The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-27 00:00:00

E4e

fterA
I

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1857

THE DAY'S NEWS

As our readers are aware, the Houses of Parlia-
ment did not meet last night—yesterday being the
day appointed for the celebration of the Queen's
birthday. In Liverpool we would not have known
that such an auspicious event was occurring, had
the Custom-house not been closed, the flags
floated on some of the public buildings, and last,
though not least, the letter carriers appearing in a
" new rig out." These latter gentlemen—ill-paid
though they be—appeared yesterday in bran new
livery. In London, her Majesty's 38th
birthday was celebrated with the usual official
ceremonies, parades, reviews, salvos. Sze. The
beautiful weather, not less than a feeling of loyalty,
induced great numbers to make holiday.
The trade and navigation returns for the month
of April were issued yesterday. They are satis•
factory. The declarA value of exports during the
month is 9,985,8441, exceeding the corresponding
month in 1356 by 560,0001, and the month of April,
1855, by nearly two millions. During the first
four months of this year the exports of the kingdom
were valued at 88,813,0001, as compared with
34,574,0001 in the corresponding period of 1856, and
26,894,0001 in that of 1855.

The amendment which was on Monday night
introduced, on the motion of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, into the Matrimonial Causes and
Divorce Bill is one of the very highest importance,
but, according to a London evening cotemporary,
it will undoubtedly be struck out in the House of
Commons. By the clause, as it originally stood, a
husband or wife, who had been divorced on the
ground of adultery, would be free to marry his
or her paramour. The amendment, while leaving
the innocent party in a divorce case at liberty to
marry again, interdicts any second marriage of the
guilty one. Nothing can have a more powerful or
direct bearing on social morals than the ultimate
decision of the difference here involved, The
proposal to enact than a divorced adulterer may
marry his paramour sounds very much like a
statutory encouragement of adultery ; but as it is
well known that Lord Palmerston, who in morals
and religion, as well as in politics, leads the House
of Commons, entertains a strong opinion that to
prohibit such marriages would be " cruel and
immoral," those interested in the question may be
assurel that the original clause will be restored."
The House of Lords has at length adopted the
practice which has been carried out by the House
of Commons for the last twenty years. The Lords
have determined to publish a list of their divisions.
Reports, minutes, and divisions in the two Houses
are all now to be laid as a right, from day to day
before the people of England; and fairly time that
it was so.

The Hon. Neil Dow, the American Apostle of
Temperance, lectured at Exeter Hall, London, lest
night, to an overcrowded house. He does not
seem to have male much head-way in England.
His peculiar doctrines are not in unison with
the feelings of the majority of the inhabi-
tants of Great Britain The " Thunderer," of
yesterday, has a leader containing very energetic
we think reasonable, arguments on the question.
The enormous majority of the inhabitants of these
islands make use of fermented liquors, but a very
small minority are habitual drunkards. Of the
7,500,000 whom we assume at a rough calculation
to represent the adult male population of Great
Britain and Ireland, how many are habitual
drunkards ? how many are even " drunk" in any
given twenty four hours ? Are we, therefore, to be
told that because a few weak or despised persons
deliberately choose to make beasts of themselves,
and to bring ruin upon all about them the reason •
able liberty of the great bulk of their fellow sul3-
jects
is to be restrained by a restrictive sump-
tuary law to enforce temperance. We
an assure the Honourable Neal Dow
that he is wasting his labour and his
eloquence in England, We know as well as he
can tell us, that drunkenness here, as well as in all
ether civilized countries, is a fruitful source of
erime. We cannot, however, compare our own, or
any other country, with a nation of water
drinkers, or rather as a nation which uses no
artificial stimulus, and for this simple reason, that
no such country exists, or ever has existed, in the
annals of,the world."
The decision of the House of Commons on Fri-
day night, on the Dublin Shipping Dues question
has given great offence to our Irish coten2pora'
ries. Mr. Horsfall comes in for a deal of vitupera-
lion for his share in the debate, if it can be called
a debate, on the motion of Mr. Vance to
bring in a bill on the question of the Dublin
Shipping and other Dues. These dues
Consist of a charge of 2s. on entries, and 4d per
ton, and ss, 6d. each on ships from foreign ports.

"We regret to say," says a Dublin daily paper of
Monday, " that the introduction even of the bill
was resisted by
Lord Palmerston ; and the extraor-
dinary and outrageous statement was made by Mr.
Horstall, and endorsed by the Chancellor of the
Egehequer, " that these dues had been pledged by the
city of Dublin in repayment of certain
sums of money advanced by the govern-
ment." It was also resisted on the ground
that a payment of £2,500 per annum was made by
government to the Ballast Board in lieu of
differential duties on foreign ships, so that
national treaties made with foreign powers are to
be visited on the trade of Dublin. Mr. Lowe
stated that this £3,000 per annum was the only
interest government received on an expenditure
of £314,000 on Kingstown harbour, completely
a government or national work." This journal
proceeds to say, " it is also inconsistent in Govern-
ment to have proposed its abolition last year, and
refuse it now because they cannot carry the
Liverpool Sound Dues with it; and it ill becomes
Mr. Horsfall to cast observations as to repudiation,
when his constituents have been deriving an
enormous income from the Sound Dues, for which
no value whatever is given, the whole of it
being applied to other than shipping purposes
A. greater hardship is, that the cross channel
trade is wholly exempt from the charge, as
well as the packet service, by which a large propor-
tion of the benefit is derived We regret to observe
that the bill was rejected by a majority of 253 to
133. Most of the Irish liberal members did not
vote, Mr. S. Greer being about the only Irish mem-
ber unconnected with government who voted in the
majority. The members for the county and Uni-
versity, and several independent oppositionistr,
voted with Messrs. Vance and Grogan."
Crimes and calamities appear to happen in
groups. As a proof of this, no fewer than three
poor creatures of the female sex were brought
before Sir Peter Laurie, on Monday, at the Guild-
hall, London, charged with having attempted to
destroy their lives. These cases are of the most
pitiable character. One of the unfortunate women
so it was stated in evidence, declared " that she
led such a depraved life, and felt so thoroughly
degraded, that she never could enter into society
again, and thei efore begged that she might be
allowed to die." This woman is the type of the
very lowest class of our population, but even in her
case there is a sense of degradation and shame,
and, therefore, them ought to be hope of her
redemption, and of all the fallen who are inspired
by similar feelings.
A clerk, named Barre, was sent for trial yester-
day by the magistrates, for obtaining £5O by false
pretences. from Meisrs. Twigg and Crossfield. of
Rainforci Gardens.

Some further particulars respecting the murder
of a sailor by a tailor, in Scotland road, on Monday
night, will be found elsewhere. The inquest was
held yesterday, and the evidence adduced left no
doubt on the minds of all present, that the wife of
the prisoner was unfaithful. The jury returned a
verdict of " Wilful murder," but, at the same time,
expressed their opinion that Davies received an
extraordinary amount of provocation.
Our intelligence from France this morning is
not of much moment. The Government, or the
Legislature, are tinkering the constitution of
the Bank of France, and endeavouring, as they
must imagine, to increase the capital of the country
by authorising an issue of bank notes, value X 2
sterling: such is the great ignorance that still
prevails on this subject among our neighbours.
It would appear that the boasted unanimity of the
Republican party no longer exists ; and the elec-
toral programme presented by the moderate mem-
bers of that party may be considered as waste paper,
so far as its political signification is concerned.
The ultra-republicans have declined to take part
in the coming elections, and as the masses.
are with them the manifestation of the moderate
party loses its vigour and also its chances of
success. It is also whispered that some of the
first-rate names of the latter party, representing
the liberal element of the middling classes, refuse
to allow themselves to he put in nomination
Altogether, the victory for the moment lies with
the abstention party, a circumstance which causes
regret to administrative circles. The Debats
treats the whole matter of the elections with
superb contempt ; since the comencement of the
movement, the word election has not appeared in
its columns.

A Hamburgh banker• has offered the capital
required for the Swedish Railway Scheme.
In the Danubian Principalites the struggle is
developing itself between the rival influences of
France and Russia on one side, and of Austria on
the other, and the matter may yet become serious.
The Austrian Government, it seems, has not
excluded the refugees from the general amnesty ;
only looking on these as having forfeited their
citizenship by absence, they must apply to have it
restored to them. Their application may, of
course, be refused•

A late arrival from the Cape of Good Hope
brings reassuring intelligence as to the state of
things on the Kaffir frontiers, which had been con-
sidered threatening.
Full particulars of the burning of the ship
Joseph Somes will be found in our columns this
morning.

TO-DAY the Town Council meets for the
consideration of a most important subject, and
on the decision of which the health and happi-
ness of the inhabitants „"must in a great degree
depend. This special meeting of the Council
has been convened for the purpose of discussing
the proceedings of the Water Committee,
including Mr. DUNCAN'S Report upon the
Memorial of the Ratepayers and other inhabi-
tants, presented to the Council, praying that the
supply of water from the red sand-stone wells
might be continued in conjunction with that from
the Rivington

We have been determined and zealous advo-
cates for the prayer of that Memorial. We have
written strongly, but truth fully, well knowing that
desperate diseases require desperate remedies.
From first to last we have been opposed to the
Pike water being used for dietetic purposes,
simply because we had undeniable authority for
pronouncing it to be of the most deleterious
quality—its component parts being of such a
character as to render all attempts at purifica-
tion in the filtering beds totally and entirely
impossible. We warned the Water Committee
of these facts ; but, notwithstanding all our
remonstrances, as well as admonitions from
other quarters, that body still persisted in
treating the opposition with indifference,
bordering upon contempt. Our statements
regarding the quality of the Rivington water were
gainsayed, and compounded explanations were
concocted to demonstrate that all we wrote upon
the subject was only what poetic minds would
term " imaginative sketches." Knowing full
well the justice of our cause, and that all that we
had advanced against the Pike project was
correct, we engaged a special reporter to visit
and report upon the Works, and the quantity
and quality of the water which they contained.
How that task has been performed, and the
accuracy and fidelity of reports which have
been made, we leave the members of the Council
who visited Rivington last week to say. Certain