Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-03-11 00:00:00

DOCX BuARD,

The weekly meetiu7., of to 3card was held at one
o'clock yesterday; Mr. Charles Turner in the chair. The
other members present were—Messrs. Shand, Evans, Lang-
ton, Inman, Mondel, Rankin, Auderson, Tobin, Bold,
Smith, Forwood, Farnworth, Lockett, Segar, Boult, Arnold,
Rounthwaite, Hubback, Bushell, Moss, Littledale, Hut*
son, and Brocklebank.

WORKS COMMITTEE

This committee reported that several frontagers upon the
north side of Wallasey pool, including the Wallasey Board
of Health, the trustees of the Wallasey school, Mr. Harold
Littledale, Mr. Penny, Mr. Ridgeway, Mr. Penny, Mr.
Mainwaring, and several others, having elected to refer the
questions arising out of the proposed purchase of land, on
the south reserve, to arbitration, the committee appointed
Mr. John Stewart as their arbitrator. The
committee recommended that the following ten-
ders be accepted :—Messrs. Robertson, Gibson, and Co.,
for Scotch pig iron. Messrs. Sym and Co., Scotch pig iron,
Jaines Bland and Co.,wrought elm, Thomas Rimmer and
Co., wrought elm, illiam Foster and Co., tile copper,
Mather Ledward and Co., sheet iron, Thornton and Sons,
smiths bellows, John Bramwell and Co., saws, Williams,
Blackley, and Co., and Lloyd, Jones, and Ce., English oak,
Travis and Wild, whale oil, Jackson and Ronald, yarn,
Richard Ashton, and Co., sheet lead, and the offer of Mr.
B. French to purchase a quantity of old ropes lying upon
the dock yards.

Mr. Brocklebank moved that the proceedings be confirmed,
which was agreed to.

WAREHOUSE COMMITTEE,

The Committee recommended that a shed should be
erected near the Albert warehouses, for the convenience and
shelter of the men, while taking their meals.
Mr. Hubback moved that the proceedings be confirmed.
The motion was carried.

The proceedings of the marine committee were also con-
firmed. They did not contain anything of public impor-
PILOTS' COMMITTBE.

Mr. Shand, in moving a confirmation of the proceedings,
mentioned that some defects existed with regard to the
issuing of warrants for pilotage, not duly paid. lie had
therefore to move, in order to set the matter right, a reso-
lution, to the effect that the secretary of the board, and the
secretary of the pilots' committee, be appointed to recover,
under the sanction of the committee, any rates and charges
due by distress of goods, &c.

The resolution was agreed to, and the general proceed-
ings Confirmed. -
The proceedings of the docks and quays, and of the
master-porters' committee were also confirmed.
A letter was read from Messrs. James Baines and Co.,
stating that, on the 14th of April last, they paid dock dues
upon the James Baines, amounting to £172 7s 6d, to
cover her dockage for four months, at her original
tonnage. The vessel was sold by them upon the 24th of
last September. but, having taken fire a few days after her
arrival in the dock, she was considerably reduced in size.
They therefore requested that the board would not levy any
dock rates upon her for the period after the expiring of the
four months for which they had paid, and up to the 24th of
September ; or, at least, only to levy them upon her reduced
tonnage.
The Chairman said the demand for dock rates was the
usual 'one, and there appeared no reason in this instance to
depart from the custom.
The request was, therefore, tmder.stood to be declined.
A letter was read from a person bearing the illustrious
name of William Shakspere, formerly employed as a ware-
house-keeper, and who, having lost his sight, had been
superannuated upon an allowance of £3O a year, praying
that that amount might be raised. The letter was referred
to the warehouse committee.

The next business on the paper was a motion, of which
notice had been given by Mr. Tobin, to appoint a member of
the parliamentary committee in the room of Mr. Laird.
Mr. Tobin begged leave to withdraw the motion, as several
members of the board thought it desirable that it should be
tponed for the present, the heaviest part of the parlia-
mentary business being now probably over for the session.
Mr. Smith then brought forward a motion, of which he
'had given notice, to rescind that part of the proceedings of
the Works•
the con Committee passed at the last meeting, by which
tract for the building of certain offices upon the
timber ground at the Canada Dock was given to Messrs.
Robert Thompson and Co.
The Chairman mentioned that the contract was already
accepted and signed.
Mr. Smith nevertheless persevered in his motion, and
addressed the board at great lenr,,,th upon the subject. The
ground of his objection was, that although the tender of
Messrs. Thompson for the building ef the whole seven
offices taken as an aggregate, was tower than any other
tender. Yet iu the instance of one of the offices, the tender
of Messrs. Holme and Nicol was £43 'Os lower, and he
therefore contended that the tender of those
gentlemen
ought to have been accepted for that office.
Mr. Bold seconded the motion, in order that it might be
dismissed, but defended the conduct of the committee. and
contended that they had acted properly in accepting the
tender whichwas lowest forthe

Mr. Rankin, Mr. Bushell, and Mr. Brocklebank, also
defended the coarse taken by the committee.
The motion was finally withdrawn without a division.
Mr. Tobin obierved that he thought the Board would
appear very ridiculous before the public in having wasted
so much time in the discussion of a subject which was quite
settled before, and in which the contract objected to was
actually signed.
Mr. Evans : I think we are now a match for the West
Derby Guardians. (Hear, hear, and laughter.)
Mr. Forwood moved, according to notice, that the solici-
tor be instructed to examine all bills brought into parlia-
ment relative to any railway or canal having a terminus in
Livergool, especially with regard to tariffs and charges.
The Obairman urged that Mr. Forwood should withdraw

his motion. He said the question had been already discussed
in the parliamentary committee, and the general opinion
there was that it was a subject foreign to the
business of the Dock • Board, and . upon. which
the solicitor would be quite incapable of reporting.
Mr. Forwood declined to withdraw the motion, contend-
ng that it was a subject of great importance, which affected
indirectly the Dock Board most materially. He thought
that to limit the duty of the board merely, to the making
and managing,: of docks would be a very narrow view, and
that if they did not take care of the supervision of the out-
lets of the commerce which arrived in the docks, they would
fall very far short of the duties incumbent upon them. He
urged that, as the railways entering the town, or approach-
ing it, depended much of the trade of the port, and re-
minded the board that in the year 1824, when the Liverpool
and Manehester railway was opened, the trade of Liverpool
had nearly came to a stand for want of facilities for
conveyng produce into the interior, and bringing it
down. Previous to the opening of that railway,
goods could actually be transmitted from the United States
to Liverpool at less cost than they could be taken from the
ship's side here into the interior of the country. The,amal-
gamation of railway companies he also urged as a subject
of great importance, reminding the board that moderate
tariffs upon short lines approaching Liverpoel, -were
frequently raised in cOnsegnente of amalgainationewith other
lines, to the injury of the 'trade of the port.
Mr. Boult seconded the motion.

The Chairman quite admitted the importance of the sub-
ject as affecting the trade of the port, ancnadirectly the
estate, but denied that that was the proper arena for the
discussion of such a -subject. Any question affecting the
general commerce of -the port, would be a very proper
question for the commercial bodies of the town. The remarks
of MI. Forwood would be extremely apposite if addressed
to the Chamber of -.Commerce, but as ;the subject did not
directly affect that board, they could not move in it.

The Solicitor saidthe felt himself incapable of undertaking
such a duty as that proposed. He know nothing of railway
tariffs, and could net by any exertion acquire any knowledge
upon the subject which would be useful to himself or to the
board.

Mr. Bushell, Mr. Tobin, and other gentlemen, rearm
mended Mr. Forwood to withdraw the motion.
The motion was finally withdrawn.
This conekulal the general business.

. AMERICAN SLAVERY.
TO THE ‘EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES.

Sir,—One -of an Englishman's boasts is that a =an,
when put upon his trial; shall be heard in his
defence. Now, poor Yankeedom is continually being
put upon her trial, and, as a natural result Of not
being heard in reply, she, as a general rule, becomes
a veritable " P arch and Judy " treat for the British
public. is this fair 9—is it honest ? But letais see
what the United S Cates have really done. A :certain
little '‘!-tea party," in Boston harbour, some eighty
years ago, made " United States" of what was
before -the " Colonies ;"—in other words, the " boy
threw his dad " and set up on his own hook. The
respected' father of so promising a child very
naturally has had his " bile up " ever since at the
infant, which, in so shore a lapse of time, has very
nearly left him astern ; but, instead of saying so out
plump and plains, he tries to set the dogs on his own
son, because that son is cursed with a scrofulous
disease which that very father impregnated him
with.!—for even so it is. Twist and turn the
question, then, which way your sophistry or
your temper may permit, it is clear logic and
clear common honesty, that you should do one
of two things, either let the boy alone and pity him
in silence, or if you must put your word in, why
show that you are sincere, and try to help, eradicate,
or mitigate the disease, with not only head and heart,
but pocket. Ah, there's the rub. Your right is
clear and undeniable to express your opinion, but
then, John, be consistent ; let your acts tally with
your words. Barely half a century ago, Liverpool,
Bristol, London, and Nantes in France, lived, and
fatted in giving us that very disease, at which you
now raise your horrified Phariseean prayer ! Call
this an argument or "no justification," or
what you please, the broad fact is there ; and not
seventy years ago, your " poor brother the Negro,"
was regularly shipped, manifested, and hoisted On
board British ships, and as regularly receipted for
like so much inanimate matter, in a bill of lading,
and what is more, scarred and branded with a hot
iron in the bare flesh, to denote the shipping mark
and identify the " property !" Don't shudder,
cousin John, but come up and take a dose kindly,
for you mixed it yourself. Of course, you don't
do anything in that line now—of course not—that
is, you don't as far as the world can see that you
do. But to admit what I never heard an American
deny, that slavery is a curse, and also to admit that
our friend John Bull put it where it is, which he
can't deny, Let us quietly look what it is to be
done. I say, in a word, everything can be done
by friendly and kind aid and advice, or even advice
without the aid, but not one iota by force, calumny,
and malicious abuse. I say to you, sir, as an
American who has made England his home for a
quarter of a century, and who loves the bright
evergreen old England, of the luxuriant fields, and
the homely solid simplicity of her country life and
her country people, both high and low, but not her
smoke bedizned, beerhouse dotted towns and cities.
I say, sir, as a man who, while loving other
countries, loves his own none the less, that
England is wrong, wilfully wrong, in her
mode of treating slavery in the United States ; that
her persistance in it will accomplish no good
either to her, to the slave, or to the United
States ; but if she must go beyond the
sphere of her own domestic affairs to reform and
regenerate mankind, if she must be Quixotic enough
to break a lance with every visitor to her door; if
she will do this, she must brush her own coat first—
she must first show that all these chivalrous and
generous feelings rise above the level of petty spleen,
jealousy,or mere money—if she do not, she is not con-
sistent, not honest, not just—she must send among us
truthful, thoughtful, competent men, men far above
the level of sneaking, half-bred, ex-consorts and
book-makers ; men who can, and who dare see,
think and act ; not mere vulgur one-idea people, who
knaw-worm the world from one end to the other,
and then, sneaking curs that they are, run into a
corner to " watch the fun," and gloat over the public
and private mischief they have made. Who asks
these people to go to " civilised America ?" Who
asks them to write about her ? No one compels them
to do one or the other, but, sir, society,
truth, justice, and honour. These do com-
pel them to speak the truth, and if they
should have one grain of charity, of thought,
and feeling, rather to palliate than condemn the
unsought, undeserved short-comings or misfortunes
of their fellow-beings. With men of refinement and

soul, these dishonourable and disgraceful acts avail
not ; but, sir, what is worse, they poison and inflame
the less educated and refined mind, until finally
matter over-reaches mind, the results of which need
not be told. Here let me say that Americans do not
claim to be the whole world ; Americans are not a na-
tion of filibusters, pirates, and what not ; they do not
bear unkind feelings toward England, or any other
country ; but they do acknowledge to many faults,
social and political ; they do see and admit that
slavery is a curse ; they do, only too fervently, wish
to be rid of it ; they are willing to receive advice
in a friendly way, but they do also love their coun-
try, and, I trust, will never submit to be dictated
to, either by the country from which they
sprung, or by any other. They only ask
from others the same that they give to others,
and that they shall be permitted to govern their
our household as they think proper—the same as
England and evezy other country does. They wish
to force themselves on no one, or no nation, but
simply ask, will you be friends with us, will you trade
with us, will you go hand in hand in good and kindly
feeling with us ? We will reciprocate all these, but
we claim to manage our own fire-sides, and we give
you the same privilege. Friends with England we
desire to be, but not at the cost of our national feel-
ings, or our private affairs, nor will we be on such
terms. .If you don't want our ships or our cotton,
Or our trade, say so. If you don't wish for our good
will or acquaintance, say so--in a word, be, or be
not friends as you choose, but rest assured we will
never force the one alternative upon you, nor fear
the other. Let Englishmen govern England, and
my word for it
United States.—l Americans can take care of the
am, sir, your obedient servant,

AN AMERICAN,

No SHIP SHOULD GO TO SEA without one of Saunders
and Co.'s Patent Self-cleansing Charcoal FiHo's, eased
and fitted-up expressly for use on board ship. No•te the
address, SAUNDERS & Co., 16, Parker-street, Liverpool..

THE NORTHERN TIMES FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 1859