Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-17 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES.---LINERPOOL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1857

capital of Livonia, and an emporium of considerable
trade. The occasion was the demolition of the
the fortifications, these having been given up by
the Emperor. It was a work which the citizens
joyfully set about, as these fortifications proved a
serious check upon the growth of their town.
The Atlantic arrived here yesterday with three
days later news from the United States, and about
£:350,000 sterling in specie. The news to hand is
not of the least interest to European readers.
Commercial matters were quiet. Cotton was selling
in New York on the basis of 111), per lb. for middling
upland. Breadetufis were rather more buoyant.

THE Liberty of the Press and the liberty of
the Bar are the palladiums of our political and
personal freedom. Having said this, we may
offer a few remarks on the uses which we made
of these high privileges without incurring the
risk of being called despotic or reckless of the
inherent rights of Freemen. In dealing with
public topics, we claim 'for our brotherhood and
ourselves perfect freedom of discussion; and
and when the utmost limits of the Constitution
have been exhausted or passed, we would claim
the unbridled use of that experience and discre-
tion which a life devoted to the study of political
and national affairs generally secures to the pub-
lic journalist. The Bar are permanently entitled
to all the Press can claim. They are not only
entitled to the fullest freedom of speech the law
allows, but they are positively required to exer-
cise the utmost ingenuity to pervert truth, warp
facts, and defeat the law. A very few such
triumphs of forensic skill and ability leads to
fortune, and no man has a right to place himself
in the way of his neighbour's promotion. But
all the immunities bestowed upon the subject—
whether political or civil—are based upon the
supposition that society, taken individually and
collectively, is sufficiently refined and well
informed to know how to use the liberties the
law gives them, without violating the universal
sense of justice and the ordinary outlines of
good breeding. The newspaper writer may be
as reproachful, bitter, and satirical as he pleases,
without resorting to the vituperative vocabulary
of Billingsgate, or the low vice of slander. The
liberty of the Press gives us the power of pub-
lishing the truth, and not falsehood or malicious
attacks on private character.

The Bar may be equally eloquent, surpassingly
witty, immensely shrewd, frightfully grim under
responsibility, profoundly dignified in moments of
triumph, artificially or naturally apesarado when
defeated, look d'un air abattu when bags are
briefless, but there should be no vulgar ribaldry
or low slang allowed from the British Bar, such
as that used by Mr. SOWLER, in his defence in
the cause of GLADSTONE V. OUSELEY. That the
defendent did slander the plaintiff in the grasses:
manner, is proved by the fact, that an apology
was made to Mr. GLADSTONE in open court.
Had this been done at the onset of the pro-
ceedings, which ended in a trial and apology,
Mr. GLADSTONE would have at once shown his
usual liberality, and have abandoned the criminal
suit against maligners, and it is much to be
regretted on all hands, that the matter was not
settled before it went into court. It would have
saved Mr. GLADSTONE—in the absence of good
taste on the part of the Bench, and becoming
respect for the character of a fellow-town's-man
and a man of honour on the part of a jury—
from insults and insinuations, quite as bad as
those for which he was prosecuting a news-
paper editor. These insults and insinu-
ations came from the Bar clothed in
what the gentleman with the swinish name, Mr.
SOWLER, would call wit and humour." But

comparing a prosecutor in a court of justice to
"an ass," following a gentleman into his butcher's
and cheesemonger's shops, and repeating the
sound practical lessons read by a Town Council-
man to the tenants of a corporate market, and
that with all the consummate swagger and
impudence imaginable, are positive outrages on
the liberty of the Bar, and the tolerant spirit of
the age.

Mr. SOWLER is not aware evidently, that the
Plebeian was never so severely handled as he was
by CHESTERFIELD, when pouring forth the
affection of a father, in his advice to his son.
The impression Mr. SOWLER'S address has left
on the public mind of Liverpool must be, that
its author is just one of those men who would
pick his teeth with a fork, eat peas with a knife,
and make his breeches pockets both his summer
and winter gloves. We can only :form our
opinion of public characters by their speeches.
They are not always before us, we are happy to
say, and therefore we must read them at a
distance, and we certainly must say that we
think Mr. SOWLER will never be half so refined
as the late Serjeant WILKINS, or one jot more
profound than Sir CHARLES SURFACE. If Mr.
SOWLER had been addressing a Billingsgate jury
and Chief Baron NICHOLSON, the " Cole Hole''
world would have been highly delighted with the
richness of his slang, and his unmistakeable
contempt for the feelings of good society. Mr.
SOWLER travelled away from his subject when he
followed Mr. GLADSTONE into his private, and
even household, affairs, in his efforts to make the
extenuation of the crime complained of greater
than the offence itself. This was the course
resorted to by an Eastern jester to escape the
punishment of death, and Mr. SOWLER'S wit
most assuredly dates from the same school, and
it is time for the Bench or juries to protect
prosecutors in courts of law from such scandalous
vituperations and insults as those offered to Mr.
GLADSTONE while actually claiming protection
from his slanderers. But before we take leave of
Mr. SOWLER we would whisper in the ear Of the
Bar the Spanish proverb—Juego de manos, se ,

juego de villanos—which means, when generously
translated—" Rude handling, even in jest, is only
fit for clowns."

A FEW days ago we called attention to
a case of the most unwanton cruelty, perpe-
tated upon a poor and defenceress young
lady, which it has ever been the lot of the jour-
nalist to notice. We have termed this a case of
" unwanton cruelty." It is, indeed, the habit
of many people to deny the truth of any great
crime unless they were eye witnesses of its
perpetration, or to palliate enormous offences,
no matter how repugnant to christian feeling,
civilisation, and humanity. Thus it is, that we
blush to say, NANA SAHIB has his apologists
and defenders, and, to the present day, both
PALMER and DOTE are, by some, considered to
be victims to public prejudice and the indefensi-
ble character of circumstantial evidence. The
victims of workhouse tyranny are, also, little
cared for, and their tormentors acquitted of all
intention to do grievous bodily harm. Principles,
such as we are now adverting to, have induced the
Pro-Slavery party in America to deny the
accuracy of the scenes despicted in " Uncle
Tom's Cabin," and to characterise the wcrk
a tissue of well got up, but gross and transpar-
ent falsehoods. We have all heard of the
atrocities committed in the Birmingham
gaol, the abominations committed on board
Irish emigrant ships, not to speak of the
notorious case of Mrs. BROWNRIGG And her
unfortunate apprentice girl, whom she whipped
to death. Nevertheless, the cruelty of each of
these has been stoutly denied, or an attempt
made to palliate them. The matter of the
French Lady, who breathed her last at Boulogne,
under the most painful circumstances ever
known, and marked by a want of feeling, second
only to the inhumanity of an Indian Sepoy, is
the latest case of the kind which has come under
our notice. When that case has been published
in all the papers of the United tKingdom, we
should like to ask, how many respectable and'
reasonable people will venture to assert that
there is nothing to complain of in the professional
position of governesses ? nay, on the contrary,
will assert that the great majority of female
instructors of youth, are kindly and properly
treated. There may be sceptics of this kind,
for their benefit we shall give further publicity
to the shocking details of the illness and death
of the young French lady, who was blessed with
holding an appointment, as governess, in the
family of an English gentlewoman, but who
ended her miserable life at an hotel, in Boulogne,

some eight days' since.
This unfortunate young lady, interesting in
appearance, but labouring under such acute and
painful indisposition, was landed from the
Folkestone steamer, on her arrival at Boulogne,
on the sth inst., at the time that she was
utterly powerless and speechless. Being carried
to her hotel, the aid and advice of an English
practitioner was obtained. He, seeing the
desperate character of the case, sought the
assistance of another medical practitioner.
A French gentleman soon joined him. All
that humanity and science could do, to relieve
the unfortunate suffering stranger, was instantly
resorted to, but the hand of death was upon
their patient. From the first, she gradually
sank, and the King of Terrors put an end to her
sufferings on Sunday, the Gth inst. Thus, alone,
unheeded and unattended, save by the hands of
total strangers, she sank into her last rest,
a melancholy example of the want of care and
attention. But the most painful part of the case
remains to be told, because it shows that when
she left England, she was in the last stage of her
disease. On opening her dress, " a largo label
was found on her bosom, as if she were ribale of
merchandise," stating that she was going to her
brother-in-law, at Amiens. His name was
given. She had, also, in her purse, the sum of
seven pounds, and a scrap of paper announcing
that her salary, as governess, had been paid up

to the 6th of December—the very day she died !
There was, also, a letter found upon her, which
stated that she was a French lady, and had been
governess in the family of a lady, whose name is
now before the public. This letter caused
further inquiries, and it has transpired that she
left London on the sth inst., by the four-o'clock
train, for Folkestone, and at that time was in a
state of complete prostration, so much so that
the person, who abandoned her at the Folkstone
station, gave the railway guard a sovereign to
procure her any refreshment she might stand in
need of. The next scene occurs at Folkstone.
When she arrived there, she was helpless and
speechless, and after getting a little tea, the
friendy offices of a policeman were called into
requisition, and she was carried on board the
steamer. In that state she crossed the Channel,
and neither spoke nor stirred during the passage.
Her complaint was fever, of a typhus character,
accompanied by suffusion on the brain.

Such are the facts of this truly deplorable case.
Can it be an English family of position and
education, is it to be presumed, could have
deliberately abandoned their unfortunate victim
at the London-bridge terminus, when they must
have known that her remoyal was certain and
speedy death ? Be that as it may, they, who
labelled her bosom, knew she could not give an
account of herself, and, therefore, placarded her
breast, as though she were a bale of goods or a
beast of burden sent for exhibition at a cattle
show ; and be the parties who they may, that
d the cruel deed, notlaing that we could say
in exprening our reprehension of conduct, so

barbarous and scandalous, would be too severe•
London abounds with hospitals for such diseases
as those 'under which this young lady suffered.
It wa■ then the duty of her friends in London
to have had her carefully removed to one or other
of these institutions, not cast into a railway
carriage totally unconscious, and shot out like a
lump of rubbish at the end of her journey'
bandied about from guards to railway porters—
from station-masters to dock-policemen—from
steam-boat stewards to hotel waiters, until, in
the end, her unconscious wanderings were
terminated by the merciful hand of death. The
law may not take cognisance of the case. We
hope, however, that the matter will be so
thoroughly; investigated as: to leave no doubt
respecting the persons who really perpetrated a
deed of such hardened cruelty, and thereby
justly expose them to the odium, contempt, and
indignation of the public at large.

MERSEY DOCKS AND HARDIER BOARD.—The Mersey
Docks and Harbour Act, which passed threngk Parliament
last session, will come into operation on the Ist of January,
The new Board will consist of twenty-one members, of
whom eighteen are to be elected by the Dock Ratepayers,
and three aoastaated by the Conservancy Commissioners.
A notice, signed by Sir Charles Wood, Hon. M. S. Baines,
and Mr. C. Gore, stating that the election of eighteen
members will take place on the above day, between the
boars of 10 a.m., and 4 pan., at the Dock 0 ces—is now
Posted at the Town-hall. The returning officer will be
his Worship the Rev. Gilbert Henderson, Esq., and the
voting will be conducted in the usual manner.

SEPOY ATROCITIES.—THE THIRST FOR RETRIBUTION.--
I saw a letter yesterday from an officer of Col. Greathead's
column—(writes the Calcutta correspondent of the Express,
under date Nov. 1) —who had been present at the storming
of Delhi, and had thence followed in pursuit of the enemy.
He gives a vivid description of the manner in which the
movements of the column had been hampered by the civi-
lians. He mentions one village especially, inhabited by
Goojurs, the class who of all others have been most noto-
rious for their cruelty. This, too, was a noted village—
noted for the bad
_feeling manifested by its inhabitants.
In it they found the skeleton of a woman : the head
severed from the body, and the bones bearing the marks of
the most cruel treatment. The skeleton was examined by
a doctor, and pronounced to have belonged to a European
or half-caste woman. Yet because the village was a large
one, and paid a large revenue to government, the magistrate
made it a personal favour that it should not be touched.
Neither officers nor men could understand this leniency,
for they had seen the bodies of their countrywomen at
Delhi, their breasts cut off, and every enormity inflicted ;
they had heard also the speech of one of the sons of the
King of Delhi as he was being lel to execution. " I die
happy," said he, " since I have defiled English women, and
seen them walking naked about the streets." The mur-
mur; were therefore load and deep. But when they came
to Cawnpore, and entered the charnel-house, there perused
the writing on the wall, and saw the still clotted blood,
their grief, their rage, their desire for vengeance knew no
bounds. One officer was met coming out, with a small
article of female dress dabbled with blood in his hand.
"I have spared many men in fight," he said, " bat I will
never spare another. I shall carry this with me in my
holsters, and whenever I am inclined for mercy the sight
of it and the recollection of this house will be sufficient
to incite me to revenge." Stalwart, bearded men, the stern
soldiers of the ranks, have been seen coming out of that
house of murder perfectly unmanned, utterly unable to
repress their emotions. From them there will hn no
mercy for tnese villanous assassins.

THE JEWISH RELIEF Brat has been published (prepared
and brought in by Mr. Fitzroy, Lord John Rassell, and
Mr. John Abel Smith), for the substitution of one oath in
lieu of those now operating, to the exclusion from
Parliament of her Majesty's Jewish subjects. The pro-
posed oath runs as follows :—" I, A.B. do swear, that I
will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty
Queen Victoria, and will defend her to the utmost of my
power ageinst all conspiracies and attempts whatever which
shall be made. against her person, crown, or dignity, and I
will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known
to her Majesty, her heirs and successors, all treasons and
traitorous cuespiracies which may be formed against her
or them ; and I do faithfully promise to maintain, sup-
port, and defend, to the utmost if my power, the succes-
sion of the crown, which succession, by an act, intituled
An act for the further limitation of the crown, and better
securing the rights and liberties of the subject,' is and
stands limited to the Princess Sophia,Electress of Hanover,
aid the heirs of her body, being Protestants, hereby
utterly renouncing and abjuring any obedience or
allegiance unto any other parson claiming or pretending a
right to the crown of this realm ; and Ido declare that
no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, bath
or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-
eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, directly
or indirectly, within this realm; and I make this declara-
tion upon the true faith of a Christian. So help me God."
The bill then enacts that the concluding words, " and I
make this declaration on the true faith of a Christian,"
shall in the case of those professing the Jewish religion,
and also those who are of the persuasion called Quakers,
be omitted, and the latter being allowed to make their
affirmation instead of an oath. The bill provides that no
Jew shall, by virtue of its enactments, be enabled to hold
the office of Lord Chancellor, either of England or Ireland,
or Regent of the United Kingdom, or Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland.

Asturio,, to which town it belonged. The Prince was also
made a Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of San
Juan de Jertmilem, and of the Orders of Charles 111. and
Isabella the Cats: olio. The Prince received the names of
Alfonso, Francisco Assis, Juan, Mariano de la Concep •
cion, Fernando, Pio, 3 ime, Malay°. For some weeks pre-
vious a serious differenca of opinion existed as to the first
name to be given to the 'Prince." The Queen of Spain
has presented Dr. Corraloy Ous.:, who attended her in her
confinement, with 1,000 onzas (otm'ess) of gold in a richly-
chased silver box, also with a magni.N:ent set of lorilliants,
and has besides conferred on him the b.:lie of Marquis del
Re al Acierto.

PROPERTY QUALIFICATION.-110P41: OF

COMMONS PROSECUTION.

lAA the Central Criminal Court, on Tuesday, Mr. gadko
applied to the Recorder for an order that the usual praeegs
might issue for the apprehension of a person named
Edward Auchmuty Glover, against whom the grand jury
had returned a true bill for misdemeanour in having made
a false declaration to the House of Commons as to his
qualification to sit as a member of that House. The
Recorder said it was contrary to the usual course for the
Court to issue process in cases where there had been no
inquiry by a' magistrate, without notice being given ; but
the proceedings that had taken place in the House of
Commons in reference to this matter were quite sufficient
notice to the defendant, and therefore the application
might be granted. Mr. Bodkin said that the prosecution
was instituted by order of the House of Commons, and the
matter was fully discussed before that decision was come
to. The Recorder asked the position of life of the
defendant. Mr. Bodkin said that all that was known of
him was, that he was elected member for Beverley, and
that he had made a false statement as to his qualification•
The Recorder then made an order that a warrant should
to issued for the apprehension of the defendant, and fixed
the amount of bail at a personal recognizance of .500,
with two sureties in £250 each.

A SEB iSTOPOL CANNON.—One of the guns taken at
Sebastopol from the Russians, has just arrived at George's
Hall, and is to be " mounted," or in some other way shown
there, as one of our trophies of the Crimean war.
The Daily News says, that the ships James Baines and
Champion of the Seas, which sailed from Portsmouth on
the Bth of August, fo! Calcutta, had not arrived at the
latter port on the Bth of November, the date of the last
advices. Each had, consequently, been ninety-two days
at sea.

CORONER'S INQUESTS —Yesterday,' the Coroner held the
following inquests :—On the body of Margaret Gallagher,
who died in consequence of injuries inflicted by a bale of
cotton falling on her in Brook-street, as reported in our
paper of yesterday—verdict accordingly. On the body of
a female, name unknown, that was found in the Canal at
Rake-lane There was no evidence, except as to the find-
ing of the body, and the jury returned a verdict of found
drowned.

TtiE FRENCH LANGITIGIT.-It will be observed by ad-
vertisement in aaother colum❑ that, at the request of
many of the leading families of Liverpool, Mons. Rigo-
not has been induced to form a juvenile class for the French
Language. We have already stated that the simplicity of
kis plan is calculated to bring the acquirement of the
language within the reach of the young, whilst its practi-
cal soundness makes it equally acceptable to adults, We
hope the author will meet with the patronage ho so well
ta~r:ts.

A BIGGER SHIP TITAN TILE L .VIATITAN.—AIready a
bigger ship than the Leviathen has been projected in
England—a ship to which the monster will, herself, appear
as a minnow. And this new monster is of special import-
ance to the citizens of New York, for, although it is pro-
posed to make her 8,000 tons larger than the Leviathan,
she is to sail faster and draw less water. An engineer of
Liverpool, named Clare, has cone forward with pro-
positions for building an iron screw and paddle steamship,
by way of testing a principle, greatly the superior of the
Leviathan. His experiment is to be tried on a scale of
startling magnitude, and he has already exhibited his
models, which are attracting the attention of scientific
men in Eneland. He proposes to build a ship 1,000 feet
in length, 70 feet beam, and only 30 feet from deck to keel,
making her perfectly flat bottomed, and sides nearly
square. In size she would be 30,0e0 tons, and yet so
light would be her draught of water that she could easily
enter our harbour by way of Sandy Hook. It is stated
that Mr proposals Lao received encouraging con-
sideration from the tenglish government, and, if the first
voyage of the Leviathan should prove successful, there
will, doubtless, be an attempt made at once to build an-
other monster ship according to his plans.—New York
Times.

INTERESTING BABY AFEAIR.— Last Sunday evening
gentleman, residing at Jamaica Plain, was sitting, with
his wife and some frieuds, at the parlour fire, when the
dcor bell was violently rung. The lady rose, but then
suggested to her husband that, as the girl was out, he had
better go to the front door. Accordingly he opened it, and
found no one there ; but there was a nicely done-up basket,
covered aiih white linen, at his feet, and he thought he
heard the rustling of a female dress departing. After
looking vainly up and down the street and around the
portal, he took the basket into the parlour. On the covf4-
ing being removed. a beautiful little child appeared, some
five months old. The lady screamed, one of the lady
visitors took up the baby, and found e note pinned to its
dress, which charged the gentleman of the house with being
the father, and irnplo:ed him to support it. A rich scene
ensued between the injured wife and the indignant husband,
the latter utterly denying all knowledge of the little one,
and asserting his innocence. The friends interfered, and
at last the wife was induced to forgive the husband,
although lie still stood to it like a Tr jag that he had
always been a faithful husband. Finally, the lady very
roguishly told her husband that it was strange- that he
should not know his own child, for it was their mutual
offspring, which had just been taken from its cradle up
stairs by the nurse for the very purpose of playing the joke,
and the surprised kusband finally joined heartily in the
laugh which was raised at his expense.—Bostion Traveller.
CLARICSIONT CITADEL, KIRKDALE. —CLARE:IONT LITERARY
ASSOCIATION.—The members of this sosiety, together with
their friends, held a private soiree, on Tuesday evening,
the 15th inst., in the School Room of the above named
chape', and, though the weather was disagreeably showery,
the attendance was good beyond expectation. After tea
(commencing shortly after six o'clock), the Rev. Joshua
unstall, president of the society, was elected chairman.
He gave a short preliminary address, and then introduced
Mr. M. W. Emery, secretary, who read an essay on " The
Inequality of Riches." Mr. William Duckworth, jun.,
recited a selection from Milton's " Paradise Lost," and
read the entertaining piece, " Philemon," both being
rendered very effectively. An address, by Mr. Thomas
Nicholson, on The Tune of Modern Bri.ish Literature,"
followed, and was well received. An interval of fifteen
minutes was allowed for indulging in a social promenade
and partaking of the refreshments provided. A hymn was
sung, and Mr. J. Rowland read a paper on " Respect-
ability," which the assembly received with approbation.
Mr. Robert Boyle gave an address on "Things good and
bad," and was followed be Messrs. W. Luckman, G.
Lingharn, J. Marshall, and J. Tuastall, jun., uniting (in
character) in the humorous recitation, " Irish Assurance,"
which we s repturously encored. The night, ho wever, being
fir advanced, Mr. Luckinan volunteered a short comic
recitatien, which was also well received ; and the pro-
ceedings, after the usual votes of thanks, were teimhiated
(at ten o'clock) by singing art appropriate hymn. It may
be remarked the evening was passed pleasantly, and, it is
hoped, profitably.
Tin. MEETING—I:tope Hall.—At half-past 6 o'clock last
night, a tea meeting in connection with St. David's Church,
was held is the above hall. About 700 were refreshed
with a good substantial tea. This portion of the proceed-
ing being concluded to the entire satisfaciton of ell
present, the Roy. John James, B. D., took the chair for
the evening, addressed the meeting iu a excellent speech,
especially directed to the edification of the young in the
pursuit of knowledge aiid Christian learning. The rev.
gentleman, at the conclusion of his speech, was loudly
applauded. The T2sev. Mr. Butler next addressed the
meeting, and urged upon them to do their best to procure
the means for b eating their church, an objects for which
they had met . Lie was in Hope-hall—and he would lope
much of all- —he would take Hope for his test—Christian lsipe.
This sule;ject the rev. gentleman dwelt upon at length, with
great ability, and was highly applauded throughout. Dr.
llu`eite was next called upon, and gave a history of his
IP..oours in the church, in Liverpool, and congratulated
himself on his success in the numbers which had been
drawn to his—the (All Souls')—Ulaurc'n ; also the
excellencies of his schools. The Rev. Mr. Roberts then
addressed the meeting in Welsh: His remarks were upon
the comparative inattendance of the church, the habits of
drunkenness, &c„ &e. The Rev. Mr. Underwood also
addressed the meeting, and eterwards Mr. Win. Thomas,.
ou the subject of "Books and their makers." Mr. E. P.
Jones moved a vote of thanks to the ladies. The choir,
connected with the church, accompanied by a harmonium,
gave several pieces of excellent music throughout the
evening. The party, after spending a very harmonious 1
evening, concluded by singing " God sare the Queen,"