The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-12-27 00:00:00

member of society. The Rev. Mr. M'Neile has, how-
ever, given such an apt illustration of this principle, as
exemplified in the case of the Town-clerk, that there is
no necessity for further proof.
It is now plain that when Mr. Rathbone appointed
the Town-clerk to his present office, (and we speak ad-
visedly in saying appointed, for there has not been a
single appointment connected with the Town Council,
from a mayor or borough magistrate to a scullion, in
the patronage of which Mr. Rathbone has not, directly
or indirectly, shared,) that he did so under the expec-
tation that he would become his creature of all work,
and twist or untwist the law of the land as might best
serve the interests of his party. Mr. Rathbone has,
however, been mistaken ; and all who marked the
altered demeanour of the Town-clerk after the query
so ungentlemanly put by Mr. Rathbone, whether the
Town-clerk was a sixty-fifth councillor—as it had been
a matter of remark to a number of councillors, be-
sides himself, that he had, for some time past, been ta-
king upon himself the duties of a councillor—must
have been convinced that it augured no particular good
feeling to the radical portion of the Council. The
Mayor took the part of the Town-clerk in the most
handsome manner, and completely exculpated him
from the imputation of unnecessary officiousness in
giving his opinion. There are many worse men in
the Council than the present Mayor. He has been,
it is true, more lax, as a church-man, of late,
than we could have wished ; but this has been,
most probably, occasioned by the only real defect
which we are aware of in his character—to. wit, an

ill-concealed vanity, which led him, prior to the period
of his mayoralty, into the committal of acts of which
we are confident that he was ashamed in private. Be

this as it may, there is no love lost between Mr. Joshua
Wahusley and the Unitarians. Of this we have many
proofs to offer should they be required. A few must
suffice for the present. The Mayor knows full well
that it was owing to the influence of Mr. Rathbone

that he was not made a borough magistrate, and he is
equally aware that the Rathbone interest excluded him
from the Mayoralty last year. Of the personal feelings
which must exist between these individuals, the fol-

lowing well authenticated but unreported anecdote will
best speak. At the close of one of the Council meet-
ings, during Mr. Rathbone's Mayoralty, Mr. Walm
sley, whose seat was close to the Mayor's chair, and
who had been unable to attract the attention of the
Mayor during an important debate, although it was
evident to all that the Mayor perceived him, privately
complained of the treatment which he had received.

" Do you mean to bring any charge against me," said
Mr. Rathbone, in is usual crabbed manner. " No,"
said Mr. Walmsley. "'Then, sir," replied Mr. Rath-
bone, with an imperious air, " you are behaving in a
very improper manner; and that is all I have to say to
you, sir." "Oh, oh !" said Mr. Walmsley, and turned

upon his heel. This fact speaks volumes, and, it may
be depended upon, as we have it from an eye-witness.
This year Mr. Walmsley, as Mayor, has withdrawn
himself from the ranks of the Reform Association.

The munificent sums which he has hitherto supplied in
aid of its funds will, therefore, be wanting,- unless
" Snarleyow, the Dog-fiend," alias " The celebrated
dog Billy," will, as there is but little hope, consent to
un-button his pockets upon the occasion ; and the
consequence will he, (the reign of corruption being

over,) that the Conservative cause wilt triumph in every
ward in the town. The Unitarian clique, which mus-
ters, we believe, seventeen members, finding themselves
deprived of the aid of the Mayor, could hardly regard
him with any sort of friendly feeling prior to his re-
cent defence of the Town-clerk in the affair of Mr.
Jones, and the very dirty manner in which they con-
trived to get him excluded from the committee ap-
pointed to investigate the merits of that case, plainly
indicates the estimation in which they now hold him.
We cannot conceive on what principle Mr. Rathbone
continues to show such animosity towards Mr. Jones,
after the latter gentleman was unanimously acquitted
by the committee. We well recollect the indignation
with which Mr. Rathbone rebutted the charge made
against him of having spat in the face of the aged Ge-
neral Gascoyne through the windows of his carriage,
(and which, let us add, was never explained in a man-
ner satisfactory to our minds) : how, then, can he be
so extremely uncharitable to others ? Mr. Rathbone
has been guilty of a number of ugly sayings and do-
Inge in hic day, and thrice are •nnt dead whn can sub-
stantiate them. Let him, therefore, be careful how he
arraigns the conduct of others ; for, whatever may be
Mr. Rathbone's character in private, (and with that we
have nothing to do,) in public, we can assure him, it
has been by no means faultless.

The subscription towards the Liverpool Collegiate
Institution is rapidly augmenting, and now amounts
to £9,000. Our respected townsmen, Jas. Lawrence,
Esq., and Josias Booker, Esq., have generously added
their names to the list for the extremely handsome
sums of £250 each ; and several donations of
_a like
amount are speedily expected. With a view to en-
courage their presentation, the Committee have re-
solved to recommend to the Subscribers, at their
meeting on Monday week, that the privilege of nomi-
nating, free of expense, a certain number of students,
shall be enjoyed by donors, according to the following
scale, viz. :—That £250 shall entitle the donor to one
nomination in the first school, for life; £5OO, to two
nominations in the first school, and one nomination in
the second school, for life; £750, to three nominations
in the first school, of which two shall be for life, and
one in perpetuity; and £l,OOO, to four nominations in
the first school, of which two shall be for life, and two
in perpetuity. These nominations will likewise entitle
the students who may hold them to every -privilege
which may be possessed by a life member, and the
perpetual scholarships will be called by the names of
their founders ; and, with a view of enabling the donors
to nominate to the second school should they prefer
doing so, two nominations to the second school will be
deemed equivalent to one to the first school. By this
arrangement an opportunity is afforded to the gene-
rous of doing much good during their lifetime, and
of transmitting their names to posterity in association
with an institution which must annually extend the
sphere of its usefulness amongst all ranks and classes,
and become the mightiest engine of moral and social
good which this community ever has possessed, or, in
all probability, ever will possess. For ourselves, when
we glance at the large sums which have been contri-
' buted to the Mechanics' Institute, and learn that three
' of them are about to be increased to £l,OOO, we feel
• confident that the liberality of the projectors of the
l•
Liverpool Collegiate Institution will be shewn in an
equally munificent manner.

ACCIDENTS.—We are sorry to learn that a great many
serious accidents occurred on Christmas-eve. One man fell
and broke his arm ; another fell from a car, and dislocated
his shoulder; a third was run over by a east, and had his
leg shockingly broken ; while a fourth fell into the hold of a
flat in the Duke's Dock, and fractured his skull so dread-
fully, as to cause his death within a few hours. All these
accidents were received into the Northern Hospital within
an hour or two.

WARRINGTON DISPENSARY.—The annual ball in aid of
the funds of this truly useful and excellent institution, took
place in the Assembly Room of the Lion Hotel, i❑ Warring,-
ton, on Friday last ; and, as on many previous occasions, was
attended by a large portion of the rank, fashion, and beauty
of the town and neighbourhood.
NEW BARRACKS.—The old Lunatic Asylum is about to be
vacated by the military, the council baying given notice to
government of their intention to take down the building.
Alterations are now making in the extensive premises for-
merly occupied by the Herculaneum Pottery Company, at
the bottom of Duke-street, for the purpose of converting
them into barracks.
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Our esteemed favourite Miss Whitnall has announced her
concert, for January 3, 1840, at the Templars' Hall. From
the great attraction announced, we anticipate a rich treat.
Mr. Templeton, who is now completing his second engage-
ment this season at Dublin, comes over here from thence for
this occasion. His delicious tenor voice, and peculiarly de-
licate and finished style of execution, will be heard to great
advantage at the Templars' hall. Mr. Gatayes is the pianist
whose rapid, yet forcible manner of executing the most intri-
cate passages, astonished even the musical world, upon his
first and only appearance in England. Mr. E. Brown, the
well-known flute player, Mr. Pemberton, and Mr. Balls,
give their valuable assistance.
HOUSEBREAKING.—Early on Saturday morning last, some
malicious villain or villains made a daring attempt to break
into and rob the house of Archibald Sinclair, Esq., Hillside-
house, Wavertree. The robbers, by some means, had got
into the yard, and, having some instrument by them with
which they 'eight force open the doors, by placing it near the
lock or bolt, they entered the outhouses, and also by break-
ing a pane or two in each window to undo the snap. Many
of the outbuildings were forced open by this means, the
edges of the doors being much injured and defaced. For-
tunately, however, they were descried before they had effected
an entrance into the dwelling-house, otherwise the robbery
might have been extensive. After they had entered the dif-
ferent places in the yard, and found nothing that they could
take conveniently away, they barbarously murdered two
birds which were in one of the houses, took away a cover for
the coach, a jacket belonging to the coachman, and another
belonging to a boy who'll Mr. Sinclair had kindly taken under
his protection. The coach-cover and the boy's jacket were
found at day-break in the morning, in an adjoining field.