Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-21 00:00:00

FRIDAY, eTA.NUAItY

21, 1859

THE DAY'S NEWS.
The Right Honourable William Ewart Glad-
stone was, after all, appointed for some special
purpose. By a telegraph from Corfu, we learn
that he had summoned the lonian Parliament to
to assemble on the 26th of this month. Sir James
Young had taken his departure, our advices do not
say for where, but we suppose it is for England.
Our other continental advices would show that
things are day by day looking more peaceful. The
Milan Gazette declares that there is no intention
to rule Lombardy on a system of terrorism, and the
Turin semi-official paper counsels the Piedmontese
youth to abstain from demonstrations of their
desire for war with Austria. This latter is to be
attributed to the change in Paris. A proclama-
tion issued by the Mayor of Nice, on the departure
direction of the troops in the dire • of the Austrian
frontier, shows that the advice is by no means
uncalled for.

___lt seems that the Emperor of the French has
proposed a personal meeting with the Emperor of
Austria. This indicates a wish to remove alto-
gether what may have remained of unpleasant
feeling between the two Governments.
We are
not informed whether Francis Joseph has accepted
the invitation. _ _

Affairs seem hopelessly bad in Turkey A
Constantinovle caper speaks of grave dissensions:-
in the Principalities, and the disturbances in sia
are becoming more serious.
The triumph of the Liberal and Unionist party
in Moldavia, at the election of the Hospodar, is
confirmed by numerous telegrams. The announce-
ment was unexpected, as all earlier communica-
tions foreshadowed the victory of the Stourdza
family,. whom Austra and Turkey supported. Bit
the majority in favour of Cousa, it seems, was even
very considerable. This election is equivalent to a
triumph of the Unionists, in both Princialities,
for it was Moldavia whence the greatest objections
hitherto proceeded.
• As the reform question continues to be discussed,
we may be excused quoting • a passage from the

letter of a Scotch correspondent. He says :
" Mr. Bright's proposed re-distributioh of seats,
so far as this county is concerned, has given
universal dissatisfaction. We do not wish to join
any county. We can sit on our own bottom ; but,
if there is to be an amalgamation of counties,
surely Argyll, and not Ayrshire, is our natural
ally." This is written from Bute on the 17th
inst. At Gloucester a meeting has been held in
favour of household suffrage, vote by ballot,
and a more equal distribution of seats. Alder-
man Carden, the Conservative member for the
borough, sent excuses for not attending, but
Mr. Price, the other member, was present, and
expressed his full concurrence in the resolutions
which were adopted. At Cockermouth, supposed
to be one of the strongholds of Toryism, a meeting
has been held in favour of a rating suffrage, the
vote by ballot, and the other points of the London
Parliamentary Committee's programme. At a
meeting of the Tower Hamlets Reform Associa-
tion thanks were unanimously voted to Mr.
Bright for his bill, but it was suggested to
the hon. gentleman that, instead of dividing
the Tower Hamlets into two boroughs of four
members each, he should divide it into four
boroughs each possessing one representative. Mr.
Edward Ellice, M.P., addressed a meeting of his
constituents at Cupar on Tuesday night. He
volunteered a defence of Lord Palmerston on the
Reform question ; and declared it was " notorious,"
that his Cabinet had remitted the subject of
Reform to a committee who, in their turn, had
actually prepared a bill, which was about to
be submitted to the Government at the
time of its overthrow. This perfectly
" notorious " fact will rather surprise people
living in this part of the country, although it
probably served its purpose at Cupar. Mr. Ellice
appears to have forgotten the admission made by
Lord Palmerston himself, after his fall, that he
had not prepared a Reform bill. -Mr. Ellice
opposed all " organic" reforms such as are pro-
posed by Mr. Bright and Mr. Roebuck.
The result of the poll on the question whether
the Crystal Palace should be opened to the share-
holders on Sunday, was made known yesterday.
The majority against the resolution for closing the
palace was 17,021; the gross number of votes
polled being 168,541. Captain Young gave notice
of a renewal of his motion,

The Dublin Independent Gas Consumers' Com-
pany state that in addition to upwards of £15,000,
shares actually allotted in the capital stock of the
company, they have other applications under con-
sideration, and independently of the shares allotted
and applied for, offers to take further shares,
amounting to £32,500,. have been received from
contractors of eminence residing in England and
Scotland; but they have deemed it expedient at
present not to allot such shares, because they con-
ceive that the prosperity of the company will be
best secured and all danger of amalgamation pre-
vented by giving a preference in the allotment of
shares to resident consumers of gas. The directors
also state their conviction that gas can, and ought
to be, supplied at the reduced rate of 3s Gd per
1,000 cubic feet, after paying dividends at the rate
of 10 per cent. Coal, we ought to remind our
readers, is nearly one-fourth dearer in Dublin than
Liverpool. We can consequently be supplied with
gas here at less than 3s per thousand cubic feet.
The Dublin Journals publish the farewell address
of Mr. Whiteside to the Enniskillen electors.
The Rev. Professor Lloyd, one of the Senior
Fellows of the University, in a complimentary
note to the Attorney-General, says that by his
(Mr. Whiteside) consenting to stand for the college
his election " would not only confer on the
University a representative altogether worthy of
her, but also deliver her from the agitation and
unseemly turmoil which too often attend contested
elections." Mr. Whiteside, yields a willing assent,
and Dr. Gayer being also in the yielding mood,
waives his claim for the present, and so ends the
whole affair.

On Tuesday Messrs Cunard, Wilson, and Co.,
of this town, offered a number of ships for auction
at Cork. These ships and vessels were the assets
of a firm that had failed—Messrs. James Scott,
and Co., of Queenstown. The following is the
result of the sale : The Swan, put up at £5O, and
after a short competition sold for £lBO ; she is
234 tons register, and was built at Belfast in 1824,
now lying at Cork ; the brigantine Susan, 118
tons register, built at Southampton in 1821, now
lying at Cork, sold for £100; the brig Albion,
260 tons register, built at Tatmagouche in
1841, now lying at Cork, sold for £235 ;
the schooner Derrynane, 53 tons register, built
at Cork in 1848, now lying at Cork ; sold for
£230. The schooner Pilot, 60 tons register, built
at Cork, in 1846, now lying at Cork, sold for
£425. The cutter Petrel, 48 tons register, built
at Cork in 1848, now lying at Cork, sold for £215.
The ship Lockwoods, 806 tons (new measurement) ;
built at New Brunswick in 1840 ; lying at Cork ;
£1,250 were offered on behalf of a Liverpool
gentleman, by Mr. Cunard's clerk. After a short
competition, she was bought in by the Auc-
tioneer, at the owner's bid—£l,Boo. The
barque Maria, 285 tons register, built in Nova
Scotia, in 1854, lying at Cork, sold at £990.
The barque Blanche, 411 tons register, built in
New Brunswick, 1849, now lying at Cork, sold for
£l,lOO. The brie Elizabeth, 156 tons register

built in Devonshire, in 1813, now lying at outh
Shields, sold for £5O. The hulk Andreas, used as
a floating store, sold for £ll5. Seven whale--
boats were sold at prices varying from £3 to
£lO.

The usual weekly meeting of the Mersey Dock
Board was held yesterday. Mr. Laird introduced
some correspondence which had passed between
him and several legal gentlemen, respecting the
purchase of land on the Cheshire side of the
Mersey, but ultimately it was not read. A report
from Mr. Hartnup, the astronomer, was read. He
complains of insufficient room to test the various
chronometers which are sent to the Observatory.
A resolution was passed that every captain should
pay lOs 6d for the correcting of his chronometer, and
every new one should not be tested unless the
manufacturer paid £1 Is. The motion of Mr.Bushell,
for the purpose of members of the dock committee
conferring with the Customs, to see how far it is
practicable or desirable to extend the present
working hours of the Custom-house, and further,
to take such evidence and to make such enquiry as
they may deem necessary to elucidate how far it is
possible, by ant means, to increase the working
power of the aocks and quays; was lost by the
casting vote of the chairman, whereupon Mr.
Bushell said, he should decline to act as a member
of that committee.

The health of the town last week was good. The
deaths were only 243, against 260 the preceding
week, and 306 in the week previous to that. As
compared with the corrected average of the same
week of the preceding ten years, the return of
last week shows a decrease of 19, The most
curious part of the return is, that the fatal cases
of small pox were all after vaccination.
The annual meeting of the Deaf and Dumb
Institution was held yesterday. The report is
satisfactory. There is still a considerable balance,
but the institution is not large enough to accom-
modate the applicants. It requires another £l,OOO,
and we hope to see our charitable friends soon
raise this amount. _ _ _

The half yearly meeting of the London Joint-
Stock Banking Company was held yesterday.
The report was short, but satisfactory. It stated
that the net profits of the half year (including a
former balance) amounted to X 107,700 ss. 2d.,
which the directors appropriated in following
manner :—Dividend at 121 per cent. per annum,
£37,500 ; Bonus at X 1 per share, £60,000 ; Gua-
rantee Fund, £10,200 ss, 2d. Total, £107,700
ss. 2d. The Guarantee Fund was now £202,867
4s. sd. The balance sheet exhibited a total of
assets of X 10,304,106 3s. 7d. The chairman com-
plimented the shareholders on the progress of the
bank, and regretted the loss of their late friend
and colleague, Mr. G. H. Foster, one of the
founders of the bank. There were a few remarks
on the subject of the accounts, and the report was
adopted.

The half-yearly meeting of the Bank of London
also took place yesterday, Sir J. V. Shelley, Bart.,
in the chair. The report showed a steady progress
in the business of the bank for the half-year, and

a gross profit within that period of £24,139 14s 2d.
From this sum £2,508 is 7d had been deducted
for rebate on bills discounted, bad and doubtful
debts, and current expenses, leaving a ba-
lance of £11,891 2s sd, out of which the
directors now proposed a dividend at the rate of
5 per cent. per annum, carrying forward £4,391
2s 5d to the next account. The balance sheet
showed a total of assets of £1,633,202 lis 4d.
The chairman congratulated the shareholders on
the steady progress of their bank, in spite of the
low rate of interest for money, and the stagnant
condition of trade during the last six months.
The report was agreed to unanimously.

WE have been called upon to record, of late, the
progress of more than one of those most unhappy
confederacies into which work-people of certain
descriptions are sometimes tempted to enter, and
which issue in those mischievolis results commonly
called strikes. The town and neighbourhood of
Wigan have, in particular; been kept in a state of
ferment by one of these -most untoward proceed-
ings, among the colliers for some time past, and con-
siderable personal violence has unfortunately
arisen from it. This, indeed, is very generally one
of their consequences ; and it indicates very forci-
bly that they who pursue such means under the
false idea of promoting their interests are decidedly
at fault. It may with truth be said of such people,
as it has been said of another and a •different
class of mistaken persons, that " their hearts are
constantly employed, perverted, and kept in a
wrong state, by the indiscreet use of such things
as are lawful to be used-" This is just their
predicament They have a perfect right to look
after their own interests. If they think they are
under-paid for their labour, not only are they
entitled to have their case considered in a spirit
of liberality and kindness by their employers;
but, failing this, uo one can find fault with them
for taking up the consideration of it themselves,
and adopting such fair and reasonable measures
of redress as they may deem calculated to secure
their lawful object ;—the object, namely, of
obtaining a better remuneration, if possible,
for their toil. Such a course, it is one
of their inalienable rights and liberties

to pursue. They are masters of their own capa-
bilities. Their capacity to labour is their own
possession. They have a perfect right to dispose
of it to the best advantage,—nay more, if they
have others dending upon the wages they earn, it
is their duty to make the most of their daily in-
dustry. " The labourer is worthy of his hire,"—
and he is worthy, if an industrious man, of the
best possible hire to be obtained for his labour.
The manufacturer takes the products of his mill,
or his workshop, and the merchant takes the goods
which he has imported, to the best markets that
can be found, and it is commendable so tondo, ac-
cording to the principles of trade. No one can
dispute the collier's right to do the same
with that which he also has to dispose
of—his own labour. It were often, and ought
to be always, a proud position in which to be able
to say,—" Sir, lam a true labourer ; I earn that
I get ; get that I earn ; owe no man hate ; envy no
man's happiness." Who can have a greater right
to the law's protection than one in so honourable a
position ? Surely such a man deserves to earn by
his labour the utmost that he honestly and fairly
can. And he is entitled to be protected against
those who would continue to employ his labour at
an insufficient price, or in anywise defraud him of
its just earnings. There are severe judgments,
indeed, denounced against those that " oppress the
hireling in his wages."

But the labourer may be oppressed, more than
all, by his own fellows ; and these strikes very
often show how he may. The colliers' strike
at Wigan has been showing it most forcibly.
Such of them as were ready to work at the old
waggs have, through violence, been prevented
doing so by their fellow-workmen, who demanded
higher wages. As to the question of wages,
whether the amount is too low, or it is not, but
fair and reasonable, as times go,—into this we
cannot at present enter, nor is it necessary to our
argument to do so. It is a question quite legiti-
mate, and needful to be considered, as between the
labourer and his employer ; but certainly not as
between one labourer and another. One labourer
has no business whatever to interfere with another
as to the amount of wages he may be content with
for his work. Yet at Wigan, as it has too frequently
been the case there and elsewhere before, they
who would work at the wages offered are not
allowed to do so by those who will not work
themselves ; they are obstructed and forced away
by violence—they are even maltreated for wishing
to work, in opposition to the behests of such as
prefer the conflict and commotion of a " strike," to
the peace and quiet of regular and settled work.
There has, in consequence, we learn, "been a great
hindrance to business, for only about one-fourth of
the men in work made their appearance at the pits
for fear of being waylaid by the turn-outs,"—way-
laid, that is, to be violently beaten and driven

away, even at the risk of their lives. An instance
of such violenc'e is thus related,—" on the outskirts
of Ince a party met one man going to work, when
they collared him, and said, Now we've got thee;
what wilt thou have—a good beating, or be
stripped ?' The man replied, I don't like either.'
' Thou must have t'one or t'other,' was the answer;
and the man said, Then I'd rather be stripped.'
He was therefore stripped naked, and started off
home in that condition." Now this is a combination
of cruelty and injustice that is utterly unjustifiable,
and altogether insufferable. It is the rankest
oppression, and is calculated to bring into great
trouble, as it ought to do, those who have re-
course to it. The workpeople who act so towards
their fellows are a disgrace to their order, and at
the same time are the bitterest enemies of their
own real and permanent interests. Such men are
unfit to be entrusted with any power—we had
almost said with any privilege ; certainly they are
not fit to exercise any political or moral force,
which they might abuse as they do their physical
force, to injure and oppress their fellows, and to
distract the peace of society. They ought to
be made an example of, for the benefit
of their own body, which they thus
so grievously discredit and injure. They are
doing a wrong which can never come right; and
they require to be taught, what the history of all