Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-07 00:00:00

THE DAY'S NEWS.

The news of most importance this. morning is
that respecting the relations between. France and
Austria. The uneasy feeling engendered by the
remarks of the Emperor Napoleon to the Austrian
Ambassador at Paris, on New Year's Day, does not
abate. The Stock Exchange here has been in-
fluenced by the state of affairs, but not to any such
extent as in Paris. The news that the Austrian
garrisons in Italy are strengthened will not allay
the excitement, but it is announced.that the true
reason for this is not international. The agitation
in Italy increases, and because of that Austria
does not withdraw her troops, but rather reinforces
them. We learn, too, that a council of war is
immediately to assemble in Venice to ,deliberate On
this dangerous state of things, and Gialay, one of the
Austrian generals has arrived there for the pur-
pose. But perhaps the most alarming, statement,
for Austria,. should it prove true,, is to the effect
that in Milan, when the populace, passing by the
barracks raised the shout of " Long live Italy,"
the Austrian soldiers inside then. took it up, and
sent back a similar cry. The Paris correspondence
of the Express says, that there is. a. rumour that
Milan is in a state of siege.. The news seems
highly probable, for the few words addressed to
M. de Hubner by the Emperer,,must have driven
people in Italy nearly wild. The impression that
France and Austria are in the eve of war gains
ground—" I can now assure you. beyond a doubt,,
that whatever turn events may subsequently take,,
the French army of Italy is at this moment,
ready to march on paper.' The Commander-in-
Chief, the generals, the aide-de-camp, the staff,
the regiments, the artillery, the engineering
corps, are all fixed upon, and the tele-
graph might in half an hour send them on their
way across the Alps to-morrow. " The miter
however, adds My own personal opinion is,,that
a great war is scarcely upon the cards. The
Emperor is not strong enough internally to. risk
the tremendous discontent which would be engen-
dered in France by the catastrophes, the desolation,
which would be produced by a war of any long
duration. The national vanity is great, and doubt-
less the news that the hi-coloured flag was waving
in_ Lombardy would for a time silence many hostile
parties. If Napoleon 111. could see his way to a
grand military demonstration, ending in a triumph,
without any serious opposition, there is no doubt
that the movement would be popular. But the
tug' of real war I am sure the nation would have
no stomach to stand. There is no doubt, however,
that a French army might sweep the Austrians
from Italy like chaff before the wind, if no oppos-
ing elements came into operation to . check their
onward course. There is no knowing how far
France might be committed by a first, and possibly,
too sanguine a step."

In the Spanish Cortes there has been a demon-
stration in opposition to the declared designs of the
United States on Cuba. Marshal O'Donnell spoke
very warmly. He said that Spain had a full
sense of her national dignity...and honour, and was
well prepared to defend both, as well as the inte-
grity of her territory ; and he expressed astonish-
ment at the language of the Message of President
Buchanan. The Cortes unanimously resolved to
sustain the Government in the attitude defined by
Marshal O'Donnell.

There has been considerable excitement at Con-
stantinople at the news of the Servian resolution.
The Sultan, acting on the advice of the Austrian
envoy, was at first inclined to oppose the patriotic
resolves of the Skuptschina, but the insistance of
the other Ambassadors, and especially of Sir H.
Bulwer, caused the Porte to change its intention.
The troubles still continued in Candia.

Mr. Gladstone, we learn, has sent home his
report on the lonian question. While he was in
Athens the manifestations of popular desire for a
union with Greece became quite general. And it
is said that if England refuses to give up the
protectorate, the representatives of the lonian
people will appeal to the Powers which signed the
Treaty of 1816.

The Mersey Dock Board held their first meeting
this year, yesterday. Mr. Charles Turner was
unanimously re.-elected Chairman for the ensuing
year. Some discussion took place as to the forma-
tion of the sub-committees for the year, and after
a special committee being appointed to arrange
them, both as to the number of persons on each,
and their names, the meeting separated.

At the meeting of the Health Committee yester-
day, the medical officer reported that the deaths
last week were 306, being 50 more than the cor-
rected average for the corresponding week in the
previous ten years. The deaths last week included
fourteen from fever, seven from diarrhoea, and five
from small-pox.
At the Police Court, a number of dishonest
shopkeepers and tradesmen were fined in sums
varying from 108 to £3 and costs, for having
illegal weights and measures. A number of mer-
chants and brokers were summoned, for not having
removed their goods and merchandise from the
dock quays, after having been landed 48 hours.
The magistrates did not fine in any case, but
intimated that in charges of a like nature they
would henceforth inflict the penalty.
_ The proceedings at the meeting of the Toxteth
Board of Guardians, yesterday, will amuse some
of our readers and disgust others. The guardians

" The arms are fair,
When the.intent of bearing thaw is just."

evidently do not know-how to conduct the,business
of the township ; but they will, perhaps, mend by
and by. After several very unseemly interrup-
tions, yesterday, a Mr. Williams was elected
relieving officer, he having obtained eight votes
and Mr. Corrol seven. From the proceedings it
would seem that Corrol is the far superior man ;
but a charge of belonging to an Orange Society
defeated his application. We should like to
know is it not imperative under the Poor
Law Act to advertise for a relieving_ officer

A lengthened investigation into alleged tamper-
ing with the religion of some of the girls in the
Workhouse, by a Roman Catholic lady visitor,
Miss Gillow, took place at the meeting of the
Workhouse Committee yesterday. From what
has transpired, it would appear that Miss Gillow
had catechised a girl, named Catherine Foley, upon
her religion, and insisted that she (Foley) was a
Roman Catholic ; that she had turned. Protes-
tant ; and that if she continued as such, she
would be " damned to all eternity." This
was corroborated by one or two other young girls,
and Miss Gillow acknowledged that she had asked
the girl if she had not been a Roman Catholic, but
distinctly denies having used the objectionable
expression alluded to above. The result of the
affair was, that Mr. Melly moved a resolation to
the effect, that a copy of the documents which had
been read, Miss Kennan's letter, and the girls
statement, be forwarded, with a copy of the rules,
to Miss Gillow, and that she be requested, in
accordance with rule 7, respectfully to send in her
resignation to the committee, which, after some
remarks from several members of the committee,
it was agreed to.
Roper, the Greenwich corn merchant, was tried
at the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, on
a charge of arson and fraud,. the theory of the pro-
secution being that he had set fire to his own
house, thereby causing the death of two of his
children, and that he had inserted in his claim
on the insurance company, property which he
had removed before the fire. The case. occupied
the whole of the day. The cross-examination of
several of the witnesses for the prosecution gave
a turn to the evidence favourable to the prisoner.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine delivered a, very forcible
address on behalf of the prisoner, and the jury
returned a verdict of not guilty.

The Brazil mails have arrived at Southampton.
A short telegraphic summary of the news will be
found- in another column.

IT. has been said that " war• is an expansive
lincury." Whether it is a luxury at all or not,
however, would be the first point to settle in
considering such a saying ; and whatever may have
been the sense or the degree of the enjoyment of
such a, pastime as war in days gone by—more
especially in "ancient barbarous, times"—we. of
the present day and generation have the happiness
to live in too enlightened an age to find any such

vicious sentiment anywhere prevailing—among•
ourselves, at least—in any quarter where the
slightest influence can be exerted to give effect to
it. The •utmost that will now be conceded, is the
sentiment which has been thus forcibly expressed,--

And this very often involves matters of opir ion.
in which the wisest men will differ. About the
expensiveness-of war, however, there can be bait

one opinion.;. and whatever improvements there
may have been in the art of war, there has
apparently been none at all hilts cost. It was,
the remark of EDMUND BURNS. that " from the
first dawnings of policy to this day, the invention
of men has been sharpening and improving_ the
mystery of murder ; from the first rude essay of
olubs and staves, to the present pvfection of
gunnery, etuinoneering, bombarding, and mining."
And all this, whilst perfecting, the means, has only
been increasing the expense of the warfare ;: until
now, with' all the extra appliances for equipping,
transporting, and provisioning our armies, war is
probably, a more costly affair than ever.

We find., for example, that the year of mutiny,
1857258 i in India, has cost the empire„ in, round
numbers, some nine and half millions, sterling.
The Indian revenue has been found,, it seems,
wonderfully, almost magically, adaptable to so
extraordinary an outlay. The Friend of India
expresses surprise andsatisfaction at the indication
of strength in theiz revenue system which the
case has afforded. "- In a comculsion," it observes,
"- such as has seldom been recorded, in history, with
the north-west provinces actually lost,' the
revenue declined by a sum less than sevenper cent.
upon the gross income of the state, less by hun-
dreds of thousands than the revenue loss. roduced
in England by the recent monetary panie. The
fact is a pleasant one for the holders of Indian funds,
The revenue which passed unscathed through
1857 will scarcely be affected by anything short
of our expulsion." Pleasant, no doubt, it is as to
the productiveness of the revenue; but how
infinitely more pleasant still had it not been wasted
on anything' so sanguinary and desolating !
Nor is the amount stated as already
expended anything like what it will be,
before all is done. "We lost, last year"
says the same authority, " nine and a half millions.
This year we have as much to lose, minus the cash
stolen, but plus the pay of about 70,000 new levies
and police, plus some 700 new staff appointments,
plus the rehabilitation of nearly exhausted arsenals.
There is ten more millions added to the former.
Add at least five millions for property to be
renewed, for compensation, and for accounts left
unadjusted, and the mutiny, even if it ends this
cold weather, has added twenty-five millions to the
debt." Such is the cost of war. In this case,
fortunately, Indian resources, not English, must
be drawn upon to provide for it.
And now let us, for a moment look at home, and
see how a people's means are saved, when there is
a transition from war to peace. That the recent
war with Russia was a costly affair, we have
negative evidence in the Revenue Tables lately
published. In the statement of Increase and
Decrease, in the year ended December 31, 1858, as
compared with the corresponding period of the
preceding year, we find one item of upwards of
seven millions and a half : it is Property-tax
decreased by having been reduced, as no
longer necessary for the Crimean war. Thus

in one single subject of taxation so large a
remission can be made, by cessation from war
within comparatively contracted limits,—a remis-
sion of taxation to about an eighth of the whole
amount. Seven millions and a half saved to the
country. It is a large sum to be left in the
pockets of our upper and middle classes,—
let us hope to be expended for much worthier
purposes at home.

A rather unreasonable impatience, we cannot
but think, has been shown by a portion of the
Press with respect to the prosecution which the

we are now convinced is theirs, not ours

THE NORTIIERN TIMES, FRIDAY, JANUA_RY 7, 1859

Irish Government, have -1:);en under the necessity

of instituting against a number of persons, charged
not only with being members of an unlawful
confederation, but with conspiring together for no
less treasonable a purpose than that of favouring
a foreign invasion. The project was, no doubt, a
very foolish as well as a very wicked one ; yet was
it not on that account any less the duty of the
Government to take cognisance of it. Many very
weak and foolish things prove very mischievous,—
sometimes lead to most serious consequences—
even to loss of life. A Government, therefore,
receiving information of treasonable doings,
however silly and absurd they may appear to be,
is bound to act upon it. And this is what the
Irish Government has- done. But then the

impatiences is, to know all the ins and outs of
the conspiracy, which it has not been tbOught
prudent to disclose at present.. The law officers
of Ireland, who know, of course, the whole case,
considered that it would tend to defeat the ends
of justice if the information on which they had to
act were now to be divulged. They have there-

fore made the preliminary inquiry a private one.
The accused were allowed the privilege of having
their legal advisers present, to watch the investi-
gation on their behalf. But in other respects the
Magistrates have had the examination conducted
privately ; and the result of it has been, as our
readers know, the committal of most of the

arrested parties for trial at the Assizes-, when
privacy will be no longer either needful or
practicable.

It is enough, then,. fOr the present, to know that
the prisoners lie under a charge of conspiring to
disturb the lawful authority of her MAJESII6;
some treasonable design;,--no doubt a 'very silly
one, yet calculated to be very mischievous to- all
concerned in it, as well mss-violating the public peace,.
and defying the law. And this for no reasonable
or practicable, purpose whatever, but apparently
only from sheer love of mischief, and in a spirit
of disloyalty and disaffection. There is no pretext
for such a wanton and angerous device as it is
sworn tha-.7 they were engaged in. Their country
is at present undergoing w very marked and most
beneficial improvement, and one in which all
classes of the people must largely participate. It

is on this account we learn• with so much sath•
-
faction, that" the evidence•f&af such a character
as, without prejudging the' accused, leaves little
doubt but there will be• a conviction at the
Assizes ;" and that this, a•the same communica-
tion avers, "will, no doubt, go far to break
up the existing secret societies in Ireland, as
none of the- members cam depend for a moment
on the others,"—since, "-when a brother turns
round and becomes an approver in order to
save himselfi. knowing well at the time that
his evidence- will go to convict his own two.
brothers—the sons of the• same parents—surely,
those who are total strangers can have no confi;.-
deuce in' each. other."

One of the public journals of the very place'
where this alleged conspiracy was being hatched—
the Northern. Daily W7tiA a paper, as its name
implies, in the liberal interest—reviewing the• com-
mercial history of the past year, thus remarks.upon
the financial prosperity of the country
year's Day,. 1859, has aome into existence• with
brightened,prospects as•compared with those which
greeted the advent of the past year. The chronic
disease which then affected the whole system of
commerce,. and, parallsed the circulation et capital,
entered into almost every place of business, and
prostrated the energies of the most enterprising.
Ireland:S finance was well supported throughout
all the• transitions, of the malady which had made
such havoc in the sister country ; not a single bank
showed the slightest weakness ; and,, although a
partial want of confidence was felt in; the cases of
two, or three• of those institutions, the. day of
struggle passed over without leaving. any trace of
its influence, save that of narrowing very much
the circulation of notes, and to. soma extent
decreasing the amount of gold reserve." The
general progress of commerce in the town that was
the head quarters of the treasonable folly for which

‘New-

so many have just got into trouble, is then summarily
noticed thus—" The imparts and exports of this
town, which had amounted to £11,800,000 in 1851,
jointly reached £17,500,000 in 1856. Next year,
the total fell short of the previous one ; and, during
the past twelve months, from the causes just
noted, a further decrease took place. This,
however, was to have been anticipated; but
now that the corner has been turned, there
can be little doubt of 1859 being the most
successful of the past ten years." It was at such
a moment as this, then, when there are such
undeniable evidences of progress and prosperity,
that a party of weak yet mischievous malignants
could band themselves together, for the purpose
of creating a disturbance in the country, which
might have undone, for some time at least, all the
good results that have arisen under the altered
state of things of the last eight or ten years, and
have thrown the public interests back again into
their former condition of confusion and depression.
The reflections of the London Times, with which
it winds up an able article on this subject, are
exuedingly apposite and forcible, when it says :
" The return, after so many years' intermission,
to Riband Societies, to a course of agrarian crime,
to treasonable oaths and secret conspiracies,
is certainly a bitter disappointment to our bright
and sanguine hopes. We had dreamt of
another future for Ireland, and can scarcely
prevail upon ourselves to awake and look in
the face our present disappointnients,—to admit
how deeprooted are the evils with which we
have striven to contend, and how ill the race in
whose destiny we are so deeply interested profits
by the opportunities of prosperity or the teaching
of adversity. Time was when England, in the
plenitude of ignorant generosity, was willing to
take upon herself the blame of spendthrift land-
lords and barbarous peasants, of the recklessness,
the extravagance, and the folly of centuries. We

are proof against such reproaches now., If the
Irish cannot be content with their lot, the fault

and we

must adhere to the system we have adopt ed until
some better ream than the discontent of a poop

whom adversity Scums unable to teach and pros-

perity to humanize can be adduced for changing

THE PROPOSED PARK AND BOITLi:VARD.-It is satis-
factory to find that the recommendation of the Finance
Committee of the Town Council, to sell a por on of the
Newsham House estate, has not been adopted. The land
in question is likely-to be required for important public
improvement", which all classes of our townsmen are
more or less interested in. Whatever reason there may
hitherto have been for selling the land, now that it is
thought of for such a purpose as a public park, which

would be so great an ornament and advantage to the
town, it would be most inexpedient to part with it. We
quite believe, with Mr. Picton, that " a large portion of
the inhabitants are under the idea that it was the
intention of the Council to lay out part of the estate as
a public park ; and that if any steps be taken which
would either nearly or remotely tend to prevent that, it
would give great dissatisfaction." The possession of
such a piece of land, in so desirable a situation, affords an
opportunity to• the Town Council to promote so desirable
an object as that of a park, *hick it would have been
most reprehensible to throw away, as was proposed.
A public park, which would be so valuable a place of
recreation for the working classes; is, of course, the first
great necessity to be' attended to, in suburban improve-
ments of the kind suggested..., Yet there is' iro reason why
a boulevard may not be a part of the plan:. A boulevard
and a park are quite• compatible objects—the former
constituting the boundary of the latter. Mi.: Robertson
Gladstone's remark, that "until lately he never attached
much importance to the' formation of boulevards ; but,
like many other people, tallng the opportunity sf seeing
those boulevards made so• much use of by tie poorer
classes in Paris, he had come to quite a different
conclusions." shows that people only want' to be
enlightened upon the subject,. in order to appreciate the
importance• of such an appendage to a . town' like
Liverpool. The idea of building villa residences' along
the line of boulevards is, we
.00nsider, quite praetiiable,
without at air interfering with,the object in view, as-one
of public advantage—one in the 'benefits and pleasuros of
which all classes, even the humblest, would be at_liberty
to participate:.

THE TOXTETZI GUARDIANS AND THE WAY THEY
DO THEIR BUSINESS.-It would be doing the Toxteth
Guardians an injustice to say that they have yet arrived'at
a correct method".of doing business_ It would be hard to.
charge them with jobbery; but there is a dominant
cliqueism, an unexplained way or coming at results,
through the agency of some unknown committee, and'
irregularities in the conduct of public business, which
would startle many a less bombastic and conceited body.
It was only last week that a medical gentleman stated in
a note to the Guardians, that they were half starving a
poor woman who wets suffering from Illness; yet we may
constantly hear, in-the relief cases, the tender-hearted
and considerate Mr John Wilson, telhug old men of 65,
who are blind, and tottering with weakness, that they
should go and seek work, and not come there to ask
the Guardians to. keep them in idleness. To a
deerepid old tailor.- with defective sight, that merciful
guardian will say, "Why don't you go. and get work at
t'ie tailors' shops ?- there is plenty of itir The old man
will murmur—" I hove tried, but can't, sir ; the young
hands leave no chance." And generally the guardian in
question shows an utter abnegation of. all those kindly
feelings which he Is known to possess. But, apart froin
the pleasant manner in which relief is administered,

there is room to say a word or two about the election of
a relieving officer. Usually, Boards oc,Guardians adver-
tise the vacancy, with an intimation that "canvassing the
guardians will not be allowed." Not so at Toxteth
Park, however ; the guardians almost. boasted of having
been canvassed, and entered upon the.consideration of
the question before them, with their minds fully made
up as to who should be successful, so. far as they were

address, testimonials, or general eviance of fitness. At
the meeting of the Board on the previous week, it seemed
to have been understood, that the election was to take
place then—(for- the Guardians dodged advertising, Mr.
Moss having suggested that they could put into their
speeches, whiclt would be reported, all that was necessary)
—and candidates were then in attendance. Some of,
the Guardians. had had interviews with those candidates,,
and were prepared to speak of their fitness, and it was.
acknowledged that the most eligNe of them was Mr,
Correll, but; for some reason —no, doubt one of profound
policy—Mr. Moss had, or his party had, the matter
postponed.. Questions were asked as to why there should
be a postponement, but no satisfactory reply was given.
The postponement takes place, and the question
comes on again, with the result stated, in
the report. There is an awful discovery !
A conspirator, probably—a dangerous man is in
the field; and we are treated with an amiable and
edif:iug little discussion on. Orange Lodges ! The. thing
is almost too silly for conament ; but it will show the
"measure of mind" that prevails at the Toxteth Board.
A. candidate had been decided on by Moss and, Co. (and a
guardian alleged that Mr. Moss had tried to persuade him
to his way of thinking), and he was carried against the
dangerous individual, who, no doubt, would have been
carried had the election taken place last week. To say
nothing of not advertising, adjourning 'Without cause,
guardians allowing, themselves to he canvassed and
themselves canvassing, there is one matter of serious
complaint. In their eagerness to fight their respective
views on the great Orange question, the Guardians threw
overboard the applications of the rest of the fifteen can-
didates, and did not do them either the courtesy of
seeing or hearing their applications. But the affair was
fore-doomed, and the anti-Orange party has triumphed.

CRINOLINE CLIPPINGS.—Crinoline Tolled : At the toll
gate between St. Anthony's and Pity-me, near Newcastle,

the other day, a fair landlady, extremely hooped, was
brought to a stand, being unable to force her way through
the turnstile. Though used to stand at the bar, she was
not disposed to be detained on this occasion, and de-
manded to have the gate open, upon which the toll-keeper
told her that if she had the gate opened she must pay 2d., the
same as horses. We believe, however, his gallantry eventually
prevailed, and the fair cavalcade moved on.—Kelso Mail.
The Crinoline .11fania : A Templemore correspondent
informs us that the young lady who had her crinoline
dilapidated at the station near that town, while striving
to insinuate herself into a railway carriage, intends to
treat the company to an action for damages, in conse-
quence of the injuries she suffered from the neglect of
the company in not having doors of the dimensions
required to admit ladies who indulge in the present
inflated fashion of under garments. Our corres-
pondent further states that a number of young
ladies, companions of the injured fair one already
alluded to, have a memorial in course of signa-
ture, which is to be intrusted to G. E. Ilberry, Esq., for
presentation to the directors of the Great Southern and
Western Railway at their next meeting. The petition
impresses on the directors the imperative necessity of
keeping one carriage, at least, attached to each train,
with folding doors, which is to be set apart solely for
ladies who patronise the present style of fashionable
circumlotatory circumgestation— said carriage to be
designated the " Crinoline Caravansera."—Leinster
Express.

THE CONVICT WIIITWORTIL-It is satisfactory to
know that this unhappy man continues in the same state
of mind as he did last week. Ho daily reads the Scrip-
tures and other religious books, and is quite resigned to
his fate. The Rev. J. E. AL Young and the Rev. James
Parkes daily visit the culprit, and there is reason to hope
that, before his death, ho will make a more detailed con-
fession of his guilt. Up to the present time he has
merely acknowledged in general term; the justice of WI
senteneks,-..:Leccts Mercuq,