Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-27 00:00:00

thistn or aa r committee
dy -
forenoon.ro o n Board-room, .at ot
the ;,tit
that
e t4i
tStihhSelect
ChurchwardeneeCinnumberffid
Wonatiousx COMMITTEE:,---11he eekly. meeting of
tete!
Te.iYednorC.'f,7r.iw.Tnapuplhe'was lepeerer..l-bgPrdso.ilveiinlesil'irdni
. and the otber members present were Messrs._ Penton,
ME.r7Lcyfaorrrd,o_Beproorotmede
. establishment last week was 2,1815 . number this- week
2,224 ; number in the corresponding week of last year
2,447. The' medical officers reported that the number
of sick paupers in the ward last ,week was 698 ; new
cases since, 171 ; cured and discharged, 152 ; died,
16 ; now remaining under treatment 716,. including.
14 fever and 8 itch . cases. The master of the
vagrant sheds reported that the nnmber of destitute,
persons relieved in his department during the week.
was 112 males, 49 females, and 14. children ; total,.
175—showing a decrease of 35 persons during the•
week, and, as compared with the corresponding
,week of
the last year, a-decrease of 51' persons,—A donation of
26 volumes for the use of the workhouse was announced
by. the governor; but the donor requested that his name
,might not be made public.—After transacting a con-
siderable amount of routine . business, the committee
adjoUrned.
GRANP POLYTECIINICAL DISPLAY. LAST NIGHT.—
Mr. Henry Hoffert delivered a, most interesting and
instructive lecture on "Electricity, Galvanism, and
Magnetiem,',' at Clavton-hall, mght,. illustrating the
powers of that subtle and important eleMent in nature,
by some very forcible and striking- experiments.: His
explanations. are, so .lucid, that any one,.with however
superficial a knowledge Of the subject,,must receive con-
siderable addition to his, information by attendance on
his explanations. Her popularises with great aptitude
and facility a subject Of great scientific difficulty.' His
dipoSition of the compass by dissimilar and similar
currents of electricity was very, Clear ,and intelligible.
He also transformed for the, audience, penknives,
scissors, &c., into perManent magnets: He alluded to
some experiments which Mr. Davidson had lately
made of substituting electricity for steam, but which had
hitherto failed, from the irregular and uneven action of that
fluid. Mr. Hoffert thinks that the failure of the Atlantic
cable has not arisen from any injury t hat it h asreceived ex-
ternally, but from the simple fact that the copper wires
of which it is composed have not been sufficiently strong
to resist the force of electricity which has been applied.
This he substantiated by passing the electric fluid
through wires of various densities, which melted those
that were too thin. Considering the very unfavourable
state of the weather, the attendance was good ; and we
recommend every one interested in scientific
.pursuits not
to miss so favourable an opportunity of hearing and see-
ing some of the treasures of popular philosophy ably
spoken upon and illustrated.

DISTRESSED NEEDLEWOMEN'S
SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the members of the Society
for the Relief of Distressed Needlewomen, was held,
yesterday, at the Savings' Bank, Bold-street. The
chair was occupied by the Lord Bishop of the diocese ;
and among the gentlemen present were T. D. Anderson,
Esq. (Mayor) ; W. Preston, Esq. (ex-Mayor) ; and Messrs.
Josiah Booker, Wainwright, P. M. Dove; Rev:
Archdeacon Jones; Rev. Messrs. C. W. Lawrence, G.
W. Warr, F. M. Rorke, J. Graham, A. Gore, G. French,
F. Moore, G. H. Denny, J. Gardner, R. Appleton, N.
W. Bannister, &c.
His LORDSHIP, in opening the business, expressed the
pleasure he felt that; notwithstanding the unfavourable
state of the weather, there was so large an attendance, show-
ing that charity had not waxed cold. Though he was pleased
to see so many gentlemen, he felt that that society and
the one for the employment of needlewomen are charities
that particularly belong to the ladies, because the reci-
pients of the kindness and charity are of their own sex,
and because the nature of the employment offered is one
about which gentlemen know little or nothing ; if they
were to be guilty of such folly and presumption as to
meddle in the details, he would not say they would burn
but they would prick their fingers. (Hear, hear, and
laughter.) They were, however, obliged to the ladies
for the great care they had taken in supporting that
institution. It would always be an important thing to
keep up both these institutions, because, he was sure,
there must be in this town a very great number of wo-
men—young women in particular—who, perhaps, arc
placed above the condition of what might be called ordi-
nary menial servants, and yet are obliged to earn their
own livelihood by their industry and talents in some way
or other, and many of. them very naturally turn to
their needle as a means of support. (Hear, hear.)
lie knew that some benevolent persons say—and he
thought he had heard his friend. Mr. Dove speak on this
subject—that women might be introduced into a number
of employments, front which by the custom of our
country they are excluded. That might be very possibly
done to. a great extent, and he should very greatly
rejoice if it could be done, provided only one thing be
kept in view—that the employment into which there is
any attempt to introduce them shall be consistent with
that feminine modesty and delicacy which, after all, is
not only the great orn9ment, but under the blessing of
God's grace the great safeguard of the sex in the position
of life in which women have been placed. (Hear, hear.) I
Needlewomen must always be an unfortunate class in
this town of Liverpool, and his lordship was
very happy to know that they had such kind
friends as those he saw there that day. (Hear, hear.)
Ho would not detain them further, as there were several
resolutions to be proposed by various gentlemen. One
would be moved by the Mayor of Liverpool, who, not-
withstanding his very many duties, had made it con-
venient to come amongst them. (Hear, hear.) He
might also say they had the 'gratification of seeing pre-
sent a gentleman ,who filled the same office last year,
who had shown so much sympathy with many of their
charities. He concluded by calling upon the secretary
to read the report.
The Rev. Mr. ANDERSON (on behalf of the secretary)
read the report, of which the following is an extract :
In presenting the report for the year 1859, the committee
feel that they have cause for thankfulness, and much reason to .
congratulate the subscribers and friends of the Society for the
Relief of Sick and Distressed Needlewomen upon the satisfac-
tory results which have attended their exertions during the last
year.
Although the society has not been established quite two years,
its fitness to meet the object which it has in view, and its
increasing usefulness, are completely proved; while the sup-
port with which it has been favoured shows that its claims are
1 recognised by those who interest themselves in works of bene-
volence.
Since the date of the last report, only eleven months ago,
the number of cases relieved has been 386. In every instance
a most searching personal investigation has been made by
members of the Committee. The applicants have in early life
moved in various stations, and many have occupied the most
respectable social positions. Their ages vary from 17 to 70.

_ . ~
The Committee desire to acknowledge the ability and great
kindness of their surgeon, T. F. Bailey, Esq., who has evinced
both sympathy and care for the poor sufferers, thus earning
their warm gratitude, while his professional skill and sound
judgment have been invaluable acts to the Committee.
No statistics can give an adequate report of the amount
s
of good done through the agency of this society. For some
applicants permanent employment has been obtained. For,
others the relief of donations of money have been placed in the
hands of individual members of the committee by those who
time" do goofrod bt
their
, ,si stealth," a l
miserable t h ,'
whilelodogithnegsrs ihnatoveonbeeconf removeda- fsoirdae
establishments," or into the country air, to recruit their faded
strength. Two deaths only have occurred during the year.
The committe acknowledge, with sincere thanks, the hand-
some donation of £B5 from the Chatham Committee, and £25
from the late mayor, William Preston, Esq.; also the valuable
assistance and donations from Mrs. William Preston, Mrs.
Moss, Otterspool, Messrs. Clay and Abraham, Messrs. Holme
and Nichol, and Messrs. Mackie and Gladstone, and the kind-
nesseeostoruiernptg stphhoceri losssupport
vie
was
eo-f p a
mr
ehighlysoisdt
of the trustees of the 'savings' bank, to which_ they owe
envtsai,utabbeielatote
mt.mheiTesmhsubesseeiromof
theirfuae ri o, committeeo
wm ifioooadsrvey
et, hhtoaneeiraddrmerpyel
tenhetimousninetsshe,
steadiness
rs enoftpoufrtpohis%ch:nridtyu.tivHaryiner stirliecot
courtesy,
obtained for her the esteem and friendly regard of all engaged
in this work.

In faith upon the promises of Him Who has said " He will
be with those who seek to promote His glory in ameliorating
the sufferings of their fellow-creatures," the committee com-
mend this work; and they now appeal to the public that not a
few only may be aided, but that many may receive the assist-
ance off` a society so well adapted to relieve them, while
obtaining work for those able to do it, and thus placing the
recipient of its benefits in a position to maintain self-respect
and independence of character.

From the treasurer's statement, it appeared that the
receipts for the past year were £255, and that after
payment of expenses, and including the balance for the
last year, there remained in hand at least about £177.
His i'orship the lixyon, in moving "That the report
and statement of accounts now read be printed and eir-
culated,'! said that if his lordship considered the society
so worthy of support that, he had not thought it too
much trouble to come from Chester to give it the advan-
tage of his influence and the sanction of his name, he
might indeed be ashamed of himself if he had declined
the invitation to be present. He was sure his fellow-
townsmen would not think he was using improperly his
official influence if he gave it in favour of so benevolent
an institution. There was no class in the country for
whieli a greater amount of sympathy had been expressed
than for needlewomen whom that society sought to
relieve. A good deal had been done in the metro-
r. •po , but until the last year or two nothing had