The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

NAVAL AND MILITARY.

EXPENSE IN MESSES OF HER MAJESTY'S
SHIPS.
The following circular has been issued :
" Admiralty, Dec. 12.
"My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
have lately had reason to believe that much greater
expense has been incurred by the messes of
officers in some of her Majesty's ships than is
sanctioned by the rules and custom of the service,
and from complaints which have been made to
their lordships, that mess debts have not been
liquidated at the proper time for payment, by the
officers contracting them, and claims have conse-
quently been made upon officers who were subse-
quently appointed to subscribe for the discharge
of debts to which they bad given no sanction.
My lords have to call the attention of the
officers of the fleet to these irregularities, in order
that they may be avoided in future ; and their
lordships desire that the officers of the ward room
will adopt such measures as will enable their
messes to be maintained with credit and comfort
and free from extravagance, and thus set a becom-
ing example to the junior officers.
" In regard to the gun-room messes, my lords
have an several occasions had brought to their
notice circumstances of extravagance and mis-
management, which have been caused by the
unnecessarily high subscriptions, and the use of
expensive wines and spirits, totally at valiance
with the custom of the service and the pecuniary
means of the officers.

" With a view of putting a stop to such irregu-
larities, my lords direct that the subscriptions to
the gun-room messes shall never exceed the sum
of 81. for entrance, and that the monthly subscrip—
tions, including all extras, shall not be more than
30s

" Their lordships further desire that no wine,
except port and sherry, or wine of the same class
and price, and no spirits, except the ship's allow-
ance, be used in the gun-room messes.

" No wine, spirits, or beer are to be received ott
board any of her Majesty's ships without the
written approval of the officer in command.
Their lordships have also been led to believe
that in some of her Majesty's ships messmen,
under the designation of stewards, are still per-
mitted to carry on the sale of provisions, wine,
spirits, &0., to the messes of the officers as well as
to the men, in direct contravention of the Admiralty
order of the Nth May, 1851. The attention of the
officers of her Majesty's ships is called to this
subject, as nothing can tend• so much to
irregularity in a mess, as well as to injury to the.
discipline of a ship, as to permit any person to
make a traffic by the sale of provisions, spirits, &c.,
instead of the messes being properly conducted by
their caterers.

" The Commander in-Chief and senior officers in
command of stations are hereby directed to take
the necessary steps for carrying out these orders-
" By command of their lorglships,
" R. OSBORNE.
" To all flag officers, commanders-in-chief, cap.
tains, and commanding officers of her Majesty's
ships and vessels."

ADMIRALTY, DEC. 18.--APPOlNTMElrTS.—Commanders
J. M. Cooke (1852), to the Simoom, 8, screw steam troop
ship, Mediterranean station; and G. T. M. Purvis (1852),
to the Megmra, 6, screw steam troop ship, Mediterranean
station.

Second Master P. Svvret, to the Dasher, 2, paddle
wheel steam vessel, at Portsmouth.

Assistant Clerk 11. G. Brokenshir, to the.lndus, 78, at
Devonport.

DIRECT TAXES IN SWITZERLAND.—According to the
returns'of the income tax in Switzerland for 18.56, there
were then in Berne only tcn capitalists and two merchants
paying on a revenue of 22 000 tr ,or 850 fr. for each. One
paid on a revenue of 17,000 fr., or about 700 fr., and
four others on a revenue of 15,000 fr., or 610 fr. each. The
most numerous class is that of the persrns who pay
about 3fr.; they are .527 in number, and 465 others pay
about 60c. The class which pay nothing at all are 709
in number.
CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF AGRICULTURE.—At the
dinner of the Rutland Agricultural Society, Mr. Augustus
Stafford (the chairman) bore the following testimony to the
present flourishing condition of the farmers : " For our-
selves we will own that our position was never more satis-
factory than at present ; for while, on the one hand, no class
can complain against us, we, on the other hand, have no
reason to complain, and are satisfied with the present state
of things, with the prices realised by our stock.
STORM IN THE NORTH SEA.—Loss OF A STEAMER. —A
letter from Christiana of the 4'h says : Along the coast and
at sea it must have been blowing a fearful gale, as there
are numerous wrecks; besides the Prince of Wales steamer,
the Scandina via has put into Christiansand with her
decks clean swept, and reports that the Oscar, running
between Hull and Gottenburg, when in Their company, went
down without their being able to render her any assistance.
he Eastern Counties Herald reports the loss of the steamer
Eglinton on Willow Island, Rugen, making the third Hull
steamer which has been wrecked in the Baltic during the
present winter,

" THEm.'s THE TICKEIS."—Some days since a slab sided
Yankee arrived at one of the Northern Missouri landings.
with a long train of plunder of various sorts. By way of
testing him, the ferryman asked him what stock he had.
" Waal," says the Yankee, " I've got two horses, a yoke of
oxen, and two lows." "That's enough," replied the
ferryman, " you can't cross here." " Why not ?'' inquired
the Yankee. The ferryman told him that his instructions
were not to cross anybody that couldn't pronounce the
word cow. ." But I said keow." persisted the Yankee.
" Well, you can't press here," rather gruffly replied Charon.
'" But 'l've got tickets entitling me to cross," urged the
tickets,A nd e act; odsiSe'
Yankee. The ferryman replied that he did rot know
of anybody who had a right to sell him tickets. " Bat I've
got them, any way." The ferryman demanded a sight. of
the tickets, whereupon Mr. Yankee stepped back a little,
hauled out a revolver in each hand, crying, " Them's the
GIITTA PERCH& HOOPS FOR LADIES.—The ladies claim
so much latitude, or rather circumference, new in the matter
of dress, that it is very difficult for fashion. to give spread
theAdrneesswh
md._bomunadranto,Coroarsa. thiss jfeoruryrnteol.to or no keow!')
enough' to their garments withoat subjecting them to
asanbdeebneitntetrroadruteitedle.
inconvenielces not easily overcome on narrow pavements
It is a cord made of gutta percha, which is not so heavy as
whalebone, is more flexible, so that the dress can be folded
close to the person, when necessary, and preserve elasticity
obstructed
whalebone
for passagediat e n ways.ddistending
enough to resume its proper position again. For the ladies'
dresses this is just the thing needed, and it can be united by
simply putting the ends in hot water. There is, therefore,
no sprinzieg of the ends and tearing of the dress. Gutty
and
dn
percha is one of the most useful articles known. We have
no doubt that the cord shale referred to would make
excellent clothes lines, and for shipping ropes for the young
ladies nothing could be better or more desirable.—New
York loning Post,

COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION. -DISTRIBUTION
OF PRIZES.

The half-yearly distribution of prizes to the pupils of
this institution took place at 12 o'clock yesterday, in the
presence of the relatives and friends of the students.

The chair was occupiid by the Lord Bishop of Chester,
and among the other clergymen and gentlemen pres3nt
were :—The Rev. Rector Campbell, Rev. Dr. M'Neile,
F. Shand, Esq , Mayor, J. Woodruff, Esq., Mr. Alderman
Cooper, &c., &c.

His Lordship said : My young friends, I am very
happy to come amongst you once more, and I am very
happy, also, to hear so good an account as I do of the
state of this school, indeed of all the schools in the in-
stitution, and that they not only continue to maintain,
but to increase in reputation and prosperity. (Hear,
hear ) This is a very gratifying thing to me to hear,
and there is great praise due for it, in the first place, to
the Principal and the very able masters by whom he is
assisted in the management of these schools. If I
thought it necessary, I should be very happy to speak
in terms of commendation of him and of them, and,
indeed, when he first of all came here, a new man
amongst you, I did speak of him in terms of commen-
dation, for I myself had knoevn him in the University
of Cambridge, and was able to bear testimony to his I
great merits, to his abilities, his attainments, and the
honours he had gained there. (Hear, hear.) Well, that
was all very well at the time, when he was a new man
to you, but he is now a tried man. He does not want
any character of commendation now from me. He does
toot want even to rest on the credit of those distinctions
that he gained as a young man in the university. What
he rests now upon is what he has shown himself to be in
the management of this institution, and the best proof
`cif his ability and attention is the success with which he
'tas conducted its aff-drs ever since they have been placed
in his hands. (Applause.) I hope they will long con-
tinue to prosper in his hands, unless some other prefer-
ment takes him away to a position that he may prefer to
this. (Hear, hear.) I need not, therefore, speak in
praise of him or his able assistants ; they all rest on
their proved character among you ; but there is another
class of persons to whom praise is also due for the repu-
tation and prosperity of this institution. I speak now of
the young men who, having been educated here, have,
wince they left the school, reflected honour and credit
back upon the institution by their good conduct, and by
the success and distinction that they have gained in our
English universieies and in other fields of distinction. 1
have had put into my hands .a very gratifying um
of young men educated in this institution, who
have ea; riect off, in the course of the present year, prizes
;and honours that I will just take the liberty
of mentioning to you. (Hear, hear.) His Lordship
then read the filmes of Mr. Rigby, now a fellow of
Trinity Co lege, Cambridge, he having been elected on
his first examination, a most unusual thing. Mr.
Webster, Mr. Nevins, Mr. Wall, Mr. Arthur, Mr.
Widowson, and Mr. Jones, who obtained high honours
in the English universities, and Mr. Sexton, who carried
off the third place in the examination for the practical
class at Woolwich. His Lordship continued :—lnstances
of such marked success as these, show that the education
which is given here is good, and that the young men
who go out from it, are fit to enter into competition
with the students of any other public school or institu-
tion in the kingdom. (Hear, hear.) I do not mean to
say that Mr. Rigby and those other gentlemen have
gained those honours solely because they were educated
in this institution. No doubt there must be the natural
gift of intellectual, ability to begin with—there must be
the natural poser to excel. That is the gift of Provi-
dence, ar,-,d it is the groundwork of success, but there
Illus. be also mote than that. There must be, besides
:natural ability, education to bring out and improve it.
Cleverness will not do by itself without application.
Even genius, if it amounts to that, will not compass
great success unless it be aided and improved by study
(Hear, hear.) Bear then in mind what I say, that you
must have application as well as ability, if you hope to
gain success. But, still, what I have in my mind par-
ticularly to say with reference to the institution, and to
our friends around us is this, that as there must be good
education to bring forward and improve natural talent,
When we find that young men going out from this insti-
tution carry off high distinctions in our universities and
elsewhere, then the very fact of their success is a proof
of two things—a proof not only that they are clever, but
a proof also that they have been well trained and pre-
pared for examination in a good school, and that is the
praise that I want to bring home to this institution.
(Applause.) I say, then, that this is a good school, or rather
system of good schools, and I think that persons here
can °Wain ror their sons as good a classical education in
this ueeper school of the Collegiate Institution of Liver
Pc,ol, as they could do by sending them to any of the
greatest or most distinguished public schools in the
kingdom. I do not believe that there are greater ad-
vantages for a good classical education in any of them
than may be found here, and that education is, of course,
of very great importance to those young gentlemen who
are intended afterwards to go to the universities to
become members of what are commonly called the
learned professions. But Ido not limit my commenda-
tion of this institution to merely the upper school. he
great feature of this institution, and the advantage of it
is, that it is a system of schools with a different style of
education in them, and not the least valuable part is
that which gives a good, useful, and genuine education,
-as in the middle sch to young men who are prepar-
ing themselves, not for the universities it may be, but
for the no less honourable and respectab'e pursuit of
business in this large town. (Hear, hear.) To men of
business a good education is becoming every day more
and more important for many reasons, but for this in
particular, that there is now such a continued increase
in our commercial intercourse with foreign countries,
and therefore a good education in the modern languages
of Europe becomes almost a necessary element in the
commercial man's preparation for life. I am glad to
find that these schools afford such opportunities for
proficiency in that line, not only because of our increas-
ing intercourse with foreign nations, bat also because of
what is going on in every department of the public
service, both civil and military, where it is now the rule
that candidates for appointments shall be subjected to
the teat of examination—(hear)--in order to ascertain
their ability, their attainments, and their fitness for the
places that they seek. I think this system of schools
here affords as good an education for young men who
mean to go into what is called the civil service of the
country as you can meet with in England, and not only
for the civil service, but for the military service also ;
for a good general education must be the foundation for
the military man's education as well as for any other
man's. (Hear, hear) lam glad to find a proof of it in
the distinction which Mr Sexton carried off in the
examination at Woolwich. With that spirit of zeal and
enterprise which distinguishes your Principal, he in-
forms me that he is considering whether it may not be
wiser to introduce into this institution a special course
of instruction for the preparaion of young men intended
for the military profession. It may be the means of
much usefulness and benefit to the institution,
which is capable of working with a much larger
number of scholars than it has yet contained:
These examinations are a very good and very
proper step, if for no other reason than this that
they will put a stop to all undue favouritism in ap-
pointments, and they will also, to a certain extent, secure
competent persons for the situations that are to be filled.
Bu, still, let me say that those who have these appoint
ments to give away will, I am very sure, find it necessary
not only to look to proficiency in the examination, but
will also find it necessary to look to the moral character
of the persons whom they appoint to these places. (Hear )
I make no doubt that certain precaution is now taken in
that respect, and that they require in all cases testi-
monials to the moral character of the candidates, and it
is highly necessary they should. It is no doubt necessary
that the young men who are to fill these appointments
should have a certain degree of ability and a certain ex-
tent of training, but let me say that it is also equally
important, or rather it is much more important, that they
should be men of principle, of integrity and honour.
No superiority in intellectual ability or training .n ill
compensate for the want of those moral qualities—no
superiority of mere intellect will ever command respect
or ensure confidence, unless it he accompanied by high
moral principle. (Applause).
Principal The Rev. Mr. Howson, of the Institution,
then addressed the assembly. lie thanked his Lordship
for the complimentary language in which he had spoken
of him and bis assistants. He begged also to thank
the Mayor for having honoured them with his
presence that day. He (the Mayor) was one
of the earliest founders of the institution, and they were
glad to see that he had not lost his interest in it. (Hear.
hear.) His lordship referred to the universities, and
they were obliged to him for having done so. Its con-
nection with the universities was that which raised the
.. whole institution, and without connection with the
universities no part of the institution, would be what it
was. But his lordship alluded to another topic which
was of more recent interest—namely, the open competi.
tion at Woolwich, and the question of military educa-
tion. His lordship said, that he (Mr, Howson) had an