Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-11-10 00:00:00

THE DAYS NEWS.

Mr. James Holme was yesterday elected Mayor
of Liverpool for the ensuing municipal year, having
defeated Mr. Alderman Preston by a majority of
five votes, there being 32 votes recorded for the
former, and 27 for the latter gentleman. Mr.
Holme was proposed by Mr. Charles Turner, and
Mr. Preston by Mr. Robertson GrTadstone. The

proceedings, after the election of Mayor, included
the confirmation of the recommendation of the
-Back Committee granting a pension of £•?50 a
year to Mr. Taunton, late Treaeurer to the Dock
Estate. A great deel of opposition was shown to
this piece of extravagance, but.it was of no avail.
The annual officers were then appointed, and the
Council proceeded to select gentlemen for the
various committees for the ensuing-year. It will
be seen that they are entirely remodelled, and
that much new blood has been infused into the
Water Committee, including Messrs. .J. R. Jeffery,
Ryley, and Steains.
The West Derby Guardians hell a special
meeting yesterday, for the nut pose of inquiring
into the affiliation case brought against Mr.
Gough, the master of the Werkhouse. The Guar-
dians, after a very patient inquiry, came to the
resolution that there was no truth in the allega-
tions made against Mr. G )ugh, and accordingly
exculpated that gentleman. Mr. Gough was rather
excited during the inquiry—in fact, he fainted.
In the Court. of Queen's Beach yesterday Lord
Campbell, Mr. Justice Coldridge, Mr. Justine
Weightman, and Mr. Justice Earle, discharged the
rule obtained on behalf of Mr. .James Birch 'and
the other Guardians of the West Darby Union, for
a criminal information against Mr. James
Goodwin, for having composed and published
a certain scandalous libel. In giving judg-
ment, Lord Campbell said ." without pronouncing
any opinion on the conduct of'James Birch
and for his sake he (Lord Campbell) would not
enter very minutely into the evidence on either

side, he clearly came to the conclusion tin: Mr.
Goodwin, the defendant, was actuated by laudable
motives, if what he said in his affidavit was true,
viz., that 1w was entirely free froin any personal
spite, and believed that it was for the good of the
paupers that he should bring forward the charges
complained of, He must say there were very roe-
senable grounds for suspic:on—there were gross
abuses in the conduct of the Guardians of this
Union ; and, looking to the situation held by •Mr.
Goodwin, he could not at all blame him for trying
to expose them, and bring them to,justice." This
opinion was concurred in •by .Justices Coleridge,
Wightman, and Erie, and the rule was discharged
with costs, the latter to be paid by Birch and the.
-.other Guardians. We hope the ratepayers of the
-Union will make the Guardians pay the expenses
•-a • 11,-/ 1,1,1. uuLL a pu,p,,se•
Yesterday the Bank of England raised their rate
of discount to 10 per cent. it was only on Thurs-
day last it was raised from 8 to 0 per cent. :Consols
closed in the evening at '83,1 to 881 „so that the rise
had not so mush effect as might have been antici-
pated. The Western Bank of Scotland suspended
payment yesterday, and its liabilities are stated at
about seven millions sterling. Altogether com-
mercial affairs are in a most alarming position.
The monetary and commercial crisis is increasing
in intensity. The negociation of s3cond and third
rate paper is attended with diffinilty. There is an
absence of relief from gold arrivals, and failures of
extraordinary magnitude are taking place. The
difficulties of the trading community arc extending
in manufactures, and produce business is curtailed
—prices depreciated and profits diminished.
Business .in every department is experiencing the
paralysirw influence of impaired credit and dear
money—it ie, in fact, stagnant—yet there is a •
remarkable degree of confidence among merchants
and othera„because they are under the impression
that the crisie must be near its culminating point.'
The commercial letters from Paris -state .that
Lyons, B usieaux, and Paris are suffering more
than any others from the American crisis, in conse-
quence of the return of protested bills Many
houses are selling silk at a reduction of from 20 to
25 per cent., in order to get in money. Macv other
kinds of merchandise are also lower.

We are yet without any intelligence from India ;
it may, however, arrive as we are going to press.
The forthcoming news will certainly be morn im-
portant than any that has yet arrived, for it .may
help us to decide the problem whether the turning
point of the insurrection has really arrived, or
whether we may anticipate field encounters for
many months to core, over an extent of
territory almost too :great for the purposes
of war. Ministers are certainly of opinion,
according to a London cotemporary, that
India is again to be at our feet by Christmas,
and all their arrangements and calculations for the
future, are founded upon that belief. Haley should
be disappointed in this expectation, they will be
placed in a position wYch o politi3ians can
envy, and which may possibly prevent Eng!and
from recovering her lost ground in Hindostan.
But if the Government are correct in thinking
that the rebellion is drawing to a close, nothing
will stand in the way of their Reform Bill bein:f
placoci.on the table of the .House of Commons;
and it is understood they .will encourage its dis-
cussion, ifonly for the sake of disLaating attention
from Indian mismanagement, and .saving the
Cabinet from breaking up.
Mr.,Cobde..n will not stand ,for Reading. The
gentlemen is Reading who have suggested his
name for that borough, and rho promised him all
the support in their power, have been informed
thlt circumstances of a family :nature preclude Mt..
Cobden from.secking a seat in the Commons, and
would prevent his acceptance .of a seat, even if
elected without the necessity of :a contest.
It will be remembered that a dispute arose
between the preference shareholders and the
Direeors of the Great Northern Railway Company
with respect to the rislt of the former to get pre-
ferential dividend out of the profits of the half-
year, wiaieh the directors want to apply to the
redemption of the fraudulent stock issued by
Redpath. The case was decided by Sir W. Wood,
in favour of the preference shareholders, and an
appeal was lodged yesterday before the Lord
Juttices, who, however, have reserved their judg-
ment.

The news :rom the Continent this morning is
rather intert.s'ing. The Belgian ministerial crisis
bas been brought to an end. M. Rogiers has
been enabled to form a Cabinet. The intelligence
concerning the probable issue of the question of
the Principalities at the Paris Conference, points
now to a peaceful compromise. It seems that the
real bone cf contention, which is, of course, con-
nected with the establishment of a hereditary
dynasty, will be removed for the present, It is
even said that PrussiA has a distinct prupo-
anion to that effect in readiness. France
cud Itusaht can hardly help simply subscribing

to a mediation of this kind, undertaken
by their ,German alty, and it is to be
hoped that so peaceful an overture will induce the
Austrian, and particularly the British Government,
not from sheer distrust, to let an opportunity pass
over securing a field for progressive political and
commercial life :in the fertile lowlands of the
Danube. A. rumour, which is almost too good to
be true, says that Lord Palmerston's Government
has taken the initiative in proposing to the French
Government that Lord Stratford and M. de
Thouvenel should both be recalled from Constan-
tinople. We can hardly believe some of our
continental cotemporaries, that Lord Cowley should
have been charged with siuth a proposition, or
that it should have any chance of being accepted
at Paris.

The Asia, from New York, arrived hero at an
early hour yesterday morning. Her news is far
fiom favourable ; yet she brought £20,000 in specie

THE commercial rate of discount is now ten
per cent. Are we to accept this notice as a
type of our collective wisdom and Ministerial
moderation, or as the precursor of immediate
national bankruptcy ? The refusal• of the
PALMERSTON Cabinet to grant relief to trade left
the Bank of England no other course to pursue.
The marked decrease shown in their unemployed
notes leads us to suppose that their depositors
had pressed heavily upon the banking department.
They closed their returns of the 4th inst. with
only 2,1,55,3151. reserved notes. Six days have
elapsed since that statement was published, and
we have yet to learn the effect which the intense
pressure of the times has had on that compara-
tively slender balance. We have no reason to
anticipate any increase in that branch of the
Bank's available means, unless, indeed, notes
have been carried in to exchange for gold, which
is not unlikely to be the case, as the utmost con-
sternation has seized on all classes of the com-
munity. It matters little, however, what
becomes of the Bank Charter Act of 1844, and
the wretchedly abortive operations which are
attempted under its guardianship. It was
created specially for the destructive work it is
now carrying into execution. It was made law
for a clique, and now let them have their fill of
its joys. Bat it does appear strange that Lord
PALMERSTON should have taken upon himself to
refuse relief to trade without consulting her
MAJESTY in CRincil or . holding out some hope
that Parliament would be promptly assembled to
consider the positively frightful state of the
country.

Had the Premier grounded his refusal to ac-
cede to the request of the highly influential
mercantile deputations which have waited on
him, on some such promise, the public might
have exonerated him from a desire to take a
heavy responsibility on himself ; but the noble
Viscount seems to think all is safe, and that it
matters very little whether the Bank of England
and all the other banks in the kingdom, fall pro-
strate at his feet. We hope the noble lord will
not be deceived. Few can desire to see politi-
cal calamities added to the country's social
thing must be -done, or the results will be really
fearful, and if one set of public men will not
aid trade, others will be found who will come
forward to its rescue. We all know what is
meazat by the Bank of England's demanding a
rate of discount which no man in trade,
can submit to with any show of honesty to.vards
his creditors. " It is easily understood," says
the,Beuzker's Circular," that the Bank Directors
arc anxious not to come under the condition of
a forced ~;.uspensiou ; and they therefore adopt
the most
_,stringent measures consistent with
public safety." This is precisely the view the
public take of the 10 per cent. announcement.
.Should the Bank be called upon,for cash at this
usurious rate,,they will raise their rate to 11 per
.cent. If that ,will not do, they will try another
lift, and so we shall go on, but without an actual
stepension; that .is, if the Bank's depositors do
not take alarm, and force on the Directors the
disasters, they are labouring to avert.
In the meantime, the sufferings cf the mer-
cantile and labouring classes, must be of unpa- •
ralleled severity. In a less enlightened age,
unprovoked difficulties of such magnitude, would
be attributed to the existence of some malignant
and.fiendish spirit, which was bent in throwing
down the whole of our social fabric, regardless
of all consequences. The time has come, how-
ever, when we put a more charitable construction
on the acts of cur rulers, and turn to our own •
•!
better knowledge of all the great affairs of life,
and seek within ourselves a cure for the
maladies which overtake us. And that we must
do so, in this instance, is quite clear. Lord
PALMERSTOS has nothing to suggest. His busi-
ness is to hold nEce. The British public
must therefore guard themselves, and save their
property as they best can, and in order to decide
what is best to be done, a Town's meeting and a
County raleting should be convened without a
moment's delay. The Bank of England cannot
help us out of the difficulies which beset us, and
it is perfectly prepos'erous to be looking longer
in that direction. The Western Bank of Scot-
land acted wisely and honestly in closing their
doors the moment they heard the Premier's and
Bank Directors decision. The former had no
help to give, and the latter had no money to
lend to support other Banks; and, consequently,
they suspended business before any more mischief
was done to their depositors and general creditors,
and if a few more leading banking-houses were
to follow the same course, it might possibly give
her Majesty's Ministers some better knowledge
as to the real state the country is in. At present
the PREMIER does not seem to understand what
is going on, and he is, probably, waiting to see
how many-days the Bank of England can keep
their doors open with the protection of a 10 per
ant. rate of discount, Next Wednesday's

return will most‘assuredly clear away all doubt
on this head, should the Premier think it
advisable to allow a return worse than the last to
meet the 'public eye. The Directors will not
take upon themselves the responsibility of closing
the doors of the National Bank while they have
a pound in their till. It will be left for the
Executive to put up the shutters and toll the bell,
should such a terrible event take place as that
which all outward appearances seem to fore-
shadow. At all events, the Bank of England is
inoperative for all legitimate commercial purposes.
No man can pay 10 per cent. for money to be
employed in trade. But cannot the Directors
take upon themselves the responsibility of at
once enlarging their note issue in a season of
such unprecedented commercial distress, and rely
on Parliament and the country for their justifica-
tion when the hurricane has blown over ?

ELECTION SPEECHES AND PUBLIC
PARKS.

The Municipal elections are over—the little
stir they created in the town has passed away—
and we may now turn aside from discussing the
financial crisis and the Indian mutinies, the two
great interests of the day, and devote a moment
to one of the most important questions raised by
the various candidates who have been so lately
before the public.
The question of Public Parks was a very
popular one on the occasion of the Municipal
meetings this year. The successful candidates
of Abercromby, Vauxhall, and St. Peter's, and
the defeated of Everton and the Toxteth wards,
impressed the necessity of Public Parks upon
enthusiastic au liences, and pledged themselves,
if returned, to to devote their best energies to
this important question.
Are all these pledges to be unfulfilled ? Were
they but the clap-trap which was to catch the
cheers—sentences formed but to round periods ?
Were the vociferous cheers but the howls of
party applause, and are the cheerers to be satisfied
if the promises are unperformed ? We hope and
we believe that the new Town Councillors
advocated, in this instance at least, measures
they were prepared not only to advocate, but to
propose in their places in the Council Chimber ;
and we are much mistaken if the applauding
ratepayer is not ready to pay the extra rate, if
rate be required, and to hold the Councillor to
his pledge, if he does not seem ready to redeem it.
We happen to know that the Daily Press of
the week before last has been widily read, and
deeply studied ; that the idea of People's Parks
is one in which no philanthropist takes a theo-
retical interest as deep as the practical one taken
by the hard-handed mechanic, and that the vista
opined in the squalid cellar and the dreary
garret, to the honest and temperate but miserably
ing, one. The happy walk of the artisan
accompanied by his wife and family, in the com-
paratively pure air of his own Park, described by
'one of the speakers the week before last, is a
picture which has been realised by the power of
imagination in many households. By what
means are these pledges to be redeemed, these
ideas carried out, these dreams realised ? We
are, and have ever been, among those who have
but small confidence in the present management
of the Corporate Estate ; we do not believe that
our annual resources are husbanded as they
should be, or our real property made the best of,
and we are perfectly sure that by a system of
open accounts a rigid economy would be at once
enforced, and jobbing put an immediate stop to.
When the principles of judicious retrenchment
and reform have made themselves felt at the
Town-hall, we do not apprehend that the estab-
lishment of Public Parks tvill cause any new
burden to be laid upon our already heavily taxed
ratepayers.

It will be easy enough to fix upon the
districts where open pieces of ground are
wanted, but it will be a matter of no small
difficulty to find plots of unoccupied land
suitable to the purpose. The Cabbage Hall
estate is too far off to be of immediate practical
use to the class for whose good we are princi-
pally anxious ; though we are quite unable to
see why that estate has been allowed to lie
fallow so long, for as a beautifully laid-out Park
it would be a most invaluable addition to the
Egerton li.nd West Derby districts. The Prince's
Park partakes of the same objection, though its
value to the 9Outii end is being felt in more ways
than one ; the Botanical Gardens, and the small
strip of :round adjoining, are invariably crowded
with the class to whose health and morals Parks
are a necessity; but this is again far from the
real centres of toil and poverty. The Birchfield
Estate, now the ,barracks in Islington; the land
opposite St. Joh.n the Baptist Church, on the
Park Road; the plot between the Lancashire
and Yorkshire Railway and the Sandon Dock ;
the fields between Edge Hill and Rake-lane, or be-
tween Edge-lane and London-road, might, among
many other vacant spaces, attract the attention of
the new Town Councillors. Let each find out
where there is a plot of land suitable to the
purpose, whether the wants of the neighbourhood
warrant the expense, and what that expense will
be? The town is rapidly growing up; many
excellent spaces are being built aver every day ;
each year, what might have been a Park, produe.
tive of health and happiness to many thousands,
becomes a nest of courts, where vice, drunkenness
and cholera are claiming hundreds. The rate-
payers are ready to support the men who
advocated these Parks. Will the Cuuncillnrs
belie their election speeches ?

THE WEST DERBY GUARDIANS AND THE
GOVERNOR OF THE WORKHOUSE.