•with inestimable benefit, tnithe hands aiid
to their . families, and that it would afford a
marked illustration, of hoW much superior in its

operation preventiouis to cure.
When all has been done that man can do to
avert the consequences of improvidence and
inclement weather, there will still remain a suffi-
ciently large number of oases requiring the
sympathy of the benevolent, and giving ample
'scope for the play of their fln,er and more gener-
ous impulses; and there will. always be the same
need for caution as to spurionS elaintarts upon
.public charity: Of such pseudo. objects.of:,
volence we desire to speak with all. •delicacy,
because their advocates are, for the most part,
not designedly wrong, but merely the victims of
a zeal that is without.knowledge. • Moreover, we
know.their keen sensitiveness to criticism ; and
would willingly save them, if we could, from the
frightful distortions. we .have occasionally seen
them make in endeavouring to resent observa-
tions never meant to hurt their feelings, although
so far adverse to . the propriety of. their Schemes.
If, in alluding generally to the blunders of the
charitable, we shOuld make mention of the midnight
meetings mania, we trust we shall, not be, far mis-
• nnderstOod us to be supposed capable of ridiculing
thb. good intentions of the promoters of -spch a
scheme. But we would say to them, in the words
ofi an. able co'ntemPorary,'.' try to look at the
penitentiary 'system from the point of view of a
maid-of-all=werk; who drudges from morning to
night for half-a-crown a-week and her keep. She
knows ;companions, of her youth, no richer than
herself, who flaunt up and 'down the street,
dressed,. as she thinks, like any lady,
,enjoying
unlimited freedom and unlimited gin. Naturally
she thinks this is pleasanter 'than ten hours'
ceaseless scrubbing, and is strongly tempted to
adopt the vocation that leads to such' results.
The only thing that comes in aid of her principles
to deter her is, that she has beard. that it often
ends, 'after a feW Years,, in broken health, desti-
tntion, and an early death in the workhouse.
But the acquaintances, who are urging her to do
as they have done, are. easily able to pacify her
alarms on this head. 'A number of religious
gentlemen have kindly removed all difficulties of
this kind. They have provided a kind of Chelsea
tkipital for the disabled of the profession, in
which her vocation can be laid aside whenever it
ceases to pay ; so that she need trouble herself
with no fears of the death in the workhouse. With
principle on the one side, and every earthly
advantage 'on the .other,.. we leave the philan-
thropist to judge which is likely to carry
,off the
victory. It is no theory, but a mournful fact,
that the contrast between the care lavished on
the wicked, and the neglect which is the lot of
the innocent, works deep and terrible results in
the hearts of the class from whom first the pave-
ment, and then the penitentiaries, are recruited."
If such considerations , will not cause theta to
pause in their course, we despair of being able to
reach them.
Let us be just before we are generous.

LIVERPOOL INSTITUTE.—The directors have elected
EdWin Simpson Samuell, Esq., to be the president of
the institute for the ensuing year; and Samuel Booth
and John Robinson, Esqrs., as vice-presidents.
THE BOUSFIELD TESTIMONIAL—The committee for
conducting this testimonial fund are now. concluding
their labours ; and as they are anxious to collect all the
money in the course of the present week, we would
suggest that all sub-scribers who have not done so
already should place their respective amounts at tmee
in the hands of either the treasurers or secretary.

RELIEF FOR THE DISTRESSED.—We are • requested
by the Worshipful the Mayor to acknowledge the re-
ceipt by him of the following additional sums in aid of
the suffering poor. The money will be handed by his
worship to the charities specially formed for the allevia-
tion of the distressed, for distribution by them :—Peter
B. M‘Quie and Son, Water-street, £lO ; James Edmonds,
Royal Windsor Castle Menagerie, £2O ; Mr. J. Whitty,
Lord-street, ; Thomas H. Duke, Brunswick-street,
(being a small portion of the the corn merchants' sub-
scription,)
MR. AND MRS. HOWARD PAUL AT THE CLAYTON-
DALL.—The varied representations of character given
by these gifted caterers for the entertainment and amuse-
ment of the public, were again attended with the most
signal success last evening. Every portion of the hall
was literally crammed, and the delight und applause of
the large assemblage were testified in a most nrunisftik-
able manner, which could not but be' .highly ;ratifying
to Mr. -and Mrs. Howard Paul and to, the talented
young lady, Miss Taylor, who accompanies them on
their present tour. •

MERCHANT STEADIERS IN TILE MEDITERRANEAN.—
The movements at Malta of merchant steamers between
the 7th and 15th of January are as follows :—The
Orontes,from Alexandria, cotton and grain for Liver-
pool ; ie Laconia, from Constantinople and Smyrna,
with wheat for Liverpool; the Christina, from Beyrout,
Alexandria, and Alexandretta, with cotton ,and grain for
Liverpool; the Arcadia, from Liverpool and Gibraltar,
for Alexandria, with a general cargo; the Danube, from
Liverpool, Lisbon, and Gibraltar, with a general 'cargo
for Alexandria, Beyrout, and Alexandretta; the Frank-
fort, from Alexandria, with cotton and ,grain for
Liverpool.
COUNTY RIFLE ASSOCIATION FOR •LANCASHIRE.—
The provisional, committee of the County Rifle Associa-
tion for Lancashire, recently inaugurated at Preston,
met yesterday in the Town-hall, for the purpose of
appointing local committees in the different towns of
the county. Captain George Melly was appointed the
Liverpool local secretary. The meeting was presided
over by Lprd Stanley, M.P., and there were also present
the Mayors of Liverpool and Preston, Colonel Wilson
Patten, Towneley Parker, Esq., Major Blundell, Major
Gray, M.P., Captain Brooks (Manchester), Lieut.-001.
Bourne, Lieut.-Col. Gladstone, and John Blundell, Esq.
The list of patrons and vice-presidents includes nearly a
hundred of the principal nobility and gentry of the
county.
CORONER'S INQUESTS.—Yesterday the coroner held
the following inquests:—On the body of James Roddy,
a dock labourer, 43 years old, who lived in a court off
Stewart-street. On Wednesday last the deceaied was
ship in
working at a ship the docks, and, from his own
account, he fell into the hold of the ship by accident,
and Burt his back and head, and died from the effects
of the injuries. 'Verdict, "Accidental death."—On the
body of John Barton, 73 years of age, who 'got his
living by selling fruit, &c., in the streets. The poor
old man was much debilitated by illness, and died
suddenly whilst being carried to the hospital. Verdict,
" Died of natural causes."—On the body of Samuel
Whaley, who was a removing officer belonging to the
Toxteth Board of Guardians. lie was 31 years' old.
The body of deceased was found in a pit in Parliament
fields, under the ice, but how he came there, no evidence
was produced. Verdict, "Found drowned."—On the
body of a child named Patrick Brannan, 22 months'
old. The child was scalded a few days ago, and died in
consequence of the injuries received. Verdipt, "Acci-
dental death,"—On the body of Thomas Dowling, 11
years of age, who was drowned in a pit beside
Wavertree-road on Saturday'last whilst sliding on the
ice. Verdict, " Accidental drowning."

GRAND TRUNK 11.AJLWAY COMPANY OF CANADA.—
Traffic for the week ending December 29th, 1860, and
corresponding week in 1859 :
Passengers, &c. Merchandise, &c. Total Miles
Date. No. Amount. Tons. Amount. Sterling. Open.
1560 11773 £3318 6 4 111702 £9145'19 2 £12494 5 6 970
1859 9688 3899 4 9 8369 7150 17 0 11050 1 9 970
Increase
Gross receipts for 23 weeks, frorti July 1. 18G0—E367,023 7 7}
Ditto corresponding period last year 279,955 13 9

Increase

£87,064 13 10,

FOREIGN INTELLIGEIOE.

♦
FRANC.

' (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
• • PARIS, Jan. 21, 1861.

AlthoUgh the armistice concluded between
General (iialdini and the commandant of Gaeta
has e)tpired;• and the resumption of hostilities
.been -declared since
.Batiiiday. lasts in consequence
of the.reftiaal of. Francis 11. td eliteitOin the pros
posals.that.were made to him for•the siiiketider bf
the place, it is to be presumed that•thA bomlidkth
ment did not at once commence; :for pceiiiously
to re-Opening their fire on a• large scare, the
Piednienteae hotild necessarilthave to attend to
the forrnalitiei e{isidiiiii4lti such circumstances,
which are dictated by the laws
well as by the law of.:nations. As soon dA the
French squadron left, Admiral Persano went and
took its place with the Italian fleet, and his
ftrA to .publish anew a . declaration
of the blOCitid; the inhabitants of
Gaeta were informed' that d ntimber of
hours would be allowed them for leaViiig tli
town. All the forq;:: vessels at once left the
harbour; and the expectation at Turin way Fiat
the bombardment would be recommenced in
earnest to-morrow. So far as the naval attack is
cenbeined; 'd
good deaf is teekoned upon by the
liegleger6 trOM the hie Of theii gUn-boats; and
as regards the land batteries; it is Said that •
denbrd,l Childial Mai SUc'eeeded in putting 150 .
pieces of artillery in pOsitiOnriaell gun haVing
supply of 1,000 charges of anitiitintOdn:
seems impossible, therefore, to suppose that Wei
garrison will be able to hold out 'many days
against the terrible and searching fire which will
thus be brought to bear against their defences.
It,aPpbaf-s that the'rrettelecorvette the Monette
will Btill Withitt balli
,IVith the view of
affording a refuge to 141iddii 11. and his 'familyl
and of conveying them td declination
they may. desire.
There can be no doubt that the fall of the !ilia
will exercise considerable influence upon the Rai,
Tian electionS;andin favour of the government of
M. Cavour. The party which is hostile to that
statesman are making tremendous efforts. lo ;upset
his ministry, They have issued a prograinme to
' the electors, in which they have printed the
names of all those Deputies in the late.Sdrdinian
Parliament who voted for the annexation of
Savoy and of Nice to France. They there urge
the!elebtdrs td exclude all such the
neyv Italian parliaMent,,titid they call.upc /them
to vote only, for those candidates *lid ard
deterinii‘ed 'to uphold the follOWingspoints, viz.!
Italy united, free, and indivisible ; Rome to be
made the capital of. Italy; by force ,of arms ;
Venice to be conquered; the punishment of death
to be abolished; ministers to ho deprived' of the
priVilege they .at present' enjoy of holding a
parliament; a re-distribution of the 'deputies;
and lastly, the propriety-of arming the entire
nation to be earnestly pressed Upon the'govern-
. went.. Such. are the principal features.. of this
anti-Cavourian programme,the perilous character
.. iof 'Which t' is ;net difficult to perceive,' though
• happily the extreme views which it contains aro

not in the least likely to prevail in the new parlia-
ment, as the government can with confidence
calculate on the support of a majority of two-
thirds, at least, of the members. Meanvihile,
Count Cavour has let it be known that he is
desirous of having a large .arsenal four* at
Spezzia, and that he is prepared to recommend
that a sum of not less than £200,000 should be
devoted to this object.
In the direction of Rome the political horizon
looks as .full of troubles as ever. There is still

the same hatred of France ; the same obstinate
persistence infomenting disaffection in the Neapo-
litan Provinces ; the same determination to adhere
to the former order of things, and to ignore those
changes in the States of the Church and of the
public opinion. of Europe, which have long passed
into the domain of accomplished facts. Five
hundred young men, all belonging to noble
families in France, have lately gone to join the
Papal army, the enrolments for which are carried
on with great activity under. Jesuit agents in
different parts of the French Provinces.
Religious pamphleteering is still the rage.
Dentu's establishment is crammed with them ;
but all sell—a fact which is with justice regarded
as an evident indication of the intensity of the
spirit of discontent' which has been roused it
France and elsewhere against Rome. Those by
M. Cayla, which are distinctly "provocative" of
a schism, and particularly his last, " La France
sans le Pape," have specially excited the curiosity
of readers, on account of their sipposed semi-
official inspiration. The above-named publisher is
shortly about to publish the " Letter of a Gal-
lican Canon on the possibility of a schism,
addressed to the Bishops of France." The Writer
of it does not give his name, but it is exnected
that the peculiar style of writing of the author
of this extremely curious letter will speedily
betray him. M. Jules Brethe has also an elabo-
rite work of the same class in the press, in which
he deals with the " UsUrpation of Popes and
B is h ops."
It is still considered doubtful, notwithstanding
the recent announcement to that effect in the
papers, that the. Papal Nuncio, Mgr. Sacconii will
return, to Paris; he is soy excessively unpopular.
It seems to be thought that he.will probably be
made a Cardinal instead. The Abbe Beaugoin,
Cure of St. Augustine, and one of 'the five cures
of Paris who attended the official, reception at the
Tuileries on New Year's Day, is spoken of for the
important vacant See of Perigueux.
The announcement that the Empress had sent
100,000 francs as a contribution to .the St. Peter's
Pence Fund, as well as'the stori'eflier Majesty
having resolved to devote the price 'of the 'sale of
the Hotel which belonged to her sister the Duchess
of Alba to the same object, are now pointedly
'contradicted.
The Minister of the Interior, M. de Persi' gny,
has positively refused the application of M. Emile
011ivier, 'as well as that of several other appli-
cants, for 'authority to establish .a ,new journal ;
but this refusal excites pinch less sensation than
the recent conduet Of the GOVernor of Martinique,
who has Of own authority suppressed a
journal in that island, called La France d'outre
Ater; for no other reason than because the style of
the article was more " bitter" than it ought to
have been. The proprietor has applied to the
Emperor for redress, and, lie Wit get it, no doubt.
A favourable change took plaee; at the Bourse
owing to the news of an alleged arrangement
between the Bank of France and Russia'. for a
large supply of gold in return for 'silver. Rente
closed firmly at 67 50.

TORCHLIGHT SKATING AT, PARIS.,,AN
IMPERIAL FETE.

A letter from Paris, dated Saturday evening,
says :

Last night I had the luck to be present at a grand
court skating match by torehlight. In Paris the streets•
were muddy ; it was supposed that a decided thaw had
set in, the ice on the lake in the Bois de Boulogne was
pronounced unsafe—it was, as ascertained myself,
watery on the surface' and not a soul was to be seen
upon it. But beyond the Longchanips racecourse,• and
on the banks of the Seine,. near M. de Rothschild's
splendid villa, and just opposite Suresne, there is a
meadow studded with pretty clumps of high trees,. which •
was overflowed during the late floods, and which, although
-the thermometer had risen to a stiude itbove zero; stiPpre-
sentcd a smooth coating Of solid ice, theFe.being starcery
any water underneath. At this spot the emperor, with
•As ' math secrecy as. possible, had. made 11,rendezvous
for ten' o'clock at night. The great' Godillot, under-
taker of public rejoicings, hung the branches of the tree
with hundreds of Chinese lanterns, and serving men as.
numerous as those peasants wha erst walked all night
long up and down the ponds about .the royal palaces.
to prevent the frogs from waking the Kings of
France, promenaded the frozen meadow with lanterns.
fixed on their heads. Besides this constant illumination,.
there was an intermittent succession of Bengal fire and
fizzing torches, which lighted up the scene a giorno.
A body of men in white blouses—a special 'ice police—
formed a cordon round the field of operations, and kept
off those who were uninvited, but the crowd of spectators,
though considerable, consisted mainly of the inhabitants
of. St. Cload, Suresne, and the neighbouring .villages.
The population of Paris knew nothing of the fete, and
up to this hour neither the .Moniteur nor any other
journal has said a word about it. As soon as the Em-
peror and the court arrived the sport commenced in very
businesS-like style. The Empretss got into a sledge, and
M. Hartogs, a German gentleman, whose proficiency as
a skater attracked the Imperial notice two years ago,
and who is now called at court the Emperor's aide-de-
camp de glace, had the honour of pushing her Majesty
on the ice. He took her along at railroad speed, and
was out of sight of shore in less than a minutei. The
Emperor then put on his skates, and eonducted the
sledge of a lady whose name I could not learn. The
Countess de Morny; enveloped in velvet and white furs,
essayed her prowess, but was supported by tWo gentle-
men, who gave her a hand on each Side. The Princess
Poniatowski went along very by herself. In a
short space of time the ice was thickly studded with a
host of chamberlains, generals, aides-dc-camp, and even
judges, who had come with the court party to join in
the fashionable amusement 'otthe hour. The notion of
coming to skate in a thaw was highly aPpreved of, for
the night was by no means cold. The Emperor and
Empress remained on the ice till half-past eleven.