The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-12 00:00:00

THE DAY'S NEWS.

In the House of Lords, last night, the Lord
Chancellor, in answer to Lord Campbell, stated
that a bill for regulating the sale of poisons would
be introduced by the government in the lower
House during the present session. A bill on the
subject of marriage and divorce was introduced
and read a first time. The clause which authorised
husband and wife to come to an arrange-
ment between themselves, which was con
tained in the bill introduced last session, was
omitted. Another bill was also read a
first time, entitled " A bill to amend the law
of Probate and Administration." By its provisions
the Court of Probate will be quite distinct from the
Court of Chancery.
In the House of Commons, last night, several
members took the oaths and their seats, atter which
Mr. Sebolefield gave notice that when the motion
of Mr. Spooner upon the Maynooth grant should
come before the house, he should move an
amendment, to the effect that it would be
expedient to withdraw all grants of public
money for religious purposes in Ireland. Sir John
Pakington presented a petition from Newfound
land, condemning the proposed convention with
France on the Fishery question; and, in answer
to Sir John, Mr. Labouchere gave a short history
of the affair. The Home Government had com-
municated with the colonies on the subject, but
they had received no definite answer. They,
therefore, took upon themselves to conclude a
treaty or convention with France, inserting a
clause to the effect that if not approved of by the
colonists then it was not to take effect.
The colonists did not approve of it, and
it became inoperative. Mr. Labouchere hopes that
shortly a satisfactory arrangement will be con-
cluded. From a reply to a question by Mr.
Bouverie, it would appear that the government do
not intend to bring in a bill this session for
amending any part of the Poor Law Acts. Lord
Palmerston repeated his former statement, that
her Majesty's government had the subjectof Church
rates under their consideration, and that then
were not without a hope that they would be enabled
to propose some satisfactory arrangement.
Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced a
resolution, affirming the necessity of altering and
ending the present Savings Bank clauses, and
to provide for tho establishment of savings banks
with the security of the Government. He at some
length urged the expediency of the several altera-
tions which he now advocated. Sir H. Willoughby
thought that the legislation was only of a
piecemeal character, and on this account
he thought the House ow:It to refuse its
sanction to the resolutions. After some conversa-
tion the resolution was agreed to, and leave was
given to bring in the bill. Sir George Grey
moved the second reading of the Transportation
Bill, and explained at length the several peculiari-
ties of the bill. Mr. Bantinck opposed it, and
moved that the bin be read a second time that day
Six months, but not being seconded, the amend-
pent fell to the ground. Mr. Roebuck was of
opinion that a man once transported should never
return, but should be placed in some island—sayin
the South Sea—so-far from a continent to allow of
his escapi n g, and should be there kept under Surveil-
lance during the remainder of his life. Sir John
Pakington condemned the opinion of Mr. Roebuck,
and supported the Government measure, as did
also, Mr. Collier. A long discussion followed, in
which Mr. Henby, Lord Stanley, Mr. Drummond,
Mr. Keating, &c., &c , took part, and the bill was
read a second time. The Itldustrial School Bills
ware rctid a second time, after a division, gie votes

being, for the reading, 1'77 ; against,rlB: majority,
159.

An adjourned meetin; of the Town Council was
hell yesterday. A full account of the proceedings
will be found in another part of tr- ; as
also those of a meeting of tl. • 1!)-ken.b, IA Gas and
Water Company, which was likewise held yesterday.
Au adjourned enquiry into the alleged starving
of a child at St. Helens, took place yesterday,
when the accused stepmother was acquitted.
of potitical news there is little or none. There
is a statement current that kr. Fortescue, M.P.
for L'uth, takes the place of Mr. John Bali as
Under Secretary for the Colonies.
Yesterday morning there were issued the peti-
tions relative to the Cambridge, Athlone, and
Huntingdon elections. In the Athlone petition,
the Hon. Henry Hancicock charges the sitting
member with bribery, treating, and intimidation.
Newspaper politicians, as a whole, do not seem
disposed to place much faith in the promise of the
Premier to introduce a new Reform Bill next
session, and they think the House of Commons
too condescending by far in consenting to forego
the question while the present session lasts. It
is said, in the first place, that the promise of the
Premier was extorted from him; in the second,
that it only amounts to a pledge to consider the
subject; and in the third, that he will have no
difficulty in violating that pledge if the Commons
give him large supplies for naval and military
operations all over the world.
Another batch of official parliamentary papers
relative to China have been published, but. they
are by no means so instructive as the last. They
show, however, that the Emperor of China and
other Chinese officials are in no way disposed to
yield to our menaces. These papers altogether
falsify the election-lodge news that the Emperor
had resolved to disavow the acts of Commissioner
Yoh.

In our foreign news this morning there is a
variety of an interesting description. MI efforts
to establish an English bank at Constantinople
have definitely failed. At the date of the latest
news thence, grave fears existed with respect-to a
renewal of those scandalous Christian broils be-
tween the Greek and Roman Catholic pilgrims at
the tomb of the Saviour at Jerusalem.
The Emperor of Austria has proclaimed an
amnesty to-- political prisoners throughetit his
empire. including- Hungary.. Refugees- do not
participate_
Our Paris correspondence is to the effect that the
court of the Tuileries is not a little disenchanted
of its Grand Ducal visitor. A number of circum-
stances indicate that his Highness has no firm
faith in the direction of the Imperial Regime. The
Grand Duke had hopes of winning :the Em-
peror from his adhesion to the alliance with
England, and is disappointedat his want of success.
The absence of Prince Napoleon is still atttributed
to the little sympathy existing between the Prince
and the Grand Duke.
Letters from Constantinople state that the
French Minister has presented a note to the Sub-
lime Porte, complaining of the illegal interference
of Kaimaltans in the elections in the Danubian Prin-
cipalities. On the other hand, it is reported that
the British and Austria❑ Ministers have presented
a note to the Divan, in which they defend the
conduct of the two Kairnakans. With respect to
the Anglo-Persian Treaty, it is stated that Feruk
Khan, now in Paris, gives no credit to the despatch
in Le Nord, stating that the Shah had refused to
ratify the treaty. At the French Foreign Office,
on Saturday he said he had received despatches
from Teheran, directing him to insist on certai❑
terms which he had introduced in the treaty.
The House of Peers of the Porssian Landtau
has at last given its unconditional assent to one
of the new taxes -which the Government has
thought it necessary to demand. It is a tax on
transferable securities, and of small amount. The
whole „yield is estimated at not more than one
hundred thousand pounds.
A protracted debate of twelve days in the Sar-
dinian Chamber, on the transfer of the arsenal
from Genoa to La Spezzia, as proposed by the Go-
vernment, has ended in the Chamber giving its
assent., not, however, without a considerable mi-
nority voting against it.
An anticipatory telegraph of the Overland Mail
confirms the intelligence of the capture of Moham-
morah by General Outram, but it brings neither
It dian nor Chinese news.

A.ti arrival from the Cape of Good Hope gives a
rather gloomy account of the state of things on the
Caffre frontier. Isolated outrages had take►► place,
and apprehension of another Caffre outbreak was
deepening. In other respects, the Cape colony was
flourishing.

THE address of the Council of the Liverpool
Financial Reform Association to the Members of
the new House of Commons, has been the
subject of much comment in the public press.
Without coinciding in all the theories propounded
by that body, we cordially concur in their efforts
to obtain direct taxation. We also think them
right in calling public attention to the exorbitant
nature of our national expenditure, the impera-
tive necessity for retrenchment, and with that, a
considerable reduction in the taxes levied for the
support of the Government of the country. A
body of respectable gentlemen, persons of influ-
ence and substance, many of them holding very
prominent positions in the society in which they
move, should at all times command a respectful
attention. Their cause is good, and must be
heard. They seek, in the matters alluded to,
the nations benefit, and it ill becomes the self
sufficient Times, to carp at the plain straight-
forward and sensible address which the Council
of the Association has deemed it their duty to
put forth. Moreover, the tone and style adopted
by our namesake is an evidence of the miserable
shift it is obliged to resort to, in order to do its
part in " squelching any " association " or
" society " that does not happen to imitate its
own practice—a want of principle, and a disre-
gard of all those qualities which appertain to
true patriotism and philanthropy.

But, let us look at the document which has
called forth from the leading journal this piece
of blustering assertion, and poorly concocted
specimen of sarcasm. What are the contents
of the address ? The very first item of the
account, is quite sufficient to induce the Times
to have recourse to invective, instead of reason.
" Gentlemen," says nr. GLADSTONE, addressing
the members of the House of Commons—" You
who represent one thirteenth of the popula-
tion, and one seventh of the male adult,"
&c. This is quite enough. The Times
does not want any allusion to Parliamentary
Reform. Nevertheless Mr. GLADSTONE was
right to commence his address with startling
and unpalatable facts on the following topics :
tax-payers with no voice in the imposition and
expenditure of taxes—subjects without a vote in
the laws which they must obey—Parliament is
bereft of power on questions of peace or war—
secret diplomacy —an absence of Parliamentary
control over the public purse—an allusion to the
inexpediency of the Government acting as man_
ufacturers—the Hudson's Bay Company's tactics
—the intended dowry to the PRINCESS ROYAL,
&c. These are all important topics. The Times
is evidently chagrined that it contains such a
dish of varieties. " For our part," says this

paper, "we give up the sorting; but the topics
are all so attractive, that as fast as we fix upon
one, another seduces the attention." Ire;-e it is
that the " leading journal' confesses itself
bewildered with the masterly manifesto of the
Association. So, like the disappointed guest at
one of our great public feasts, who sees before him
plenty of the most enticing luxuries, but cannot,
without the exercise of a little patience and per-
verance, reach them, turns away in disgust, if
not actual rage, and bespatters the directors of
the " spread" with all kinds of indignant and
contemptuous epithets.
The Times admits the attractive character of
the Financial Reform Association, and yet asks
who is Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE, .and what is
the. Financial Reform Association ? They who
are in the habit of disregarding the binding
injunction of the Ninth Commandment require
an excellent memory. The ignorance of the
writer in the Times might have been cured by a
reference to the files of the paper. On the 24th
of January last it contained a report of the
meeting of the Association, at which the princi-
ples of the Society were elucidated and
unanimously adopted. -
If the matters referred to in the address of the
Financial Reform Association be such as to
command attention in Parliament, what matters
it who brings them forward ; and we cannot but
agree with the Council of the Association, when,
at its meeting on Tuesday, it considered that the
course taken by the Times was ,highly. discredit-
able, but still quite in keeping with its invariable
mode of proceeding in.-relation to all great
changes for the, better, which is always divided
into three principal stages—first, contemptuous
silence; then ridicule ; and, lastly, zealous
support.

Every liberal paper of any pretensions agrees
that the new Parliament have numerous and
important matters to adjust. The Financial
Reform Association was quite right to call the
attention of members to the great leading topics
of financial improvement which the country now
seek. The safety and the prosperity of the
country depend upon a proper and well-regulated
system of taxation and expenditure, and we agree
with our cotetnporary, the London Sun, in
expressing a hope that ." the House will have
'ROBERTSON GLADSTONE'S in every borough."
The people may rest assured that pressure from
without will be required to compel both the
government and the Parliament to address them-
selves to all these grievances under which the
nation groans. It therefore becomes the duty
of every city, borough, town, and hamlet, to
send forth earnest and energetic exhortations
to their representatives. Petitions are of little
avail. Let every elector keep a strict look out
on the speeches and votes of the member on
whom he bestows his support, and thereby keep
them alive to their duty; and although the
government audit may be neglected, let them not
forget nor omit to have a strict anal searching Par-
liamentary audit• In taking leave of the subject,
we must tell the' Times that on this matter it has
displayed neither ability nor tact, and that the
millions who read its puny effort at buffoonery,
must deplore that a paper so liable to change,
and advocate what it formerly condemned, should
presume to be the expounder of public opinion
in England.

THE declarations of Mr. CHARLES TURNER in
the Council Chamber, on Wednesday, respecting
the extent of dock accommodation at present
available for the steam trade of the port, was any-
thins but satisfactory. It behoves the dock
authorities to look to the matter in time. Since
the meeting of the Town Council, Messrs. BIBBY
and Company have addressed a letter to the
Chairman of the Dock Committee, setting forth
the complaints which they haye to make respect-
ing the treatment they have received, and the
exorbitant charges they are obliged to pay for
accommodation in the Stanley Dock. Messrs.
BIBBY and Company complain that the charges
for using the dock warehouses are exorbitant in
the extreme. "In many cases 89 to 100 per cent.
more than would be incurred for similar work
done in any of the transit sheds at the open
docks." They also allege that " the delivery of
their fruit has been delayed so long that its
quality has been seriously deteriorated, and its
sale prejudiced to the extent of Is. 6d. to 2s. per
box at least." Such a ,state of things may well
induce Messrs. BIBBY and Company to charac-
terise them as " intolerable," requiring " a speedy
and effectual remedy." It requires no argument
to prove that the continuance of such a system
must eventuate in a most serious loss to the
trade of the port. Nor can any fault be found
with the respected firm for making arrangements
for conducting their trade with the Mediterranean
in such a way as will free them from the incon-
venience, loss, and exorbitant charges, to which
they are at present subjected.
Messrs. BIBBY and Company state that
scarcely a week passes without their getting
instructions from their friends in Manchester,
Birmingham, and elsewhere, to forward their
goods to Southampton for shipment, rather than
wait the shortest period for a Liverpool steamer.
This is certainly enough to startle the most
apathetic. Commerce has made Liverpool what
it is—the foremost seaport in the world. The
defective management of her Dock Estate has
enabled Southampton to become a competitor
for the world's commerce. She has taken the foreign
mail service of the country from us, and London
an interest in the docks of
capitalists, having
that port, are making every effort to increase its
already large maritime business. Nothing can
be more unjust than the despatch of the Aus-
tralian mails from Southampton, inasmuch as
the great bulk of the letters and papers
despatched to and received from the Australian
colonies do not belong to London. It gives
an undue advantage to the metropolis, which
reason, justice, and common sense alike
condemn.

Mr. TURNER tells us that the facilities for