The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-15 00:00:00

IWHY EMPLOY MONEY IN TRADE?'

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES.

Sir,--Our merchants and brokers have had thirty
years' experience of Peel's bill, and yet they don't,
know how to work it. They still go on the old princi-
ple, that demand and supply govern price; that if au
article of supply is scarce, it will rise ; and that if it is
plentiful, it will fall. Under Peel's bill this is not so:
Corn or cotton may be scarce, and according to their
simple ideas should rise, and yet they see it fall—the
result of an advance in the rates of discount.
Lord Overstone, the author of Peel's bill, and who
understands its working so well that he is stated to be
worth seven millions, does not go on such fallacious
assumptions. He and the other money-mongers 10
London watch the rate of discount. When discount/
are high they buy-in stock ; they then keep quiets i,l/
discounts fall to the lowest point, and then they '
out. If our merchants were alive to the system, they
would never invest a sixpence in ships, warehouses,
produce or labour ; they would confine their operations
to consols, exchequer bills, or railway shares. These'
they can sell or buy at any moment.
All that is required is a tithe of the proficiency or
the gambler, to realise as much money as Lord Over-
stone, or any other parent of banking laws. Thak
man is a blockhead, and ought to be watched by big
friends, who works himself to death, when he could
live without labour by watching the turns of the stock
exchange dice. Why, then, employ money in trade;
such folly ought to be put down by the legislature!
J. H.
Liverpool, 12th Feb., 1856.

Yours, &c

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES,

Sir,— As a looker-on for some years, and gmt's
especially since the erection (with all its faults), of their
handsome hall, I cannot but feel surprise, and no
regret, at the continuous exhibition of bad management
which, in every respect, distinguishes this society.
With a tolerable experience of the proposed end (,):
the Philharmonic Societies of London, Bath, Edinburgh'
&c., from their commencement, namely, the cultivatil
and advancement of Instrumental music, together with
the fact that there already existed in Liverpool a Clior_,
Society of the highest repui.:' in the kingdom, it Nirs•:.,
with surprise that I found tha!, choral practice bialy,
made a primary consideration in ti: e (so-called) Pblo
harmonic Society of Liverpool. As I intend to
,roaall
the technic's of the society my immediate o,:liect, toil
not advert to the calamitous effects (not mu-sit.:9-1)
have proceeded from the cause to which I attribt.:te.„-if,
disastrous position in which the society now finds RN... •
and which has suggested a proposition unparalleled it'
the profession, and in conception beneath the comMeti
cial scope of a marine-store keeper. The besetting o{
the society (boasting of a committee-list comprising
rank and respectability not to be exceeded in the king.;
dom) was, in not committing its sole direction to a path
whose unhappy career is.a. melancholy illustration of tb.,
danger of a " little knowledge." The capability °'
"getting through" a psalm tune, one of Kent's anthenlst
and playing a congregation " out of church," were suns
cient to inspire an inflated mind with a conviction °0
his power to " ride• in the tumult, and to guide tb
storm" of an orchestra. But, having no instrumental (
skill, he was compelled to be content with the dickey °
the olympic car, and lower his amateur baton before the
omnipotency of the professional wielder of the fiddle;
stick. The ambitious monopoliser of honorary affinet,
committee-man, secretary, treasurer, conductor, (choral')
inaugurated the new hall in the style of the parnsn°
dinner-giver, who ordered half-a-score of legs of mutton!
(boiled and roast, the variety), over which Mr. Benedis;
said grace. How profitable the measure proved, tb,
committee need not be told ; nor, indeed, is any inforins_
tion called for after the late annual display, in which thin
fortunate advent of the Swedish Nightingale forms g•
item of much pleasant pleasantry, and very perple%Tue
conjecture as to " who next ?" It may be, perhaps,b
a
difficulty of answering this question which has suggesi: ent
the extraordinary proposal, the cause of my Presheii,
trespass—namely, that the performers forming the F"..'
harmonic band, and whose engagement is for ten niglia'
at a certain (and certainly very moderate) rate, sh°l/11
extend their services to fifteen for the same ainon'"-;
Shade of Gresham! Spirits of the Medici ! rescue
change-street from the ignominy of this insult to ti'e
Arts ! Let Cocker reign in the share market, but SPar
Apollo the indignity of a depreciation deeper than Boer
inflicted upon pig-lead, bar-iron, train oil or uano. m
The society, by the position they have assumed, the
building they have erected, have, in fact, proclairslo
themselves the concert-givers of the borough ; andt 't
" property has its duties," upon their performanc°
them rests the permanency of their holding. Let the ,
recollect there is another room, to which the manage,ment of educated artists may exhibit an attractive co /
trast to the mere jobbery of sharebroking
am, &c., ONE WHO KNOYO'

The archbishop and clergy, and 314 boyards 0f3,f0/
5t
davia, have addressed a petition to the Sultan, age'llof
tho illegal constitution of the present government -
Moldavia.
The Paris correspondent of the Times suggests tlial
importance of the return of Lord Cowley and the arri,Vo
of Lord Clarendon without delay, now that the Resgleatit
Plenipotentiary has reached Paris, as he has at pre
the field to himself.
The peace news reached Oleshki, near Cherson, at ol
time of holding the great fair, on which provisions re,
every description, which the day before found no bullet;
were eagerly inquired after, and a rise of 30 per cent'
the opening prices was obtained.
The Orleans Railway Company are at present foa„.t§
an imperial train. The carriages are to comme°'ol
one with the other by means of an external gallerYtt-bet
are to contain a sitting-room for the Empress, an°',.
for the Emperor, a room for the ladies of horse''
study, &c.
ted
MARRIAGE LAw.-Ere the controversy is se- f
whether a man may marry his deceased wife's sist%,so
Northumberland farmer has married his deceased //1., it;
daughter ! The old :Ilan was not a moment too W.id
making the match ; for he had not long been ono(
a second time before his wife and daughter-Wd
made him the father of a grand-daughter.-00$
Observer.
THE CZAR'S STOD.—In Altona there was a fevini, 0
back a veterinary surgeon attached to the EmPtir--01
Russia's stables, of the name of Westphalea, Wu" 00
commiseoned to purchase in Hanover and Holstele 010
horses for the Emperor's stud. When complete' le
stud, which has stations in every large town, so 05100
Emperor may always travel with his own horses, nulfue
,1,400, at present it contains no more than 900.
i,""crit
ever well off Russia may be for small serviceable u" for
it appears that there is a total want of fine horses
pleasure purposes. A 011
A YOHNO MAN SHOT BY HIS BROTHER:"
0115013°
build( ',awed Townsl-

.er n... _ .uwnshend, residing in New Blead
street, Brighton, left that town with Amos and
,00,
Townshend, two of his sons on a visit to a third rfoi
who was staying at Old Shoreham. After they erroitif
there they all four went en the hill together, intefesc"
to walk back to Brighton. The father and Henry The
carried a gun, loaded with powder and shot. ~40/
father arid Alfred walked on together, and were follun,lii0
by Amos and his brother Henry—the latter havierth°
gun under his arm. The gun was not cocked, btlsotil
muzzle pointed to the right side of Amos. Frolleil°,,."
unexplained cause the gun went off, and Amos fig
the ground. Henry immediately dropped the it'
knelt down io his brother, and asked him if„bierbe;
shot. Amos said, " All right, Harry—all rightc_un"
were the only words he spoke, but he pulled "r'retl 7
face down to his, and, having kissed him, aPP,eantie/.1
Il
die instantly. The gun was produced at the 'lli,
d,
it was observable that the hammer was
was the opinion of the jury that it must have 0,01
some part of the clothes of the brother Henry' s'oll°
have caused the gun to go off. They returned ay e
Os
of " Accidental death."
g
RAILWAY SERVANTS.—It appears from a re.-Tiovol/ej
published that on the 30th June, 1855, the fe'lloi/fii
persons were employed on the railways of o°4oo e;,•
Kingdom then open for traffic—viz., 204 secreta`risteo
managers, 33 treasurers, 140 engineers, 356 suPeoshie
dents, 193 storekeepers, 181 accountants and etsoollh
823 inspectors or timekeepers, 2,183 masters nig cie4o/
322 ticket collectors, 153 draughtsmen, 7,73 driveo
1,132 foremen, 3,157 engine-drivers, 3,488 deputy •Oce
or firemen, 3,237 guards or breaksmen, 21,247 er•tleenied
2,836 switchmen, 2470 gatekeepers, 1,622 P°iltil
14,498 porters, 7,172 platelayers, 22,449 labouredrS to:,
2,321 miscellaneous adjuncts. This makes a gra1318540
of 97,952, against 90,409 on the 30th of Juile„' aPO
viz., 80,877 in England, 111,403 in Scotland, tr„e99,
in Ireland. The length of the line open I°s I,‘ 04
was 8,116 miles, and the number of statiooed
The total number of persons emPl6l, fia
railroads not open, on the 30th of .10,13-' COeggli
amounted to 38,546, the length of line :111 lelte
of construction was 879 miles, and the t°lo4 or
authorised 4,481. Of these 38,546 persons, 00pa:d,
secretaries, 16 treasurers, 181 engineers, 2341 104016
tendents, 83 storekeepers, 55 accountants, ''.„eof ,dto',
tors, 61 draughtsmen, 110 clerks, 601 fore; boo,"
policemen, 47 porters, 4,962 artificers, 31,3" ,rbe /
and 171 adjuncts of no special vocation. °peep,
number of persons employed on all railwanB agenot, was, ou the said 30th of June last, 136,4%10Y ii
135,810 in 1854, and of these 104,292 were enyavid•
England, 17,388 in Scotland, and 14,818 in Ire

oidr°
~
Printed and Published by CHARLES WILLIiIEI34IOII0co
street, at his General Printing and Stationery Ea"
South John-street, Liverpool.
TRIDAT, FEBRUARY 15