Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-27 00:00:00

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

Yv LIVERPOOL, Monday Evening.
This day has been otierved as a strict holiday
inost
on 'Change, as well as in of the Public
Offices. No Cotton, Share or proauee Markets
have been held, and business was entirely at
a stand.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE.

, Monday Evening. ,
To-day has been Observed as a holiday in the
cily, and no business was transacted.

_______ •
METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.—asc. 26
Market very scantily supplied with each kind of fat
stock. Some sheep sold readily at full prices, other-
wise traderuled very dull, at next to nominal quotations.
Beet 3s Sd to 4e 10c1 Veal 46 2d to 58 2d
Mutton 3s 4cl to 5s 4d Pork 36 6d to 5s Od
Lamb Os Od to Os Od IPsmq,
TOTAL SUPPLY.
Beasts
foreign ...... .. 200 Calves
ktows, 9O „ foretgn 33 '
.0, foreign ..... Pigs
Sheep • 0000' foreign
''f

The following appeared in. a portion 'of our hn-I
pre4sion,of yesterday:— s I,;t .
THE l‘lO.ll.EY_ MARKET.
English funds. ioactifen/hiftendeney, however, wasf
ather toWarti4 nhproveide4itg 4U `the discOunt market
UV; -sr

,pIE DAY'S. NEWS.

There is nothing new to-day respecting the ap-
__
proaching Congress, now definitely fixed td Meet on
the 19th of January—if we except the removal of
all doubt that Russia will be represented there, the
official journal of St.. Petersburg. having now for-.
mally announced that Prince Gortschakoff has
been appointed the: Russian Plenipotentiary.
Among the rumours at . Paris, respecting the
CongresS, it 'lnv he` ietnarked' that although they
are not of, much importance, they generally agree
in representing a better Understanding to exist
between the French and. English governments
than was the-case a fortnight since.

The famous pamphlet, " The Pope and the
Congress," continues to be the principal topic of
discussion.in the political circles of Paris ; and it
adMitted on all hands that, proceeding as it does
from head quarters, it is regarded as affording
very satisfactory evidence of a desire on the'Part
of the. Emperor to pursue such a policy regarding
Italy as may have the effect of maintaining a
good understanding with England. The remark
of the Paris C'onstitutionnel, with reference to
this, that "it is necessary the two great nations
Of the West should remain united in the interests

of civilisation and of the European equilibrium,"
is very significant at the present moment ; for
the French press, as we all know, is not per-
mitted to be very independent in its political
speculations.

The Wakefield Election Commission concluded
its labours on Saturday. The closing evidence
was mostly confirmatory of that which had, been
taken before, and did not possess much interest.
It was proved by one of the firm of Overend,
Gurney, and Co., of London, that Mr. Leatham
had received from them £2,500 for the purposes
Of the election ; and there is little doubt, from
the correlative evidence, that all this money was
expended by the Liberals in. bribery. They did
the thipg- " liberally," paying cash down for
their votes, in sums of fifty, thirty, and twenty-
poUnds; 'according to circumstances. Nor would
there 'appear to be any secrecy about it. I
knew, of course," said one of the witnesses,
" that bribery was going on in the town as every-
body else did.- It was as commonly talked of. as

the price of wheat or the state of the weather."
And yet did the Liberals all the while profess a
firm adherence to purity of election, and a most
virtuous horror of bribery and corruption. There
can be no doubt that Wakefield deserves to be
diSfranchised. Whether or not the Commis-
, •
sioners will recommend this, in their report,
remains to be seen. ' yt ,T tAc
We have the painful record to-day of another

dreadful shipwreck,—on this occasion in the
English Channel. The Blervie Castle had left
the Thames for Australia with a portion of
her passengers, intending to call at Plymouth
for: the remainder; but before she reached the
latter port, a terrific gale sprung up in the
Channel, with heavy snow, in which she was lost
—all on board, it is feared, some fifty souls or
more—perishing with her. As yet, however,
there is no one to tell the story of this fa'tal
wreck. Large portions of her cargo have come
ashore. She is known to have encountered the
fearful gale, and she has not, according to
appointment, called at Plymouth. There would
seem to be no doubt, indeed, of her wreck ; and
as little of the loss of all on board.

The Times,, remarking on the -release' of the
prisoners -of 'the Princess Royal to-day, which
we alluded to in our impression of yesterday,
only too truly says, that " the whole affair was
one grand blunder froth beginning to end ; and
now, that it has been put to rights, as far as may
be, it is best forgotten, save in so far as it may
,prolte a profitable warninc, for the future.".-- It is,
- ; • 07-,5,•:.•t•,_ •
a'blunder, hom'rever, into which our naval 'b'cim-
manderi will •bg 9.61-44140117, (ft they per-
. •
is&tin pursuing a system J,of.-,flisciplineathat is

utterly unsuited to the altered circumstances of

society, and the altered condition of the navy
itself. As is well observed, " the delusion of
hoping to maintain order in ships-of war by
means of cat-o'-nine-tails and terrorism must be
dismissed from their thoughts as a thing of the
past." And so must every other delusion that is
founded on the old and exploded:system of naval
brutality.

The Christmas holidays have, for the time
being, driven our merchants and 'men of business
from the marts of commerce. The usually busy
'Change has been 'all but deserted, or only pre-
sented to view: those whose personal partialities
and .general desire. for information abstracted
them for a brief space from attending to those
rites of hospitality which custofn has associated
indissolubly with the observance of Christmas.
Besides the hospitalities, however, which'in due
observance reflects honour on the community,
and diffuses 'the amenities of friendship and
affection through all ranks, we are much gratified
to find that our affluent citizens do not in their
own enjoyments forget the claims of the needy,
ih6 helpless, and the poor. In our columns to-day
we. gladly'recount some of the pleasing eireum-
kanceiconneeted with the distribution of Chrikinas
cheer at some of our leadinf;'charitable and other
institutions. . From these it will be . perceived
that all classes vied with each other in their en-
deavours to contribute to the 'happiness of the
masses. Another, and not less pleasing feature
of these' Christmas treats will be found in •the
evident good will and friendly feeling which
were displayed as actuating all, classes—donors;
'superintendents; or recipients of the seasonable
bounty.
By the arrival of the Europa to-day we 'are

put in possession of the details Of events, political
and social, which are in course of occurrence
among our brethren of the United States: From
these it appears that little progress has as yet
been made in organising the House of Represen-
tatives, without which process being completed it
is contrary to rule for the President to deliver his
manifesto of legislative policy, .or annual Message
to Congress, as the document is called. The delay
in obtaining this, is beginning to occasion a good
deal of discussion and to excite some impatience.
The Kew Fork Herald advocates the propriety
of the. President immediately delivering his mes-
sage to the Senate, which body, the Herald says,
is fully organised and ready for business, only
waiting the announcement of the message to pro-
ceed. On the other hand, it is said, that until
there is. an .organisation of the House it is im-
possible to tell what line of policy it will
sanction, and that consequently the President
cannot definitely fix the leading views Which it is
necessary for him to pursue—or, at all events, to
liadow forth in his official Programme.. II
•

IF imperial assurances, solemnly asseverated and
oft repeated, are in any wise to be relied upon, we
may now banish all apprehensions of a hostile
invasion from the Emperor of the French. It

must be admitted, that not only during the past
year, in which the idea has had possession of
the public mind of England, that such an in-
vasion was really contemplated, Vat through-
out the whole of his reign, Louts NAPOLEON'S
acts towards this country have, upon the whole,
been such as to discourage, rather than otherwise,
any notion of his being hostile to it. And so his
Majesty has just reminded "Mr. COBDEN, who is
taken for granted to be the Enylishnzan in the
dialogue with the Frenchman on this subject, which
has recently appeared in the Paris correspondence
of the Times. "The Emperor," it is declared,
" has given to no foreign power more than to
England guarantees of his desire to live in good
harmony. Hardly had he ascended to power
when he despatched, in spite
.of the Assethbly,
the French fleet to make common cause with
yours in the East. Subsequently he united him-
self with you in the Crimean war, and when the
insurrection which broke out in. India employed
all your army in Asia, did he profit by the ab-
sence of your force to pick a quarrel with you ?
On the contrary," he offered to the English troops
a passage through France. ,
:He subscribed, as
well as. the Imperial Guard, for your wounded,
while (be it said en passant and without meaning
reproach) our wounded in Italy seemed to find
you indifferent. Finally, how many measures

for the last ten years have been proposed by
divers Governments which might' have shocked
England ? He has rejected them all, and made
no merit whatever in your eyes of the rejection.
How can so many proofs of a cordiality so con-
stant be all at once forgotten ? And how does it
come to pass that mistrust and error are substi-
tuted for the legitimate effect which it should
have produced? Why should a line of conduct
so honest be answered by passionate and mistaken
alarm? I look about in vain, and I cannot under-
stand the cause of this sudden terror in England."
All this, it must be confessed, is irresistible—as
far as it goes. But then there is the increase of
naval and military armaments. These, however,
the Emperor has explained, or it has been
explained for him—have not only no reference
whatever to any contemplated hostilities against
England, but they were simply necessary to place
the naval and military resources of France on a
permanent footing- of strength and—efficiency.
" Consult the estimates of the navy and army,"
is the imperial answer, " and you shall find in i
them no excessive expenditure on the part of the,
rant
Government." And if this be, so, then on,
head also there has been needless alarm. ' •
" But," the Englishman replies, `.' the . people—
the
army,--now, frankly speaking, *do not they
„Isgth detest us ? And will not public, opinion
force your sovereign some
•d'ay
to declare war
answer to this is a
against us ? " Now the -
i/dy reasonable •one,. ie. onilkw'' ; I,
.4
-
4it were as