The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-01 00:00:00

MISLEADING A REPORTER,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—You admit, I perceive, with your usual candour,
that one or two inaccuracies have occurred in your report of
what took place at the Welsh dinner given to Sir Joshua
Walmsley last Monday. It is allowed, I believe, by all
parties that no journal in this town excels yours in fidelity
and copiousness; and, therefore, there is none that can
better afford to apologise when an error has accidentally
crept in. _ _

But the matter of which many members of that meeting
complain is, not the inexperience of your assistant. reporter,
but they complain of what may be a very serious evil, of
what might be attended with bad consequences to the press
and to the public—and that is, that one of the guests at the
table did impose upon your assistant reporter, names and
titles of his own fabrication, while others, at least equal to
himself, were strangely omitted. For instance, he put down
our worthy Mayor as, Mr. Thomas Bolton—and modestly
set himself down squire—the only squire in the room.
I am aware that some impute this invidious distinction
to your differencein political opinions from our chief magis-
trate, but I am convinced it is not so ; and that I have
charged the wrong at the right door. If this violation of
good manners and decency is denied, I am prepared to go
furtherinto it. lamin .a
position (thanks to the gentlemen
present) to enquire whether the young man was not himself
misled by scraps of notes handed to him from time to time
by a preceptor, who was bound by nature and duty to shew
him good example. But there are some who prefer crooked
ways to straight ones—who pass muster by a fair exterior—
who live upon contrivances—but who, at length, are fre-
quently caught in their own craftiness. It is hoped that the
young gentleman will profit by this gentle reproof—that he
will, in future, shun bad example, and that he will hereafter
remember that " honesty is the best policy, and innocence
the greatest wisdom."—l remain, Sir,

Your obedient Servant,
JUSTITIA.

The Queen Dowager arrived in town on Saturday ; and, as
it is understood that the infant Princess Royal is to receive
the names of " Adelaide Victoria Louisa," there seems good
ground to suppose that her Majesty will be one of the god-
mothers' when the interesting ceremony of the baptism shall
take place.

STEEPLE CHASE.—A steeple chase is expected to conic off
on the 10th of December, at Dorney, a short distance from
Windsor, between
.the Ist regiments of life guards and the
GOth rifles, in garrison in that town. Amongst the riders
who have been named, are Lord William Beresford, Sir
Harvey Bruce, and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn.
On Monday night four convicts made their escape from
the Leviathan hulk, in this harbour, by effecting an entrance
into the steward's room, out of the
porthole of which one. of
them dropped, and swam towards a boat, of which he took pos-
session, and came back for his comrades, who accompanied
him to the shore. On their escape being made known, search
was made for them in all directions ; and in the course of
Tuesday morning they were discovered in the game preserves
eorsf
who, conceiving
Thist
themletliwayte to be
, near Southwick, by the gamekeep-
poachers, took them into
custody, but not until the convicts had strongly resisted (one
of them having made an attempt to stab one of the keepers
with a knife), and been well cudgelled. On being secured,
they were brought here in a cart, and safely lodged again on
board the hulk. Three of these convicts are well known des-
perate characters, and are under sentence of transportation
for life . the third is under sentence for a less heinous crime.
—Hampshire Telegraph.

portrp.

SONNET TO THE QUEEN.
BY SIGNOR ZANDOTTI, A.M

Regna, the n'hai ragion, sublime donna
Ne ti curar s'altri maligno dice
Che a sesso femminil regnar non lice,

Regna, the
Intenta a

L'oppresso sollevar, farten colonna

rono, non allor, non regal manto,

pmpa, e non regal coma,

Giustizia e culla, se ii cor le sprona

Confondendo tra for rig

Quel none ti daran cValtri non duna,

occasion of th

alve, 0 Prole regal! Figlia d'Albione

Nata per

STANZAS FOR MUSIC

for the I

Lirerpool Standard.

se now cold and wan

he sweet dreams in youth which we el

'e vanished like dew-drops beneath the sun's n
affections deep-rooted have one by one perist
e visions of night at the first streak of day.

Weep for the past

are now hushed and still,

1 us oft to repose

we loved in days long past away
.nd we tread o'er their ashes loss

,earted,

7,hink that suet

Weep for the past

PALMER

ANVA', WHIGS, AWA'!

BY BURNS

Our thistles flourished fresh and fair,

And bonnie bloomed our roses ;
But whigs came like a frost in June
And wither'd a' our posies.

Awa', wbigs, awa' !•
Ye're but a pack o' traitor loons,
Ye'll ne'er do good at a'.

Onr sad decay in church and state

Surpasses my descriving ;

The Whigs cam' o'er us for a curse,

And we

have done wi' thriving,

Awa', whigs, awa', &c

CONTEMPORARY PRESS

THE NEW POOR LAW
(From the Morning Herald.) _

The increasing cost of the new poor law bids fair to
enlist against it the feelings of many who are, as yet,
unconvinced of the dangerous nature of the principles
on which the new poor law is founded.
If the new poor law had been followed by a general
and enduring reduction of parochial burdens, still that
change would have been deemed of very equivocal
value, if accompanied by the growth and diffusion of
feelings, which in their exercise are incompatible with
the security of property. Now no one may deny that
the new poor law has been all along regarded with ab-
horrence by the labouring classes. Some persons may
deem .the popular feeling on this subject exceedingly
unwise : but as to the existence of the feeling, no one
can entertain a doubt. The labourers of England be-
lieve that they 16.ve, by means of the new poor law,
been robbed of their elder and stronger title to paro-
chial relief in circumstances of distress; and such a
belief is dangerous to the institution of property.
Look to the actual result ; let that result be compare
with the prognostications of the authors of the ne
poor law. These " philosophers" promised us, tha
i
the " moral character" of the poor would " be ele-
vated" by the operation of their nostrums. They now
declare that habits of dishonesty amongst labourers are
spreading so widely, that nothing may impart security
to property but the establishment of a rural police. in
this statement. rightly interpreted, is to he found the
condemnation of the new poor law. If under the
operation of the new poor law, the morality of the la-
bouring classes has not been improved, the new poor
law is admitted by its authors to be a fraud.

But the rates, too, are rising. In every quarter may
be heard complaints of the increasing burdens on
ratepayers. Look at the vast increase, too, in the
amount of private contributions for the relief of the
poor—for many of the higher and middle classes dis-
like the new poor law, as much as labourers do ; and
these benevolent individuals have not been slow to as-
sist unfortunate persons, who, but for relief at the
hands of private generosity, must have taken refuge in
the abhorred union workhouses. Look, too, at the
monstrous sums paid to commissioners and their su-
bordinates ;—look to the impending cost of a rural
police ; and look to the stipendiary rural magistracy
that will assuredly follow. The gentlemen of Eng-
land—the owners of the soil—will, if the centralising
system shall be carried out, be at no distant period
displaced and set aside. The offices and honours
which belong to them by hereditary right will shortly
be lavished on the creatures of the Home-office; and
let the country gentlemen be once stripped of their
magisterial influences, and deposed from their national
rank as leaders of the labourers ;—let this revolution,
we repeat, be accomplished, and an organised attack
on the property of the landowners will be attempted
forthwith. The corn laws will be assailed then as they
have never hitherto been assailed ; and a rural police
will be found effectual in carrying out the views which
an " open question" government entertains on that
subject.

THE LONDON UNIVERSITY
(From the Standard.)

We received yesterday from the Souse of Commons
printer, probably the most extraordinary volume ever
issued by the authority of a legislative assembly. It is
entitled " Papers—London University," and it con-
tains 319 folio pages, very closely printed : two-thirds
of these 319 pages are bestowed upon the minutes of
the senate at its several meetings, and the remainder
are occupied with a full report of the examination
questions and papers for pass and for honours—a hash
of interrogatories in history, ethical and natural philo-
sophy, theology, mixed up with problems in geometry,
algebraical equations, propositions in physiology, mid-
wifery, physic, surgery, chemistry, and mineralogy,
and copious quotations of passages to be translated
from Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, French, &c.
The questions in the few departments of knowledge
with which we have any slight acquaintance seem to
be droll enough, and remind one of the playful little
pamphlets published in the bona fide Universities, en-
titled " Pluck Papers." Judging from what we see
of the examinations in the London University, by the
faithful record which .Parliament has been kind enough
to publish, the scale of learning is not pitched very
high by the senate, as we may hereafter show, if some
of our young friends do not spare us the trouble of a
selection ; and whoever reads the papers will not be
surprised that about one-third of the pupils are re-
turned as taking honours. The puzzle is to under-
stand how the remaining two-thirds fail to shine in an
examination, which few schoolboys need fear to en-
counter. The question for consideration, however, is
the publication of this farrago by Parliament at the
public expense. -What would be thought of a parlia-
mentary publication of the Oxford and Cambridge and
Dublin papers—and they would be really worth some-
thing ? The answer to our question is, that " the
learning" of the London University " has been let fly
upon the "public" at a cost of four or five hundred
pounds, upon the motion of that great scholar and
strict economist, Mr. Joseph Hume.

THE USURPING GOVERNMENT.

(From the Edinburgh .rening Post.)

The whig-radical, O'Connell-Melbourne ministry
must now think seriously of putting their house in or-
der. It is utterly impossible that they can be allowed
mtich longer to carry on the government in the present
condition of the country. None of their party papers
—not even their most selfish and unscrupulous parti-
zans—will dare to pretend that they now possess a ma-
jority in their favour, so far as the constituencies are
concerned. What signifies the support which they
continue to scrape together in the House of Com-
mons, small and precarious as it is, when they have
the stark-staring fact before them, that, if the people
at large were appealed to, their opponents would com-
mand, to a dead certainty, a majority of nearly, if not
more, than one hundred against the Bedchamber ad-
ministration ? And, moreover, of what avail is the
countenance of the court, faithless as it usually is,
when put in the scales against the determined and en-
ergetic feeling of the country. Yet on what other
means does this miserable ministry of shreds and
patches depend for the prolongation of their degraded
existence ? We put the question, but we need not
pause for a reply.
The answer—a death-knell to whiggish ears—is to
be found in the results of the recent registrations in
England, and. the not less unmistakeable evidence of
the municipal elections. As we have recently recorded,
the whig-radicals have suffered the most galling and
undeniable defeat in the boroughs of England. We
point to the case of Liverpool as an example of the
progress which the conservative cause has made and is
making in the sister kingdom. We believe that in
every considerable town similar success has attended
the efforts of the conservatives—a fact which we defy
the whig-radical journals to disprove or even to con-
tradict.

THE EXPECTED BREVET.—We believe it is now under-
stood that no brevet will take place in the army or navy. The
birth of a prince or princess can offer no justifiable reason
for a general promotion, when the exigencies of the public
service do not require such an addition to the national bur-
dens as would be entailed by such a promotion.—Government
Evening Print.

SPAWN or THE SALMON.—Mr. Cornelius Evans, of New-
port, the Welsh Walton, gives the following particulars of a
spawn of a salmon, taken from a fish exposed for sale in New-
port market on Saturday week. Mr. E. found by computa-
tion, that in a quarter of an ounce weight of the spawn there
were contained 73 globules ; by which it would appear that
the aggregate mass consisted of no less a number than 10,804
globules, each containing the germ of a future salmon. Tak-
ing the number as 10,000, allowing the odd 804 to go for
loss, supposing eaeh to have come to mature growth and per-
fection, and averaging 14 pounds each, we have the astound-
ing amount of 62-i tons of salmon permanently destroyed.—.
Gloucester Chronicle.

9,600,000,000

30,000,000
8

240,000,000
49

2,160,000,000
9,600,000,000

201-5 f 3,204,000,000
2,563,200,000

100.00

THE RENOVATION °ETRE ATMOSPHERE FROM THE FAILURE OF MESSRS
VEGETABLE SOURCES

I have previously shewn the composition of several of the
proximate principles of vegetables, and also pointed out the
large quantity of carbon which becomes fixed among trees,
as the oak, the beech, &c. I have also endeavoured to point
out that tie composition of these substances is principally
carbon aV... water, and that if the carbon was previously
united with oxygen, that oxygen or the greater portion of it
must be placed to the credit of the renovating process which
is continually going on in our atmosphere ; and when we
consider the composition of carbonic acid, the amount of
oxygen thus eliminated amounts to a great sum total.
I have also advised all who undertake the task of comput-
ing the advantages derived from vegetable life, to do so, not
from minute and partial experiments, but to calculate the re-
sults obtainable from mature vegetation, as giving much more
correct data than these minute investigations can point out.
We have obtained from these investigations the interesting
knowledge that vegetables during sunshine give out oxygen
in its pure form, and carbonic acid during the night, but fur-
ther than this, the experiments are not available, and the
cause of a great discrepancy-between the accounts of different
experimenters has arisen from the difficulty of placing vege-
tables to be operated upon under equally favourable circum-
stances, and often from the necessary confinement requisite
in performing the experiments, the health of the plant has
been injured, thereby causing the difference in the results.
I consider therefore that we are more likely to obtain correct
data, as I have observed before, from the analysis of those
which are of mature growth. If we take the composition of
carbonic acid, we shall find that in 100 parts it only contains
about 28.277 of carbon, the remainder being oxygen. It may
perhaps be interesting to inquire what quantity of carbon be-
comes annually' fixed during twelve months from the various
crops of grain, not calculating the straw.
The quantity that is annually grown in Great Britain may
be computed in round numbers at fifty millions of quarters,
it is not necessary to be quite exact in this point, but to quote
from the best authorities, as the' point I wish to establish
does not rest upon minute statistical detail, but upon the
broad principle that the quantity of carbon thus taken from
our atmosphere is much more than is generally computed.
I have made this observation so as to prevent any misunder-
standing, all I wish is to draw the chemist from his own la-
boratory and compare his results with those which the more
extended laboratory of nature presents. Barley, on account
of its extensive use in malt, has been analysed with more
attention than some of the others, and I shall gi'e the results
of two of them—

Starch.. 80 pints. Starch.. 88
Gluten . 6 do. Gluten . 3
Sugar .. 7 do. Sugar .. 4
Husk .. 7 do. Gum .. 5

Wheat contains about 24 pints of gluten, and between 40 to
60 starch, rye 61, oats 59, so that we may calculate the quan-
tity of starch at about 60 per cent. To obtain something
near an average, I have taken the weight of wheat at 601bs.
per bushel, and the quantity 20,000,000 of quarters, and those
of other grain at 30,000,000, averaging the bushel at 491bs.
Thus, then, wheat 20,000,000 quarters.

160,000,000 bushels
60

11,760,000,000
9,600,000,000 as above

21,360,000,000 lbs. Averaging the quan-
tity of starch at 60 per cent., and the quantity of carbon in
starch at 45 per cent., we shall have
I 21,360,000,000
5(4
10 1-5
10,680,000,000
2,136,000,000

251 t 12,816,000,000 lbs. starch, or

5,767,200,000 lbs. carbon.
Without considering the other ingredients, which also con-
tain a large quantity of carbon, as may be observed by refer-
ring to the composition of some of the proximate principles,
as detailed before. If we take the potatoe we shall find it
contain about 22 per cent. of starch, and that an acre will
yield from 8 to 10,0001bs. bulk, it follows that as much or
more carbon is converted into starch as in an acre of wheat.

100 parts of pease yielded 50 starch, 3 sugar, and 4 gluten.
1000 „ turnips give about 34 sugar and 7 mucilage.
„ carrots give about 95 sugar and 3 mucilage.
Again, if we take into consideration the large quantities of
hay that are annually grown and carried off the land, averag-
ing from 1 to 14 ton per acre of dry vegetable substance, and
the quantities of grass consumed by cattle, all of which con-
tain large quantities of carbon, it is almost impossible to
imagine from whence such a quantity can arise, as the quan-
tity capable of detection in the atmosphere amounts almost
to a mere trifle ; therefore I think we may conclude with
what we set out to prove, that, instead of animal respiration
and deterioration from combustion being a source of injury
to our atmosphere, it proves to be the reverse, as an equiva-
lent is found in the vegetable kingdom compensating any
apparent injury it may have sustained.
We must not omit to state, that large quantities of car-
bonic acid are parried off by water, down our rivers, &c.
I have only one observation more to make, and that is with
reference to ancient coal formations. The analysis by Dr.
Thompson is—
Caking Coal. Splint. Cherry Coal. Cannel Coal.
Carbon.... 75.28 75.00 74.45 64.72
Hydrogen.. 4.18 6.25 12.40 21.56

Nitrogen .. 15.96 6.25 10.22 13.72
Oxygen .. 4.58 12.50 2.93 0.00

100.00

100.00

From the analysis of Dr. Ure a rather different result is
given. Thus in splint coal he found that it contained 26.66
per cent. of oxygen : Thompson only calls it 12.50. Again,
in cannel coal Dr. Ure gives 21.9 oxygen—Thompson 0.00;
but, granting the larger quantity of oxygen, what is it when
compared with the large proportion of carbon and hydrogen ?
for in the splint coal, when we have combined the six pro-
portionals hydrogen with 6 X 8 of oxygen to form water, or
6 hydrogen added to 48 oxygen, we shall find that there is
not sufficient oxygen for the hydrogen. Now this corre-
sponds with what I previously remarked, that if, as is ad-
mitted by most geologists, the coal formations abound in the
natural order of plants called the Coniferm, (these being of
a resinous character, such as the pine, &c.,) in their growth
both the carbon and hydrogen should part with their oxygen
to the atmosphere. So that, if we take the present state of
vegetable existences, or go back to former periods, we find
the same fact established, viz., that the vegetable kingdom
has always been the great renovator of our atmosphere.
Naphtha being one of the principal of the bituminous sub-
stances, the analysis by Saussure consists of carbon 87.21,
hydrogen 12.79, making together 100.00 containing no oxy-
gen ; and, as a proof of this, that highly combustible and
oxidizable metal, potassium, may be preserved in it, which
it could not if it contained oxygen.

~.
The effect which mosses produce I have not at present an
opportunity of stating, but no doubt, when fully investigated,
their economy will be found equally interesting and useful.
J. H. S.

WRIGHT AND CO

(From the Morning Herald.)

Numerous haC Weenihe7peculltioni,ell or ill-founded,
indulged in by the press, and the rnmours not less so, in re-
gard to the failure of Messrs. Wright and Co., the bankers.
On such subjects accuracy and the avoidance of exaggeration,
are the objects most desirable to be arrived at, and therefore
generally it would be the preferable course to wait for autho-
rised statements on the part of those concerned, at least for
a fitting period. This has been the reason why, beyond the
announcement of the failure, as made public by the circular
of the house, and the causes therein enumerated, it has not
been deemed necessary to advert to the repots in circulation
respecting the causes of the failure and the probable conse-
quences. Now, that attention has been much attracted to the
subject on the one hand, whilst on the other no authorised
statement of the bank's affairs has been made public, it can-
not be considered improper that some notice should be taken,
and some facts illustrative of the bank's difficulties be made
public. Mr. John Wright has made the confession humilia-
ting enough for himself, though exculpatory for his partners,
that he alone by indiscreet, or rather extravagant speculation
on his own account, has been the origin of all the mischief.
Among those extraordinary sins of speculation of which he
reports himself guilty, it may be noted that not the least
extravagant were the establishment projected or carried into
effect of two foreign banks, the one at Athens, the other at
Havana. It is quite elearthat the raw material of speculation
in these two instances must have been of very elastic quality,
or of very opposite fibre. For the establishment of a bank at
Athens could be justified on no other grounds than the total
absence of capital or credit there, in a metallic or any other
form, the void of which therefore it was profitable and expe-
dient to fill up with issues of paper money. 'Whilst on the
direct contrary the project of the Havana bank could only be
accounted for on the plea that there was an abundance of hard
dollars and doubloons to overflowing, and that it would be no
less gainful than easy to relieve the people of this superfluous
load of gold and silver by getting them to part with it for
paper. It happened, however, that the Havana people could
not be persuaded of the superior or equal value of flimsy paper
with metals, and so the bank might as well have shut up shop
from the very first day of its opening for any business it could
do, or profit it could make. Mr. Wright, moreover, was an
extensive dealer in lands as well as banks, and it was mainly
to him that the colony of South Australia owed its existence,
as he was about the largest subscriber for taking land lots and
accumulating town and country sections, not only there in-
deed but subsequently in the new scheme of New Zealand.
Whether he was concerned in any of the banking speculations
for supplying the settlers in those countries with paper
money in addition to land does not appear, but if territorial
possessions abroad could enrich an individual and be
convertible into stuff for constituting banking stock,
undoubtedly Mr. Wright's titles must run over no
small extent of her- Majesty's dominions beyond
seas among kangaroos and cannibals. One of the first large
operations which brought Mr. Wright prominently before
the public eye was the project for a Russian loan of large
amount some years ago, which was rendered abortive through
the decisively expressed repugnance against the design, and
the odium not unattended with serious danger to bank credit
which would attend its undertakers. Since that time Mr.
Wright's private room at the bank became the head-quarters
for schemers of all sorts and sizes, and where any scheme,
however strange, wild, and incompatible with banking busi-
ness, was sure of favour if not acceptance. In the case of
Hammersley's bank, the speculations of the partners were
at least confined to mercantile operations on their own ac-
count, among which may be noticed one, not before men-
tioned among those talked of, an extensive establishment on
the other side of the water for the fabrication of brandy
spirit out of potatoes, according to a new process, and by a
new still introduced by some French adventurers. Upon
this losing scheme it is supposed some £BO,OOO or £lOO,OOO
was thrown away. But independent of private adventures
on his sole account and charge, Mr. Wright's name became
attached to a large number of company undertakings. in
which the expected premiums on shares evidently formed no
small part of the returns in the way of profit which were
looked for. Many of them were of an equivocal, not to say
of a discreditable kind, and gave rise to serious questions
on some occasions of the credit and solvency of the bank
itself. It is well known that the bank was the great money
agent of the leading proprietors and capitalists, great and
small, and of institutions public and private, appertaining
to the Roman Catholic interest of the kingdom. Its des-
pots from these particular classes were enormous, and the
knowledge of the fact with the reputation consequent of un-
limited command of money that way contributed above all
to sustain and elevate the credit of the bank in spite of the
discredit attaching to Mr. Wright's operations. The state-
ment of £50,000 as the amount in hand on the Duke of
Norfolk's account is however believed to be erroneous. It
is understood not to exceed £28,000, which is still a large
sum. It is considered, however, that the Earl of Shrews-
bury has been, if he be not now among the largest, or pro-
bably the largest depositor, and his account is said sometimes
to have exhibited as much as £200,000 or £300,000 to his
credit. What the balance may be now is not stated, but
long before the stoppage of the bank it was not an unfrequent
remark that but for Lord Shrewsbury's account and balance
it could not have held on so long by some years, in the face
of Mr. John Wright's extraordinary speculations. Several
of the poorer pious institutions of the Roman Catholics will
be very severe sufferers on this occasion, even to their ruin,
although doubtless the majority of the leading depositors of
that persuasion are too substantial to be materially injured
by the event.

(From the Morning Post.)

Mr. John Wright was known to every man of business in
the City as a most sanguine person, and a promoter of many
of the bubble companies and foreign loan schemes that have
been thrust upon the patience of the over-credulous people of
this country. The property of Mr. Anthony Wright, or
Biddnlph, which name he took on the death of a rich uncle
of that name, and who is the elder brother of Mr. John
Wright, has been commonly estimated at from £14,000 to
£16,000 a-year, the whole being derived from the relative in
question, besides the sum of £lOO,OOO, more or less, which
was left him by his father. On the death of the uncle
Thomas Wright (the banker), of Fitzwalter's, in Essex, Mr.
Anthony Wright came into the firm, and with his ample
funds, supported as they were by a high and respected cha-
racter, but, more than all, by the magnificent prospects sub-
sequently realised, on the death of Mr. Bidduiph, gave a
weight to the bank which procured for it the confidence, not
of the Roman Catholic nobility and gentry alone, but of a
very extensive Protestant connection also. Mr. Anthony
Wright took no active share in the business, but resided on
his estates, highly respected, and abounding in wealth. Mr.
Robinson, the father of one of the present partners, died
about a year since, and was reputed very rich. He had,
however, several children, and his property may possibly be
no longer available, but is perhaps divided, and withdrawn
altogether from the Covent-garden concern, excepting only
such portion of it as may have been bequeathed to M.
Henry Robinson, his eldest son and successor in it. The
other partners, Mr. Jerningham (grandson of Mr. Thomas
Wright, of Fitzwalter's, Mr. Jerningham's father having
married a Miss Wright) and Mr. Beetle, or Bittle, who was
many years a clerk in the house, and a man of considerable
ability and most enduring and laborious habits of business,
could neither of them, it is presumed, have possessed much
independent property. Such were the elements of which the
establishment was composed, and it is but due to the several
partners to observe that, with the one single exception, more
prudent and steady men never existed.
The Roman Catholic nobility and gentry are for the most
part very wealthy, and by no means prodigal in their expen-
diture, but in the case of a majority of them, quite the reverse.
The failure will, therefore, not seriously affect them. Of the
religious communities who deposited their moneys in the
hands of Messrs. Wright, some are needy enough. It is
considered that at least twenty of the secular clergy establish-
mentsid education in England did the same. In addition to
the special Catholic and Protestant support of the house, it
enjoyed the confidence of an extensive class of rich and
money-making people located in and about Covent-garden.
The Protestant connection also was, we will venture to say,
equal, on the average, to that of the London bankers gene-
rally.
How lamentable is it, then, that so valuable an insti- '
tution, as it may be termed, should have been overturned,
and so many splendid properties shipwrecked, through_ the
blind infatuation—the inordinate speculative propensities—of
one man !

It was shown in a recent proceeding before one of the com-
missioners of bankrupts that Messrs. Wright and Co. were
crediters for £60,000 on the estate of Mr. Denew, the auc-
tioneer, of Charles-street, Berkeley-square. This is a large
sum, but is said to be well guaranteed. Yet much of it will,
of course, be squandered in law.