The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-12 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES.---LIVERPOOL, TIMRSDAY.

despatched to the army to be concentrated in the
South. This army, it seems, is to take up a
position in the passes of the Bendemir, lhalf way
between Shurter Shirvz, where it Would be
able to resist our march into the interior in the
direction of either the one or the other of these
towns.
The Austrians have evanrated Parma.
We have Constantinople crates to the end inst.
A. regiment of dragoons had been formed out of
the remnants of the Polish Legion. -The Sultan
had received M. de Thouvenel, and warmly ex
pressed his obligations to the government of
Napoleon 111. on the favourable termination of the
negotiations which had definitively regulated the
frontier of Bessarabia and the restitution of the
Isle of Serpents•
It is stated that the Puss'an Minister at Naples
has received instructions to insist on the necessity
of mitigating the interior policy of the Neapolitan
Kingdom. He is supported in his representations
by the Prussian Minister, both the Northern
Powers charging themselves with re-establishing
good relations between the King of Naples and
the Western Powers, if their demand be complied
with. _ _ _

We have four days' later news from the United
States by the arrival, yesterday, in the Mersey, of
the Cunard steamer America. She was detained
in Boston one day after her regular day of sailing,
by the ice in the harbour. The intelligence- to
hand is not of much importance. Amongst the
more prominent matters which occupied
the attention of Congress was, that of an
alleged contempt of both Houses by the
representative of a New York newspaper, a law
relating to military pensions, and an act to render
the compulsory attendance of witnesses before
either House. A new Tariff Bill is said to be on
the tapir. Governor Geary, of Kansas, had issued
his message to the Leg'slature of that Territory.
As we give a synopsis of it in another column, we
need not allude to it here. The accounts from
Nicaragua regarding the position and prospects
of Walker are conflicting, but the general opinion
seems to be that he is not in such a bad plight as the
American Government would wish. The Isthmus
of Panama was healthy at our last advices. It is
evident, by accounts from Cuba, that a rupture of
a decided character with Mexico is imminent.
The latter country was in a more pacific state at
the end of 1856, than has been the case for a long
series of years.
The total sum required to be voted by Parlia-
m"nt for the Naval services of the financial year
1657.8 is £8,109,168, being a decrease of
£7,702,959 on the estimate for last year, which
amounted to £15,812,127.

THE Board of Trade, as an authority on
maritime affairs, are just enterinz on a solemn

trial. The Merchant Shipping Act is the inven-
tion of the Shipbuilder, Surveyor, Shipowner,
and Underwriter. The progressive increase in
disasters at sea excited very general alarm, and

called for some prompt change. The faults o

the marine architect, the mistakes of the sur•

veyor,- the confirmed desires of shipowners and
charterers, and the love of heavy risks and gam-
bling rates of insurance, so rife among under-
writers, were pretty nearly overboked altogether

in a vain attempt to throw all responsibility, and
the heaviest penalties which could be directed,
against neglect, ignorance, and recklessness, on
the navigators of ships. The poor skippers, and
the hardy mariners of the ocean—men vvhj are

never out of sight of the enemy, and never
shrink from the duty of the breach, or the perils

of the storm—have to bear the whole burden o

the ship on their backs, as well as to combat the

;n the science of nnu;Gofirt*,

and the innumerable risks of the seas. To heap

such a pyramid of dead and crushing weight on
" ignorance and neglect" would have been un-
pardonable. It was, therefore, proposed that the
captains, mates, and seamen of the merchant ser-
vice should undergo a rigid examination, and

should receive certificates to entitle them to

employment in their several capacities.
Really competent men did not object to this
ordeal, and the large number of certificates

issued within the first twelve months after the
new law came into force, showed the extraordi-

nary nautical attainments of the seamen in the
Merchant's Service ; and the number of diplomas
now in existence, and the readiness with which

they are obtained,' prove that the examination is
useless,bor that the merchant seamen of Great
Britain are the first navigators in the world, so
far as the theory and practical knowledge of their
science is concerned. Any man who pretends to
call himself a seaman can get a certificate, which
establishes his fitness for the position he is to
occupy on board a ship. What more, then, can
be done to secure efficient commanders and
crews ? and having done this for the safety
of life and property, issuing rules, which
must be, in a multitude of instances, im-

practicable or useless, is taking a large
amount of responsibility off the shoulders
of the sailor, and leaving a loophole to under-
writers, and a considerable chance of profit to
unscrupulous shippers and shipowners. Our
correspondent " R." would, fur example, have
the " lead line" used "on all occasions" as the
Board of Trade direct ; but this resort is of no
use, except when a ship is virtually lost at sea,
as all vessels are which are so far out of their

true course as to require it, or when they are
running for a port at all hazards. In the former
instance it may be of infinite service ; but in the
latter it can only show that a ship has been
placed in a position into which her charter-party
may have forced, or bad weather may have driven
her.

Where there are land-marks and .other sights
within view, the "lead line" is not required to
announce " breakers ahead," or the presence of
sunken rocks, sand banks, and shoals, in beaten
and much-frequented channels. On referring to
the disasters at sea, one is forcibly struck with
the smallness of the number of ships which are
lost from not using the " lead line," as compared
with the vast amount of life and property which
falls a sacrifice to the waves where the " lead
" line" would be of no avail and is never em-
ployed. Unseaworthy, leaks, unmanageable, col-.
lision, shipping seas, carrying away helms, loss
of masts, yards, sails, and foundering, constitute
the burden of the dismal category. The vessels
stranded, or run aground in shoal water, are
scarcely worth naming in the same day, with the
host of craft whose end is summed up in the
words, " never heard of," or " fOundered at sea."
We feel in duty bound to ventilate this palpable
truth in justification and to the hon-Our of the
British mariners, When called upon by the
State to undergo a searching examination, they

were found equal to the tas! sit before them ; and
when a Captain now takes command of a mer-
chant ship, his diploma is as great a guarantee
to the public of his efficiency as the commission
bestowed upon an Admiral who aspires to the
command of a fleet. If it is not so, the
Board of Trade are to blame, and as we

have no just reason to apprehend that there is
any great leniency in centralisation in mer-
cantile marine affairs, we are warranted
in atributing the increase in the disasters
at sea to something besides the want
of skill and vigilance in British merchant sea-
men. Leaks, and foundering at sea, and mat-
construction or want of strength make up a large
proportion of our misfortunes on the waves.
Casualties have overtaken no less than twenty-
six iron ships in about three months. This fact
furnishes us with grounds for bitter national re-
gret, as the attainment of perfection in iron ship-
building would give England a monopoly of that

i riportant trade for many generations to come,
We would therefore urge on the Board of Trade
the propriety of at once looking diligently to
the classification of the disasters which befall our
merchant ships, and see if they can discover the
true cause of leaks, and the foundering of vessels
at sea, before they take from such men as Capt.
VALLER—sailors of experience and established
reputation—their certificates, for no other reason
than not heaving the -"lead line" when their
duty towards the State impels them to go at a
speed which renders the' operation of sounding
worthless, if not impossible. The Merchant
Commanders of Liverpool make no secret of
their sympathy for Captain VALLER, and their
disgust at the attempt which has betn made to
render a useless task compulsory upon them at
a moment of danger, when their thoughts ought
to be directed to something more practicable and
necessary, The harsh treatment Capt. VALLER
has experienced may, however, lead the captains
of merchant ships to adopt some course for the
protection of their characters as gentlemen, and
their well-earned reputation as practical navi-
gators.

THE COAL PonTs.—Exportation of coals from the
principal ports in the kingdom in January. The'Tyne
sent 71,772 tons of coals and 10,897 tolls of coke over sea;
the Wear, 34,326 tons of coals and 3,972 tons of coke ;
the Hartlepools, 18,810 tons of coals and 397 tons of coke;
Liverpool, 30,148 tons of con's and 137 tons of coke ;
Cardiff, 78,821 tons of coals and 693 tons of coke ; Hull,
8,982 tons of coals and 369 tons of coke ; Newport,
14,805 tone of coals ; Grimsby, 6,314 tons of coals ;
Crasgow, 5,268 tons of. coals ; Alloa, 5,287 tons of coals ;
Middlesborough, 1,282 tons cf coals and 785 tons of coke.
The shipments of coals coae.wise in January were—from
Newcastle, 175,506 tons ; Sunderland, 122,857 tons ;
the Hartlepools, 98,530 tons ; Hull, 2,246. tons ;
Cardiff, 44,904 tons ; Newport, 364,462 tons ; Maryport,
26,983 tons ; Whitehaven, 15,510 tons ; Seaham, 55,035
tons; and from the smaller ports about 71,445 tons. On
account of the violent storms that prevailed in the early
part of the month the aggregate quantity of coals shipped
from the north east ports was less than in January. 1856.
The value of goods, other than coals and cake, lixported
from the north east ports in January was as under :—Nk-w-

1,1 pal rorind of last year, £56,354
increase, £18.607. Sunderland, £3,008; sama period la 3

year, £1,479 ; increase, £1,329. The liartlepools,
£95,923 ; same period last year, £57;771 ;. increase,
£38,152. MiddlesbJrough, £24,158 ; . same period last,
ye&r, £12,090 ; increase, £12,068. Th.erc is every prospect
►hat the Tyne seamen will accept the terms proacised by the
shipowners on the Ist of March.—BrGwne's

THE INcoME Tax BATTLE OF 1816.—The 'following ac-
count of the remarkable income tax struggle is extracted
from the introduction to "Lord Brougham's speeches in the
[louse cf Commons," and will be read with interest at the
present time :—" On the termination of the war the Govern-
ment were determined, instead of repealing the whole
income tax, which the act enforcing it dec:ared to be
' for and during the continuance of the war and no
longer,' to retain one half of it, that is, to reduce
it from ten to five per cent., and thus keep a
revenue raised from this source of between seven and
eight millions, instead of fifteen. As soon as this intention
was announced several meetings were held, and two or three
petiti.ns were presented. The Ministers perceived the risk
they ran, if the policy should b 3 pursued, of continued
discussion for a length of time, and they saw the vast impor-
tance of despatch. Acearding'y the Chancellor of
the Exchequer gave notice on Tuesday for his
motion on tho Thursday immediately following ,
The Opposition took the alarm, and Mr. Brougham
declared, on presenting a petition, tinanltnoasly
signed, from one of the Landon polishes, that if the hurry
now indicated should be persevered in, he should avail
himself of all the means of delay afforded by the farms of

the house. Lord Folketone, one of the most strenuous,
and, in those days, one of the most active and powerful,
supporters of the popular cause, vigorously secon led this
menace, in which he entirely joined• On the next day
more petitions were fling in, more discussions took place,
and the Government postponed for a week the in-
troduction of the bill. That week proved quite de-
cisive, for so many meetings were held, and so many
petitions sent up, that. the bill was put off from time to
time, and did not finally make its appearance till
the 17th of March. Above six weeks were almost entirely

spent by the House of Commons in receiving the number
less petitions poured in from all quarters against the tax.
For it was speedily seen that the campaign of 1812
was renewed, and that -the same . leaders, Messrs.
Brougham and Baring, had the management op. the
operatior.s. At first thl Ministers pursued the cOnrse
of obstinate silence. The Opposition debated i each
petition iv vain ; every Minister and ministerial re*ber

held his pew. No argument, no facts, no sarcasms, no
taunts could rouse them ; no expressi ms of the country, no
reference to the anxiety of particular constituencies,
could draw a word from the Ministers and their sup-
porters. At length it was perceived that antagonists
did not the less debate, and th tt conseq tently the
scheme had for its purpose stifling discussion. The
on!y effect of it was, that all the dehaing was
on one side, and this bath became hui.tfal to thi
government in the House, and more hurtfal still in the
country. They were forced int) discussion, therefore ;
and then began a scene of unexampled interest, which

lasted until the second reading of the bill. Each night, at
a little after four, commenced the series of debates, which
lasted until past midnight. These were of infinite variety.
Arguments urged •by different speakers ; instaucas of.
oppression and hardship recounted ; anecdotes of local
suffering and personal incanvenience ; accounts of
the remarkable passages at different meetings ;
personal altercations interspersed with more general matter
—all filled up the measure of the night's bill of fare; and
all were so blended and so variegated, that° no one ever
perceived any hour thus spent to pass tediously away.
Those not immediately concerned, peers, or persons belong-
ing to neither house, flocked to the spectacle which each
day prevented. The interest out of doors kept pace with
that of the spectators ; and those who c4ried on these
active operations showed a vigour and constancy of purpose,

an unwearied readiness for the ccmbat, wbic'i astonished
while it animated all beholders. It is recounted of this
remarkable struggle that one nig.)t towards the latter end
of the period in question, when at a late h Air, the house
hating been in debate from four o'clock, one speaker had
resumed his seat, the whole members sitting upon one entire
bench rose at once and addressed the chair —a testimony
of unabated spirit and unquenchable animation, which
drew forth the loudest cheers from all sides
of the house. At length came the 17th of March, the day
appointed for the division, but it was soon found that th's
had been, with the debate, wholly anticipated. The usual
number of petitions, and even more, were poured thickly
in during some hours ; little or no debating took place,
upon them: unusual anxiety for the result of such
long continued labour, and such lengthened excitement,
kept all silent and in suspense, when about eleven
o'clock, Sir William Curtis, representing the City of
London, proceeded up the house, bearing in his arms the
petition, which ha presented without any remark, of the
great meeting of the bankers and merchants, holden in the
Egyptian Hall, and signed by twelve thousand persons.
The division took place after a debate that did not last half
an hour; no one could, indeed, be heard in an assembly so
itnpatie ,t for the division; and by a majority of 37 voices
the tax was defeated for ever, and the wholesome principle,
as Mr. Wilberforce well observed, was laid down, that war
and income tax ere wedded together."

The Iferaid yesterday morning treats at some length the
rumoured alliance between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Dis-
raeli—doing S 4, it says : " Because, although firmly con-
vinced that the junction in question would be suicidal, we
consider that, to avoid dispute and personal recrimination,
it would be better to prove that it would be found imprac.
ticable, W hope we have at least shown it to be sur
rounded with difficulties and dang2rs, irrespective of the
sacrifteigt of moral principles which it mast necessarily
invaire.'6n both sides."

MERSEY CONSERVANCY, &c. —A deputation on the subject
o! the several bills relating to the docks of the river Mersey
had an interview on Tuesday with Lord Stanley of Alderley
and the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, at the Board of Trade.
The deputation cousistel of the Right Hon. T. Milner
Gibson, M.P.. Mr. W. H. Wickham, M.P., Mr. R. Cobden,
M.P., Viscount Goderich, M.P., Mr. James Kershaw, M.P.,
Mr. Wm. Schokfield, M.P.. Mr. J. Pilkington, M.P., Mr.
J. Crook, M.P., Messrs. Hy. Whitworth, W. Gibb, H.
Fleming, the Town Clerk of Manchester, and Mr. H.
Wyatt, (parliamentary agent).

:4,THE STEAMER -RAVENSBOURNE.—It is stated that the
amount of silver on board the steamer Ravensbourne, the
loss of which was reported yesterday, was about six or
seven thousand pounds. This, together with a portion of
the cargo, is understood to have been saved ; but it is
feared that the vessel will be a total loss.

YASSING TOLLS BlLL.—This bill was issued on Tuesday.
It provides that debts on passing tolls be paid out of
moneys to be provided by Parliament ; transfer of Dover
Harbour to the Admiralty; transfer of powers of warden
and assistants to Admiralty ; 'transfer of Ramsgate Har-
bour to the Crown ; Ramsgate Harbour to be under the
management of tho Board of Trade, &c.

THE BANS CHARTER ACTS.—TIIO Chancellor of the
Exchequer has given notice that the committee to be
appointed thii day on the Bank Charter Acts be a
committee of secrecy, and consist of twenty-two mem-
bers, viz. :—The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Disraeli,
Sir J. Graham, Mr. Spooner, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. G. A.
Hamilton, Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Malins, Mr. Wilson, Mr.
Hildyard, Mr. Glyn. Mr. Beckett, Mr. Hankey, Mr.
Stirling, Mr. P. Urquhart, Mr. J. L. Ricardo, Sir C. Wood,
Mr. Cayley, Sir F. Baring, Mr. M. T. Smith, Mr. Wilkin-
son, and Mr. Fergus.

NEW YORK, Jan. 27.—1 t is doubtful whether the United
States mall steamer Atlantic will call on Salllnlay next,
in consequence of the repairs she is now undergoing.
Should she not, the City of Washington (s.s.) will be
detained till that day.
.The Atlantic...was cut through by
the ice, on her passage from Liverpool, about two feet
from the stem, and two feet below water. Her cargo has
been diseliqged free from, damage, except that part in
the forward compartment.

POST-OFFICE EXPENDITURE.—The estimate for the
Packet Service Department of the Post-office was pub-
lished yesterday. It amounts to .4'935,000, being an
increase of more than 4'200,003 in this year's estimate,
which amounts to .4756,000. The increase is mainly
caused by the expense of two new mail contracts, viz.,
one from Dartmouth to th.) tpe, Mauritius, and Cal-
cutta, which amounts to £59,300, and the contract for the
conveyance of the mails between Southampton and
Sydney, via Alexandria, Suez, and Ceylon, including a
branch from Marseilles to Malta.

BRITISH STATESMANSHIP.--We are glad to see the
indication of a new rule in, the policy of English states-
men, and if our London compeers of the press need any
proof that the rule of popular instincts in this country is
far at ove politicians and policies, we point to the signi-
ficant fact that when the administration was abandoning
its former policy towards Walker in Central America, and
Marcy was declaring war against him ; when the news
from Walker showed that he was in desperate straits,
and his enemies were shouting that he must succumb,
hundreds of filibusters were found, both in the North and
in the South, ready to go and join him. Even now that
communication with him is cut off by the seizure of the
steamers on the San Jaan, three hundred are preparing
at Greytown to fight their way to his camp, and hundreds
more are on the point of starting from here. In this mai ter
Marcy has committed another of those many blunders that
have left him without a shred of a party in this country,
and have sunk him and the present administration at
Washington beneath even the contempt of the American
people. It is a curious contrast, that while Marcy and
other of our politicians are so' widely mistaking the tone
and temper of the times, Palmerston and some of the
English statesmen are beginning to understand and adopt
it. Speed the parting—hail the coming guest I—New York
Herald.

WARNING TO BREWERS.—We believe We-cannot confer
a greater favour on that highly respectable class, the
brewers of Liverpool, at the present moment, than by
laying before them the views of one of the most eminent
and truly scientific practical brewers who have ever
written on the subject. Tizord's work on brewing has
deservedly obtained an European celebrity, and is
assuredly the most popular, as it is the most philo-
sophical work yet given to the world on the matters of
which it treats. On this important subject of water,
treating on the causes leading to acidity, he says—p, 106.
—" For this reason we most decidedly prefer hard spring
water, particularly that from wells, where it can be
obtained, to any other. We can now oblige the hardest
water tomake an extract from the malt in equal quantity,
if necessary, to that produced by rain or snow water."
p. 107—" Water that is free fro:n saline matter, or that
holds it in scarcity, is not fit for the brewery, being
impotent. The softest is in the state of snow, which,
according to Bergman, is destitute of all gaseous bodies,
so that fish cannot live in it, because it has no function.
As was shown in the Journal de Physique, by Canadori :
whereas, good water is entirely colourless, and as trans-
parent as crystal, and caitains one per cent. carbonic
gas, and other ingredients, such as silica, oxygen gas,
sulphate of lime, muriate of ditto, carbonate of ditto, and
soda, &c., &c." p. 113 —" For the reasons stated, the good
qualities of well water must at once be acknowledged by
the brewer who is fortunate enough in having such a
supply." p. 114—" But there is, besides, another advan-
tage in the use of hard water, which is, that more
saccharine matter can be left in the article, by which
fullness of flavour will be greater, without the risk of
becoming acid, as other full bodied ales do, especially in
hot weather. The Burton ales owe their superior qualities
and uniform permanency to the hard water there used. '
p. 118—" When waters run off moors (as that at Riving-
, 1 ton), and the brewers in the district are compelled to use

them for want of better, gypsum, or calcined lime stone,
ought to be used as a hardener." Here folloW numerous
cases illustrative of the superiority of spring water for
the purposes of the brewery, as compared with such water
as can be procured from the Pike, or any similar district•
The facts here advanced are, or ought to be, conclusive on
this important point. Many other passages might be
quoted, equally confirmatory of the superiority of well
water over rain or surface water, for the purposes of the
brewer.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE-

FEANCE.

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.
This morning M.M. Cusin Legendre, Duchene
de Vere, Orsi (formerly private secretary to Louis
Napoleon), and Arthur Berryer, appeared before
the Sixth Chamber of the Tribunal of Correctional
Police, to answer a charge of malversation con-
nected with the Napoleon Docks. The three first
are accused of swindling and abuse of confidence►
and the two latter are implicated as accomplices.
On the application of the counsel for the defend-
ants the hearing of the ease was postponed for
fortnight. The counsel engaged for the defence
are MM. Nibolle, Dufaure,. Noyent St. Laureas,
Grevy, and Marie.
The Bourse has been dull to-day. The Rente
rose 5c for cash, but fell 15c for account, closing
at 68f 151 and 68f 35c.., Mobilier fell 15f. Railways
lost all the ground they gained yesterday. The
market was a little firmer within the last quarter of
an hour.

Baron Wendland, the Bavarian Minister in Paris,
has received orders to accompany his sovereign in
a.,tour in Italy, and has accordingly left for Rome
to meet the King.
I understand that the republican party intend
_ _

;0 put forward the following eandidaf-is for Paris

at 1 the forthcoming gencral election : M. M.
Gowlehaux, Carnot, Cavaignac, Barbes, and Jules

,vre.

The Constitutionnel returns to the subject of the
Principalities, which has long since been exhausted
by the- European press, and recapitulates the
various arguments advanced at different periods
in favour of the union of the two provinces. The
only passage in the article of any novelty is the

fo I I ow i n g
We must correct an error committed by several London
and Vienna journals. If we were to believe the latter, who
are ill informed on the subject, France would alone favour
the idea of the union of the Principalities. Nothing can be
more incorrect. Russia, Prussia, and Sardinia are inspired
with the same ideas as France. England and Austria, it
is true, manifest contrary views. But that only represents
two against four. Up to this moment the majority of the
Powers represented in the Conctress of Paris is on the side
of the union, and the success of that project, if put to the

vote, would not be doubtfui.
The Moniteur publishes, the official return of the
gross receipts of the French railways for 1956,
which amounted to 281,15003 f, being an increase
of 22,152,931 f on those of 1855.
Count de Montnlembert arrived at Brussels on
Saturday in time to be present at the last moments
of the Count F. de Merode, his father-in-law.