The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-03-08 00:00:00

PETITION OF THE PROTESTANT OPERATIVES

The MAYOR stated that he had received from the chairman
of a public meeting a petition on the subject of the corpora-
tion schools, which was signed by 2030 operatives.
Alderman E A RLE.—The chairman !—who is the chairman ?
The MAYoR.—It does not state his name. There is no
signature to the letter.
Mr. CURRIE said he believed it was from the Rev. Mr.
M`Neile, as he had seen from a public placard that that gen-
tleman was to preside at a meeting on the subject of the
schools.

Alderman EARLE.—Surely he. is not ashamed of his name.
He aught to have signed the letter. Tom, Jack, or Harry
may have been chairman.
The MAYOR read the subjoined letter, together with the
petition which was adopted at the meeting of Protestant
operatives on Monday night : '
The chairman of a public meeting of the Protestant
Operatives of Liverpool, held on the 4th March, 1839, at
the large room of the York Hotel, Tarlton-street, begs re-
spectfully to hand to the Mayor of Liverpool the accompa-
nying petition, signed by 2030 operatives, to be presented to
the worshipful town-council, at their meeting to-morrow,
(Wednesday,) the 6th instant.
" It would be but right to state that the attached signa-
tures have been obtained in a few days only, and there are
still many sheets with signatures which cannot be obtained
in time.
" Perris's, Church-street, sth March, 1839."
Mr. RATHBONE begged leave to move that the petition be
received. He did so because it professed to come from the
operatives, on whom he wished to throw no disrespect, feeling
rather that those persons who had filled their minds with
such nonsense were the parties to blame. He wondered how
any one could assert that the Bible was excluded from the
corporation schools. Some men by sinister and twistical
modes of reasoning had certainly arrived at such a conclu-
sion, and they had sought to instil it into the minds of the
operatives. He invited the clergy to go and see whether the
Bible was really excluded or not, and not talk of that of
which they knew nothing, and concerning which they dare
not inquire. He maintained that the Scriptures were not
only taught, but taught as effectively in the corporation
schools as in any other in the town. Mr. R. concluded by
moving that the petition be received out of respect to the
people who had been humbugged, for the humbuggers were
more to blame than the humbuggedin the sight of the
Almighty.
Mr. R. GLADSTONE said that he had been present when
some of the'petitioners attached their names to the petition,
and they were respectable persons—not the poor creatures
they had been described to be, but men as competent as any
in that room to form an opinion as to whether the Bible was
or was not read in the schools. He did not think it right to
discuss the question now as to its exclusion or non-exclusion.
His own opinion was that the thing must be left to work
its own result. He moved as an amendment that the
petition should be referred to the Education Committee.
Mr. COOPER seconded the amendment.

Alderman EAntE rose to make no objection, but to
express his astonishment that any one found actin.- as chair-
man should have sent a note to that body, not actin.-
to
put his name to it. Mr. Currie said that it was the Rev.
Mr. M`Neile.

Mr. CURRIE—I beg pardon. I said that I saw his name
attached to a placard.
Alderman EARLE said in continuation, that his own op-
inion had been that it was the Rev. James ; he did not
know his Christian name ; but if there was such a difference
of opinion, he ought to have put his name to it. If it was
James, he didn't wonder that he (the Rev. Mr. James) had
not dared to put his name to it, as he had stated that the
system of teaching in the schools was calculated to instil de-
ceit into all that were taught. This was a charge from which
he, as chairman of the Education Committee, had a right to
defend himself. "This" said the alderman, "is my dunghill
on which I will fight. The clergymen choose their pulpits,
and I will choose mine."
Mr. I. HOLMES defended the character of the Rev. Mr.
James, which; he said, he would never hear maligned in his
presence without rising to defend.
Mr. RATHEONE wished his motion to be, if it had not
been so expressed, that the petition be received and allowed
to lie on the table.
Mr. J OSEPH HORNBY seconded the motion.

After same further conversation, during which Alderman
SHEIL asked, whether the Council thought that, the educa-
tion committee would take the trouble to report on such a
mass of nonsense-as was contained in the petition, and for
which he was called to order by the Mayor, the council pro-
ceeded to the vote.

The amendment of Mr. R. Gladstone was carried by a ma-
jority of 21 to 18. The voting was as follows :
For the amendment—Councillors R. Houghton, Isaac
Holmes, W. Thornhill, W. Shand, W. Preston, T. Case, J.
Barton, H. Holmes, T. Bolton, E. Pilcher, J. Priestley, J.
Cooper, J. N. Wood, R. Gladstone, T. Morecroft, J. Smith,
G. H. Lawrence, F. Jordan, J. Platt, W. M. Duncan, and
Alderman J. Moon.

Against it—Councillors R. Bright, W. Rathbone, W. Las-
sell, T. Harvey, V. Higgins, J. Mason, G. Ramsden, and
W. W. Currie • Aldermen R. Sheil, J. Hornby, R. Roskell,
T. Leathom, d. H. Jones, W. Earle, jun., E. Evans, W. P.
Freme, T. Holt, and the Mayor.
The council adjourned at three o'clock to Friday next.

TOUCH OF THE SUBLIME4—The Sherborne Mercury, in
describing a ball which took place last week in Dorsetshire,
says—" Dancing was kept up with great spirit until Sol dof-
fed his nightcap and squir!ted_through the sky ! "

. ,
MODEST REQUEST.—A Member of Congress sends us a
long, dry article, of about four columns, which he requests
us to publish for a friend, who is a subscriber as well as him-
self. We beg leave to inform the intelligent member, that
when he subscribed for the paper, we did not understand
that he wished to edit the Whig. Had he so told us, we
should have charged him much more.—New York Whig.
The only privilege the Lords Justices—namely, the Chan-
cellor, Archbishop of Dublin, and Sir Ed. Blakeney, hive,
is franking letters of any weight or size, the patronage of
even the most menial station being confided to Mr. Secretary
Drummond.

A petition signed by 115 servant-maids of Newcastle, was
presented on Wednesday, to the Town Council, praying not
to be compelled to sweep the streets in front of their masters'
houses daily, as by the bye-laws of the Council they are now
obliged to do.

NORTH DEVON ELECTION.-Mr. Buller's first canvassing
step was to pay a visit to Lord Rolle at Bicton, soliciting his
lordship's support. That nobleman, however, true to the
constitutional principles which he has professed, and acted
up to, throughout a long and valuable life, at once informed
Mr. Buller that he could not support him ; and on that gen-
tleman soliciting his lordship to reinLiin neuter, and not to
oppose him, we understand Lord Rolle further said, " that
although he respected Mr. Buller in private life, he felt it his
duty to tell him, that he did not approve of his principles,
and he should be obliged to oppose him by all the means in
his power." Mr. Buller thereupon departed, no wise bene-
fited by his visit.—Western Luminary.