The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-04-23 00:00:00

MR. HALL AND THE HAIR-DRESSERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SlR,—Hoping you will allow me an opportunity, through
the medium of your columns, of vindicating the character of
theilair-dressers' Committee, and the witnesses who have
appeared to prefer charges against the Sabbath-breakers in
the trade, from the odium that was cast upon them by the
stipendiary magistrate, in the Police-court, on Monday last,
I have ventured to furnish you with the following facts of
the case :—On Saturday last, a policeman appeared against
five persons for following their worldly employment on the
previous Sunday, when one of the defendants came forward
and stated, that the policeman was to receive 2s. from the
Hair-dressers' Committee for each information he had laid.
The policeman denied the statement. Mr. Hall dismissed
the whole of the cases, requiring this person and the police-
man to appear on Monday, intimating that if it was proved,
the latter would be dismissed from the force. When the
case was brought up for hearing, the interested defendant_
had employed an attorney against the officer, to elicit the
truth from the .witnesses, and put a proper and impartial-
colouring on the case. Mr. Hall, however, very properly
dispensed with his services. The secretary, treasurer, and
other members of the committee came forward, and proved
that what had been stated on Saturday was not true, and the
officer was retained on the force. Will Mr. Hall now bring
up the defendants, and take the officer's evidence against
them ? If he does not, I am afraid they will play him the
same prank again—it being an easy mode of paying the fine,
and they being reckless of the means, so that they gain the
end. But the part to which I most particularly wish to call
the attention of the public is the following. In the course
of the secretary's examination, he stated that no police-
officer ever received any money from the committee, but it
was usual for them to pay other persons 2s. for their loss of
time in appearing at the court. " Then," said Mr. Hall,
" the witnesses have all perjured themselves, for they have
all sworn that they received nothing ;" and commenced to
lecture the secretary on the subject of rewards to witnesses,
just as if there had been any truth in what he (Mr. Hall)
had just stated. I attempted to show him at the time that
he was wrong, but he would not hear me : I have, therefore,
been compelled to adopt the present course. Now, if Mr.
Hall will look over the public reports in the Courier and
Mercury newspapers, he will find the witnesses have not all
sworn they received nothing, but exactly the reverse and
whilst I acknowledge Mr. Hall has been labouring under a
mistake, I think, if his memory is so exceedingly treacher-
ous, he should not prevent any person from showing he was
wrong in such a serious matter ; and, to say the least, he
should be sure before be publicly casts so foul an aspersion
upon any man as that of perjury. It may be as well to state,
that by far the majority of the witnesses in these cases have
been either hair-dressers, their journeymen, or apprentices ;
these have not received anything, and of course were justified
in so swearing. Some of the witnesses, who were not in the
trade, have given their evidence gratuitously, when it has
been to oblige some friend of theirs in the trade ' • and the
committee have never either employed or rewarded any man
for laying these informations, but have merely passed a mo-
tion that they will pay any man who requires it for half a
day at the court ; and no person has yet given evidence but
those who have been intimate with some member of the
committee, and have done it to oblige them.
Hoping you will give this insertion in your next paper, I
beg leave to subscribe myself, your very humble servant,
WILLIAM BRUMFITT.
45, Webster-street, April 18th, 1839.

We have been requested by Mr. Thomas Whiteman of the
Brunswick Hotel, Hanover-street, to state that he is not the
individual alluded to in the police report in our publication of
the 16th instant. The report was copied from another paper.
LIVER THEATRE.—" The 9rossmiths" produced two new
pieces at this theatre last night, and they abound with wit
and humour. We perceive the Mayor patronises the dra-
matic and musical entertainments of to-morrow evening : an
overflow will doubtless be the result. On Friday next, these
extraordinary actors will perform at the Theatre, Chester;
and on Saturday they will appear again in Liverpool, for the
last time.

We understand that the next anniversary meeting of the
Liverpool Church Missionary Auxiliary wiil be he held early
in May next. The deputation expected to attend on the oc-
casion are the Rev. Mr. Close, of Cheltenham ; Col. Sir
Digby Mackworth, Bart. ; the Rev. David Jones, mission-
ary from North America ; and the Rev. Mr. Fallon. The.
Rev. Archibald Boyd, of Londonderry, is also expected.
Sermons will be preached in several churches on behalf of
the society on the Sunday before—of which and the meetings
due notice will be given.

The following letter from Dr. Tonson, Bishop of Killaloe,
will explain itself, and give the British public confidence in
the Messrs. Crotty, who, we understand, intend to visit Li-
verpool in a few weeks, for the purpose of raising subscrip-
tions for the completion of the church, and support of the
schools under their superintendence in the parish of Birr :
" Clarisford House, Killaloe, April 17th, 1839.
" Although I have not yet resided a sufficient time in this
diocese to speak from my own personal knowledge of the
great advantages which have resulted to the cause of true
scriptural religion from the labours of the Messrs. Crotty, I
am convinced from the testimony of Mr. M`Causland, the
rector of the Birr parish in which Mr. Crotty and congrega-
tion are located, and from many other quarters equally re-
spectable and trustworthy, that their services have been in-
valuable to the truth, and are likely under God to dissipate
much of the moral darkness with which we are surrounded.
" LUDLOW. KILLALOE.
. _ _

. .
" I have pleasure to add that the Messii:drotty-----areiii;Out.
to join the Protestant -Zsl*lished Church 'under ray epis-
cop'alicurisdiction.".