Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-06-17 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES. LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17. 1857.

sweetening the cup, he stirred up all its bitter
ingredients, and then, with official boldness, he
asked honourable members to quaff off the
contents. The effect was as described. lion.
members drew back from the financial offering ;
and, instead of receiving it as a docile, mild, and
obedient patient would his medicine, they were
in open arms against the proposition, and
revelled in a running fire of cavils for the
remainder of the sitting, Looking at the entire
debate, and its results—at the proofs of financial
extravagance—the absurdity of many of the
votes—and the gross,injustice of taxing the
people of Great Britain and Ireland to keep up
public parks in London, which, under a proper
system of management, could be made self-
supporting—we may indulge a hope that our
legislators are beginning to be alive to the
consciousness that they are the guardians of the
national taxes, and accountable for the unjusti-
fiable and unpardonable financial follies they
may countenance and support.

THE encouragement of provident habits among
all classes of the community is not only a duty,
but a matter of paramount importance. Every
effort which tends to aid and assist such a
benevolent and laudable design should be fostered
and encouraged. Of late years, the mismanage-
ment of certain Savings Banks and the' ques-
tionable career of several Life Assurance Com-
panies, the two great institutions in this country
for enabling the people at large to make a
provision for the future, have engendered feelings
of dissatisfaction, and instigated a general want
of confidence. At present the Government have
under their superintendence through Parliament,
measures for regulating Savings' Banks and
Insurance Companies.
The first bill which the Chancellor of the
Exchequer proposed, and to which we alluded
on a former occasion, has been withdrawn, and
another substituted in its stead. It has passed
the second reading. Now this, being deemed an
improvement upon Bill NO. 1, and as it is a
question relating to the well-being of the entire
community, we shall notice the provisions of the
bill.

The discussions which took place on the second
reading of the measure had special reference to
the serious defalcations which have taken place
in the administration of Savings' Banks for some
years past. This, however, is more an imaginary
than a real grievance. What are the statistics
of the Savings' Banks on this head? In 1855,
the sum of 30,134,2281. were due to depositors
in England and Wales, and of that amount
29,987,464/, were in the hands of the National
Debt Commissioners, exclusive of a surplus
balance of 112,4941., so that of the whole amount
there was only 34,2301. left in the hands
of the managers. Taking this fact into
consideration, it is evident that if there be any
alarm about the security of Savings' Bank
deposits, it must not he regarding the managers,
but of the Government itself, who hold the
securities for it. According to the returns of
the persons engaged in Savings' Banks, and the
amount of security which they afford, we find
that connected with 491 Savings' Banks in
England and Wales, there were 519 unpaid
officers, giving security for 332,6701., and 973
paid officers, giving security to the amount of
2 8 1,250/. ; the total security being no less than
613,9201. for 34,2301. left in their hands!

We admit that if the Government guarantees
security to the depositors, that it has a just
right to exercise some control over the manage-
ment of the Banks. But past experience has
convinced us that Government interference may
act most injuriously upon the prosperity of the
Banks. The Honourable Member for Dublin
did not hesitate to charge the failure of the
Cuffe-street Savings" Bank to the apathy and
supineness of the Government officials. tie
declared that " the Government were perfectly
aware of the irregularities, but, for public
purposes, it was convenient to coincide, with
them, and the consequence was that the
depositors were deprived of their just rights."
Yet, in the face of this fact, and the still further
disagreeable statement that no improvement had
taken place in the proceedings of the Commis-
sioners of the National Debt, it is proposed to
empower them abroad for establishing and
regulating a system of Savings' Banks all over
the country.

To such a proposition there are many and
serious objections. And first, there is no such
body as the Commissioners for the Reduction of
the National Debt. They have long ceased to
exist as an active Commission, and never meet
now. Hence, we suppose, that the real scope and
tendency of the Bill is to empower the CHANCEL-
LOR of the EXCHEQUER to become the founder and
Director-General of the Savings' Bank system
of the country. If so. he will be put in posses-
sion of no less than 35,000,0001., which he can
play with for political purposes, or in other
words, become the master jobber on the Stock
Exchange. Looking at the bill in this point of
view, we are disposed to regard the loud outcry
of fraudulent Actuaries and Mana'gers, nothing

more nor less than a Government feint, to arouse
—to awaken—a degree of sympathy throughout
the country, so that they may be enabled to pass
their pet scheme without much opposition.
The more we examine the continual practice of
transferring the Savings' Banks deposits into
the hands of a nominal Commission, which never
meets, and of whom very little is known, for
the purpose of placing them at the disposal of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the more Plust

we regard it as a stock-jobbing convenience.
The security to depositors is certainly a matter
of moment, but it is equally important that an
improved plan of investing them should be
adopted, and this is the great defect of Bills
1 and 2. We agree in the opinion expressed by
several of the speakers who took part in the
debate, that there are plenty of ways to invest
the funds deposited in Savings' Banks much
more profitable than by dabbling with thein in
Government securities, which, under no circum-
stances, has realised to them more than three and
one-third per cent. interest. Unless the Bill is
amended in Committee, it must fail to confer
any benefit on the public, while its operation is
more likely to give a distaste to depositing in
Savings' Banks than anything else. We want
not only security for deposits, but a guarantee
that the said deposits shall be invested in the
most profitable manner for the benefit and
ad vantage of those who confide their hard-
earncd savings to such institutions. Intimately
connected with this subject is that of Assurance
Companies. To their errors and defects, and
the remedies which should be applied, we will
refer on another occasion.

The Glasgow Daily Mail, noticing the cometfurore, says :
—"A learned clergyman, not ten miles from this city,
at a prayer meeting of his flock during the week, took an
affecting farewell of them—remarking, in a very pathetic
manner, that in all probability, that was the last occasion
upon which they would meet in this world. It must, no
doubt, have been an extremely felicitous privilege to the
reverend and superstitious gentleman that he was again
permitted to ascend his pulpit, and once more to address
his flock—a privilege which we trust he will enjoy, and
improve, for many Sabbaths yet to come."

A. SCENE -ABOUT PIGS AND PORT.—At a meeting of the
board of the West Derby Union, held at E7erton, on
Wednesday, a rare scene occurred. It appears that the
guardians have not only the poor under their care, but
that they supply "board and lodging "—no doubt " wash-
ing "is incladed—to pigs, at so much per week. This is
a novel way of making the Workhouse self.supporting-
There was something also said about the quantity of port
consumed by the members ; and really, if the guardians
faithfully inspect the dormitories of their lazy lodgers, they
require refreshment afterwards.—Belfag News Letter.

The Emperor of the French invited on Friday last, the
seven marshals present in Paris to meet him at St. Cloud.
After breakfast he made a trial of the small railway which
runs from St. Cloud to Villeneuve l'Eiang, which is
intended to convey troops on campaign. The marshals
present were Reille, Vaillant, Megnan, Baragnay d'Hiliiers,
Pelissier, Canrobert, and Bosquet. The experiment was,
however, near terminating seriously for all parties. There
was no locomotive, but the waggon which goes down the
slope by its own momentum, as on the descent at St. Ger-
main, soon acquired a velocity which the breaks could not
stop. A number of peasants who were at work in the
fields, or who were attracted by curiosity, uttered cries of
alarm on seeing the danger. Fortunately, the waggon
rushed into a ploughed field, where it was 'brought up.
Anticipating the rumours that would follow, the Emperor
walked about St. Cloud on Saturday, and went to the
Vaudeville in the evening.

THE PRESTON POOR LAW GUARDIANS.—The elective
principle of poor-law management is in peril, as we see
from the petition presented by Mr. Cobbett, the member
for Oldham, on Friday evening, from the Preston board of
guardians. It appears that the poor law board have for
years endeavoured to induce the guardians of the Preston
union to build a new workhouse, which the guardians
have hitherto resisted, on the ground that they have good
and sufficient workhouses already. A. movement, how-
ever, has been got up, by-which the ex-officia guardians, to
the number of 24, have been induced to sign a requisi -
tiou to the poor-law board, asking that a new workhouse
should be built. To that most irregularly made request,
the poor law-board had listened, and the Preston union
is thus saddled with the burden of a new workhouse con-
trary to the declared voice of the representative guardians.
Mr. Bouverie,jhe president of the poor law-board, admits
all the facts, and boldly justifies the order on the ground
that it is technically legal, the assent of ex-officio being
equal, in his opinion, to that of elected guardians. If this
be the policy:which is to characterise Mr. Bouverie's poor-
law presidency, we are sure to have a revival of the
determined agitation against Somerset House domination
which prevailed in 1852.—Manchester _Examiner.

AMERICAN STEAMSHIPS —The Vanderbilt has disap-
painted those who expected her to make one of the crack
ocean passages, and the Niagara has succeeded in crossing
the ocean in something over 18 days, during 14 of which
she was under sail and steam. We understand that the
astonishing velocity of the Niagara is explained by Capt.
Hudson's very proper dread or losing his spars; we have
no doubt that the Vanderbilt would have made as quick a
trip as her friends predicted had not her engineer been
afraid of overheating her boilers or chafing her wheels.
It is all right as it is ; and people who want to grumble
will be so good as to hold their peace. We hope, however.
we may inquire what becomes of the Collins steamer•
Blank, commanded by Captain Blank, which leaves on
Wednesdays, at blank intervals, from the foot of Canal-
street, and on board of which passengers are earnestly
requested to have their luggage by an early hour in the
morning. Is there any such steamer? Does she really
leave? England is crowding the Atlantic with steamers
of all sizes and models, from the Great Eastern down-
ward. Her screws bid lair, at no distant period, to
monopolise the traffic of the ocean, and of course, in like
manner, to sweep it in case of war. France enters the
lists with three Transatlantic lines, to which the State
grants 14,000,000 francs subvention, nearly 1,000,000 dols.
per annum per line. Even Sardinia, Spain, and Holland
are on the track. We alone seem to be stationary.—New
York Herald.

AMERICAN JUSTICE.--Two years ago a young man in an
interior city was arrested upon the charge of outraging
the person of a poor and friendless girl, filling an humble,
though honest station. Her statement of the event was
very explicit, carrying conviction of its truth. The
accused, being of good family, and enjoying the troop of
friends with which prosperity always surrounds one,
furnished the required hail, and passed out at once into
free air, to try his prowess upon some new ♦ictim. The
accuser, on the other hand, having no moneyed friends to
protect her, was locked up as a witn By dint of the
various expedients to which culprits resort when fearful
of meeting the charges filed against them while they are
fresh, the trial was put off from time to time, until two
years had elapsed ; and finally the accused was acquitted
altogether upon some quibble which saved him from the
Penitentiary, but not from the scorn of all lovers of jus
tice who had watched the proceedings. Meantime, during
the two years in which the farce was pending, the victim
of his crime languished inta prison. He became the hero
of sympathising friends, and she endured the only punish-
ment resulting from the wrong. This case presents a
striking commentary upon the absurd injustice of impri-
soning witnesses. A day or two since another and some-
what similar illustration was furnished us nearer home.
A. servant-girl made complaint against her employer for a
successful felonious assault in the presence of his own
daughter. The circumstances of the case appear to have
been peculiarly aggravated; for, not satisfied with the
accomplishment of his hellish purpose, the accused beat
and kicked her in a shocking manner, until she was
rescued by his wife, a policeman, and others, who burst
open the door of his room, and arrested him in the very
act. The 'assailant was taken before a magistrate and
released at once upon bail ; and the girl placed under lock
' and key as a witness—the duration of her imprisonment,
in_ all probability, depending upon the ability of the

accused to clog and delay the wheels of justice. Such
facts as these, which transpire every day, are a disgrace
to American civilisation, and loudly demand a reform.
There is no sense in thus punishier innocent victims o f
crime for the mere chance of convicting the guilty. Nor
is there any necessity for so great a perversion of justice.
If stringent measures are necessary to enforce attendance
of witnesses, others are not difficult of devise' which will
accomplish the desired end without libelling common
sense. Among these we would suggest a law making wil-
ful non-attendance of a witless prima facie evidence of
'complicity with the criminal to be affected by his testi-
mony. Or such failures might be made contempt of
court punishable by One and imprisonment. Forbid, if
needs be, the departure of a witness from the city under
heavy penalties, and visit even the attempt to do so with
severity. In these, or in a `dozen other ways, may wit-
nesses be secured, without a perpetuation of the present
system, which offers a premium to concealment of crime,
lest the witness should be made to suffer for his know-
ledge.—New York Times.

SAMPIAS OF COTTON FROM ALGERIA ,-Irt the course of
last week, Mr. Hugh Fleming, of the Manchester Com-
mercial Association, received from the director of the
Imperial Jardin d'Essais, at Algiers (through Messryßoult,
nglish, and Brandon, of Liverpool), several samples of
cotton grown in that country, requesting the opinion of the
association as to its value. It was also stated in a letter
accompanying the samples that any quantity of land suitable
for the cultivation of cotton may be had in Algeria on,
highly favourable terror, the French government being
desirous of attracting thither English colonists and capital.
One of the samples is a fair quility of Sea Islands cotton,
and has been valued at 122 d. per lb. ; another variety is
similar in quality to Pernambuco cotton, and is valued at
1014. per Two other samples were valued at 71d. each.

AN OPENING FOR WALKER.—As the Administration has
not yet succeeded in finding anybody courageous enough
to accept the Governorship of Utah, perhaps while our
filibustering countryman, General Walker, is looking
about for anew field for the exercise of his peculiar talent,
he might be induced to accept the post of Governor of
ITtelr., But, if the President should not think it advisable
to avail himself of General Walker's services, the late
President of -Eicaragua might lead the remnant of his
army out to Salt Lake and commence a rival settlement
of monognmhts in opposition to the polygamist disciples
of Jo, Smith. There is plenty of room in Utah for a new
settlement, avid a rival community, with General Walker
for a leader, in opposition to Brigham Yriing, would
make that isolated territory a decidedly interesting spot.—
New. York Paper.

THE " LATTER DAY " HUHHUG.—A crisis is rapidly
approaching in the Mormon community—the followers of
Joe Smith, the greatest imposter of modern times.
Accounts from the Great Salt Lake represent the schism
in the sect as having assumed a formidable aspect.
Brigham Young—their god as they irreverently style him
—had deserted the Tabernacle, and remained a close
prisoner in his own house, guarded' night and day by his
friends. By an account previously published, it wil I.
have been seen that retribution has overtaken one of the
pillars of this modern delusion. Elder Pratt—who
impiously styled himself " one of the twelve apostles of the
Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints "—has fallen
a victim to the indignation of a Mr. M‘Lean, whose wife
—the mother of three children—Pratt had induced to
leave her home, and elope with him to the Salt Lake,
there to become—there is no accounting for such strange
fancies—his ninth wife !We hope something will be done
to disperse this sanctimonious band of polygamists; who,

" B;* smooth dissimulation, have skill to grace

A devil's purpose with an angel's face."
That they have been tolerated so long, in their glaring
immorality and villany, is to the disgrace of the United
States Government. However, we are glad to learn that
a body of two thousand troops, under General Harvey, is
to be cent to Utah. This monstrous delusion is a disgrace
to the nineteenth century, and we hope the death of Pratt
may be the knell of its final overthrow.—Belfast News
Letter.

GEORGE THE FOURTH WHEN AN INFANT.—The- recent
{girth of another Royal infant, and the dowry controversy
relative to the Princess Royal, have induced a search for•
precedents which place in striking contrast the manners of
the past and present age. We see that at th 3 birth of
George IV. Queen Charlotte was delivered by a midwife,
Mrs. Stephen, it being considered indelicate to admit Dr.
Hunter to the room ! The messenger sent to inform the
King, received in a sudden impulse of regal joy, a douccur
of £3OO. The Queen persevered in refusing to be attended
by a male monster. All sorts of rumours were afloat
prior to the event ; some newspapers confidently deriving
the pregnancy, and others predicting the sex of the child
prom the Queen's appearance. Mrs. Draper, the Queen's
nurse, wrote a pamphlet en the subject. Her Majesty
appeared in public a month after the delivery, and an
influential person, Dr. Simpson, preached a violent sermon
on the indelicacy of so early a recovery, while Dr. Van.
dergucht proved, by an elaborate biblical disqui-dtion,
that it was a strictly orthodox practice I Before the Prince
was twelve days old he was exhibited to the the public
every drawing-room day, from one to three o'clock ;
candle was served to all spectators, and the cake consumed
came-to-£4O a day ! An address was presented to the
Prince before he was three years old, his parents having:
drilled him for a week in the behaviour suitable to the
ceremony and the " gracious reply." The pulpits rang
with fierce denunciations of the impiety of his inoculation
for the small-pox. At 7, the Prince, the Duke of York,.
the Duke of Clarence and the Princess Royal (only in her
second year), held Drawing-rooms I The two elder boys
sometimes refused to appear at them till they had finished
their game at cricket, while the caricaturists introduced
the Prince with a kite on his back, York on a hobby-horse,
Clarence spinning his top, and the Princess Royal, behind
a screen " receiving some very indispensable assistance
from her nurse." It must be owned that both the Court
and the people have advanced very far beyond these absurd
appearances.— Weekly Dispatch.

DISTILLATION OF SPIRITS—NEB' PROCESS,—A compare
is being established for the purpose of distilling spirits
from beetroot and mangold wurtzel, and which promises
considerable advantages to the agricultural interest of the
United Kingdom. Hitherto, distillation from mangold
wurtzel and beetroot has been prohibited under the pre-
sent revenue laws, but the Government, feeling the im-
portance of the undertaking, which has been in successful
operation in France for some time, have granted twelve
licenses to Messrs. Dray, the eminent agricultural imple-.
ment makers, to work Mons. Leplay's patent in this
country. Amongst some of the advantages of the scheme,,
it is worthy of remark, that the pulp or residue of the
beetroot or mangold wurtzel, after distillation, has been
proved to be admirably adapted for the manufacture of
paper. To commence operations, the company have
secured an estate of 76 acres of freehold land, about half
a mile from the Minetey Station, on the Swindon and
Gloucester Railway. We are informed that the land has
been pronounced by eminent agriculturists to be pecu-
liarly calculated for the, growth of beetroot and mangold
wurtzel, and the works and distilleries will be erected on
the property. The estimated capital of the company is
1:11,000. and, according to the estimates made, the profits
will be nearly 50 per cent. per annum. Many thousands
of gallons of beetroot spirits, paying a duty of fifteen
shillings a gallon as foreign spirits, are imported
annually from Belgium for the use of perfumers and
aromatic spirit makers, and it is proved, on the highest
authority, that the residue, or pulp, is of more nutritive
value for feeding cattle, and will be readily purchased by
the farmers. It is estimated that at the works to be
erected 3,500 tons of beetroot maybe distilled in 150 days,
and it has been found in practice that good beetroot and
mangold wurtzel produce above 18 gallons of proof spirit
to the ton. The prospectus states that Messrs. Dray
have established such a distillery at Farniugham, in Kent,
and have proved the value of the residues after distilla-
tion by fattening and feeding a large number of beasts and
sheep thereon, and during the lambing season they fed
200 ewes principally on the residues ; it has also been
found to be exceedingly valuable for feeding miloh cows.
There is every reason to believe that the establishment of
such a distillery will be of immense advantage to the two
counties of Wilts and Gloucester, and that the agricul-
turists supplying the beet and mangold will readily take
the residues for feeding ; the company, however, will
always keep some cattle to feed An the residues,

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

[By British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph.]

TURKEY.

From advices received at Marseilles on
Tuesday evening, it appears the relations
existing between M. Thouvenal and Rerchid
Pasha were satisfactory. The Vizier maintains
the popularity he has acquired. A letter,
written by Ferhod Pasha to M. Rossles, the
Austrian Consul, has been seized.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

(By British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph.)

HOUSE OF LORDS.-TUESDAY

Their lordships met shortly after four o'clock.
The Sound Dues Bill, the County Cess (Ireland) Bill,
and the Militia Act (1854) Amendment Bill, were brought
from the Commons, and read a first time.