The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-21 00:00:00

ROMANTIC WEDDING

A correspondent says, " About a fortnight ago, just as
the most beautiful month of the whole twelve was bursting
upon us, I came in the course of my perambulations in Wales
to a sequestered and romantic village, where, having rested
for the night, I rose with the lark eager for new adventures.
As the morning advanced, the little town exhibited symptoms
of unusual animation : the bells of the church, which is
situated on a slight elevation in a pretty vicinity, sent forth
their merry sounds ; some of the cottages were decorated
with boughs, and numbers of the youths of.both sexes, deco-
rated in their holiday attire, were tripping gaily along. On
inquiry I found that a young couple were about to be married
under very interesting and peculiar circumstances. The
bridegroom was the son of a gentleman farmer, and the bride
the daughter of a retired tradesman, who resided in the same
neighbourhood—another and far distant part of the kingdom.
Here the young people became betrothed, but at the aze of
two and twenty the youth, with the fickleness that not unfre-
quently belongs to that age, became dissatisfied with the
neighbourhood and weary of his attachment, and quitted the
place, never intending to return ; the death of his only sur-
viving parent and the dispersion of his relatives, confirmed
him in this resolve. The young lady, who fully verified the
truth of the poet's remark,

Love is of man's life a thing apart,
'Tis woman's whole existence,"
could not so readily give up an affection which had increased
for years, and formed the only charm of her life. Nothing,
however, was heard of the faithless one, and the father of the
once affianced bride exerted every influence in his power to
induce her to accept the offer of a rich but rather old suitor.
This she at once refused, and notwithstanding that day after
day the parent urged upon his unhappy child the advantage
that would result from the union—in spite of the feeling of
resentment that must unavoidably have sprung up in her
bosom against her former lover, she still remained true to her
vows. At last the father even proceeded to threats ; and the
girl, whose existence was rendered miserable by this be-
haviour, and by the unkind treatment of a mother-in-law,
quitted the house privately, taking with her only some
clothes and a few pounds of her own. Far were,the wander-
ings, and sad must have been the privations of that innocent
and delicate female, thus cast upon a cold and unfeeling
world. At length, however, (the efforts of the parent, who
perhaps was not over anxious to discover her, having failed),
she came to the village above referred to, and obtained a
situation as teacher in a seminary, where she remained for
five long years, faithfully performing her duties, but doubt-
less with a heavy heart and many a painful recollection
of the past. In the mean time her former lover had gone
to London, where engaging himself in a house of business,
by diligence and attention he acquired a complete knowledge
of his occupation, and saved some money, but every trace
of his affianced bride had faded away from his memory,
and she was to him as, though she had never been. By
the death of his father he came into possession of a few
hundred pounds •, and being desirous of carrying on the bu-
siness, a knowledge of which he had acquired, in a small
way, he thought of Wales, a country of which he had heard
much, and where he thought he should like to live, having a
touch of the romantic in his disposition. An advertisement
in a newspaper directed his attention to the village, or rather
small town, referred to, where he entered upon a shop, and
the neighbourhood being populous, he seemed likely to pros-
per well in business. He had been thus engaged for twelve
months, when the interesting incident with which this nar-
rative commenced took place. During that time he must
have frequently seen and passed the once adored object of
his affection ; but other scenes, and the alteration of the
person in a few years, prevented recognition. She indeed
could not so easily forget, and her agitation when she dis-
covered that he was in the same place, may be easily sup-
posed. It happened that as he was one day going out in a
gig, the horse, alarmed by a troop of cavalry proceeding
rapidly, in an opposite direction, to one of the mining dis-

tricts, swerved tO.the side of the road, and the young Env
was thrown out very violently, breaking his arm, affd
being otherwise severely bruised and stunned ; he conti-
nued for some time in a senseless state. The seminary
being the nearest house, he was conveyed there; and the
proprietress, a lady of benevolent disposition, showed him
every attention and kindness. He remained there for a day or
two, and was then removed for his own home, where in a few
weeks he got well again. This incident naturally led to an
acquaintance with the conductors of the school; and the
pretty assistant, who, it may be concluded, evinced no little
anxiety about the accident, but whose modesty and timidity
kept her from declaring herself, came in for her share of in-
quiries The two young people at length met at a sort of
fete given in the neighbourhood, and in the course of conver-
sation explanations took place which brought back to the
wandering lover the scenes of other days and the solemn
engagements still unfulfilled. To make the story short, the
connexion was renewed, and in a few months the sobered
young man of -seven-and-lwenty married the faithful girl
whom, five years before, he had neglected.—This was the
wedding which excited so much interest and conversation,
and I heartily wish the young people,. thus so singularly
brought together, every happiness. Though some may doubt
the accuracy of this little narrative, it must be recollected
that the most important results frequently arise out of the
most ordinary occurrences, and tt►at truth is stranger than
fiction. Such an incident did happen."—Worcester Jour.

MELTING HOT.—In the American newspapers it is com-
mon to see the greatest evils treated with ridicule by the
Quaint wit of the editors. Thus the journals seemed for some
days to compete with each other for the palm of superiority
as to the most ingenious points of view in which this exces-
sive heat of the season could be exhibited. There were ac-
cordinglyemfreydintgo hot"b e
carriedmle tm—
numbers,
bwi
tnohowi
ginffal
aditlhnbokgo,y
na:ohg,
n,omeNytms'i
ept:pwa,
ehttrtyaeos
stated,
Orleans
hoos
coouawhtgs
hohoseooondtsl
heii;gtneorgsbesruuta,tirttotweswepht
thuaoos est:,
paragraphs beginning with the words " hissing
prizef
he
hot'' —8
ettuhhnoeedti
heather re
hs thee
iaandt hslNea aore
gduwet of
Orleans,
the original wearers of Le garments having been entirely
melted away ! "—Buckingham's America.
PROFLIGACY OF MANNERS IN WASHINGTON.—The
practice of carrying arms on the person is, no doubt, one of
the reasons why so many atrocious acts are done under the
immediate influence of passion ; which, were no arms at
band, would waste itself in words, or blows at the utmost;
but now too often results in death. A medical gentleman,
resident in the city, told me he was recently called in to see
a young girl who had been shot at with a pistol by one of her
paramours, the ball grazing her cheek with &deep wound,
and disfiguring her for life ; and yet nothing whatever was
done to the individual, who had only failed by accident in
his intention to destroy her life. In this city are many esta-
blishments where young girls are collected by procuresses,
and one of these was said to be kept by a young man who
had persuaded or coerced all his sisters into prostitution,
and lived on the wages of their infamy. These houses are
frequented in open day ; and hackney-coaches may be seen
almost constantly before their doors. In fact, the total ab-
sence of all restraint upon the actions of men here, either
legal or moral, occasions such open and unblushing displays
of recklessness and profligacy as would hardly be credited if
mentioned in detail. Unhappily, too, the influence of this
is more or less felt in the deteriorated characters of almost
all persons who come often to Washington, or live for a long
period there. Gentlemen from the northern and eastern
states, who before they left their homes were accounted
moral, and even pious men, undergo such a change at Wash-
ington, by a removal of all restraint, that they very often
come back quite altered characters, and, while they are at
Washington contract habits, the very mention of which is
quits revolting to chaste and unpolluted ears.—Buckingham'a
America.

FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 21, 1841

We referred, last week, to an article of our contem-
porary the Liverpool Times, in which it was argued
that Lord Sandon was taking a course in Parliament
highly injurious to the interests of Liverpool and we
endeavoured to show that our contemporary was mis-
taken in his hypothesis. He, however, returns as fresh
as ever to his old position, and reiterates the same in
every variety of form and phrase. The noble lord, he
alleges, " has thought proper, at the present crisis, to
" sacrifice the interests of the manufactures and corn-
" merce of the country, • and those of the majority of
" his constitutents, to gain the favour and promote the
" interests of a small body of monopolists."
That is the dogma, the theme, the test,—and it is
enlarged upon with no ordinary degree of skill, energy,
and point. Our quiet commentary seems only to have
animated our contemporary to a further display of his
powers. He takes up our objections, pronounces them
to be "nonsense," does battle valorously for the Brazi-
lians, and again and again reiterates the charge, that
the cause of Lord Sandon is ruin to the interests of

Liverpool.
Our objection on this head was, that Liverpool has
no interest, and can have no interest, separate from
and independent of the country at large; and we ob-
served, as we do now repeat, that all our contempo-
rary's declamation is founded on a partial and one-
sided view of the case. He says we should find it
" hard to persuade the Brazilian merchants that it is
no injury to them to exclude the sugars of Brazil from
the markets of England." Very likely ; but there are
other merchants in Liverpool besides Brazilian merch-
ants ; and perhaps our contemporary might find it as
difficult to convince them that the removal of the re-
striction would not be injurious to them. It is not,
however, by the effect which a measure may have upon
any one class that we are to decide upon the true cha-
racter of that measure; but by the effect which it is
calculated to produce on the greatest number. It is
on this principle that the prosperity of the country is
based, and it is upon this principle alone that Liver-
pool must rise or fall, flourish or decay. She stands
aloof from all petty interests, and has, in truth, no in-

west but that which is identified with a just determi•
nation of the various questions at issue for the corn

non advantage of all classes

Our contemporary avers that " the creating of a re-
gular trade in foreign corn would be productive of the
greatest possible benefits to the shipowners and mer-
chants." We say so too, if it were attainable ; but we
deny that it is. This is the bait which the free-traders
and factory-men would throw out to Liverpool; but
Liverpool will not swallow it ; no, nor even snap at it.
The lure certainly looks tempting; but a moment's
examination shows its true character.
In the first place, we are promised a "regular"
trade in foreign corn—not a sudden glut and then a

amine—but a regular trade. Well, that is very good

and very desirable ; but how are we to get it ? By re.
pealing the present duties, it is said, and having re•

- ,
course simply to a fixed duty of Bs. the quarter on wheat.
Thatwill make all things square and regular. Well, that
is very easily said ; but will it do the needful, or how
long ? The factory-men at first are quite merry, we
may suppose. They have got the low-priced loaf, and
lower wages, of course ; but we will not dispute upon
that point just now. Let us suppose them feasted to
the utmost of their desires ; but, then, the gentry and
the agriculturalists, the farmers and their labourers,
begin to feel the effects. This sport to the factories is
death to them. They cease to be good customers to
the manufacturers and shopkeepers; they cease alto-
gether to buy ; and then the factory people, in their
turn, begin to feel the shock. And now it comes to
Liverpool and her " regular trade in foreign corn ;"
and we ask, when the matter has taken this course—
when consumption and decay and ruin have overtaken
agriculturist and manufacturer together, will the trade
of Liverpool remain unaffected ? Impossibie. Her
" regular" trade, not only
in foreign corn, but in cot-
ton, sugar, and various other articles, will then, we
fear become extremely irregnlar—overtaken by paraly-
sis or some other fatal malady—a good case for the
doctors ; and, highly as we appreciate that admirable
medicine, almost beyond the sanative efficacy of "brandy
and salt."

But our contemporary will not enter into this view
of the case, because, in his opinion, the farmer would
have, at Bs. the quarter fixed duty on Wheat, protec-
tion enough. Well, he must certainly submit to a
great fall in prices, otherwise how should all this fo-
reign corn come in, or what advantage would the fac-
tory people derive from repealing the corn laws ? This
is a certain thing. The average price of wheat last
week, in the Dublin market, was 335. 3d. the barrel.
Now we have seen a calculation from which it would
appear, that if foreign Wheat were admissible at a duty
of 8-8. a quarter, the price of home would have to be

reduced to from 15s. to 17s. the barrel, or about half.
What a pleasant prospect for the farmers and gentry of
Ireland ! And are we to suppose that the English farmer
would come better off? Let him speak, however, for
himself. He must know best at what reduction of price

he can afford to pay rent and taxes, and still continue
" a marvellous proper man."
As to the Irish, we observe that the Dublin
Evening Post exults in the fact that they will
make no battle for their staple trade; but that
jonrnal is not the organ of the gentry, or of the
Protestant farmers of the country, and has no right
to speak for them. Let it speak, if it please, for the
Popish masses and O'Connell's mobs; it has no feel-

ing in common with the enlightened Protestants of the
country ; and sure we are that they will deeply feel,
and indignantly resent the attempt to pass a measure
so ruinous to them as this scheme of fixed-duty trade
in foreign grain. If Popery has so blinded the eyes
of the common people, or priestly and O'Connell
tyranny keeps them in such terror that they cannot
perceive what would be so fatal to them, or, perceiv-
ing, dare not endeavour to avert it—why their silence
and tameness at such a moment is a proof only of their
degradation. Of this, however, there can be no doubt,
that free trade in corn, or such a protection merely to
the native farmer as that proposed, would involve Ire-
land in a state such as we believe was never experienced

even in that country.
These few words we have said in reply to our con-
temporary's theory of a sufficing protection being
found in the Bs. duty; with regard to his argument
touching Brazilian sugar, and the exaggerated impor-
tance which he attaches to the liberation of the trade
in a commercial point of view, we are obliged to a va-
luable correspondent of his own, and a decided Whig
into the bargain, for some observations which quite su-
persede the necessity of our saying a word on the sub-
ject :

" Before you write another article on the Brazil trade,"
says this friendly writer, " you ought to inform yourself better
or the subject of it, for you may rest assured, that such gross
exaggeration and mis-statement as you have been led into
will greatly injure the cause you are advocating, and not
forward it. _ _

" I send you herewith a statement of the exports to Brazil,
from Liverpool, fur the year 1840, amounting to £2,326,439;
and, as I believe, two-thirds or more of the trade is carried
on from this port, (but this you can inform yourself of),
even Mr. Labouchere's estimate of four millions exceeds the
exports. You call the trade to Brazil five millions, which
you say will be lost to us if we do not reduce the duty on
Brazil sugar and coffee. Nothing can be more preposterous;
1 believe, from long experience of the Brazilians, that they
would continue to take our goods as usual. Some noise may
be made when the treaty comes to be renewed ; but to assert
that our trade will entirely " cease," if we do not do so and
so, is drawing too largely on the imagination.
" The Brazilians can have no great claim on our sympathy
as to treaties, which they regard as little as most nations ;
they lately added 5 per cent. without the consent of the Bri-
tish government, to the stipulated duty of 15 per cent. on
British goods. This you may not be aware of. We do not
consume their sugar and coffee at present, but we unques-
tionably take it for our goods, and as much to their conveni-
ence as if we did : though perhaps not quite so much to the
convenience of the English merchants. Who, let me ask,
would take their cotton were we to refuse it ?
" You state that the Brazilians are under no obligations to
this country ! I think this piece of intelligence would sur-
prise a good many of her Majesty's liege subjects. On the
contrary, I would say, that they owe us a great deal. Who
could supply our place I would ask, in the event of their
refusing to deal with us ? Have the Swiss and Germans, our
great rivals (and about whom so much has been said), the
means of doing so ? You have often dinned in our ears the
great competition our trade is suffering in Brazil from the
Swiss and Germans, I therefore wish you had condescended
on the per centage of trade they carry on in that quarter as
compared with ours. Vague assertion can carry no weight
with it.

" You may rely upon this, Mr. Editor, that the grievances
of the Brazil trade is not the question to beat the tories on.
I therefore regret, as a sincere reformer, that so much should
have been said about it."

This writer confesses that Brazil sugar is not the
question to beat the tories on ; and he is right. But
on what question will they be able to effect that con-
consummation ? Aye, that's the rub. We are per-
suaded that the corn laws won't do it either. The
people begin already to find out that the free trade
scheme is all humbug.

The unprecedently prolonged debate on the sugar
duties was brought to a close on Wednesday morning ;
ministers were beaten by a majority of thirty-six, but
made no announcement of any intention to resign their
places. They were evidently casting about to see if
there were any lower depth into which they might fall.
If they could survive such a division, however, and
Sir Robert Peel's speech, even for a few hours, it is
plain that they must be devoid of the necessary faculty
for conveying a consciousness of degradation to the
mind.

The speech of Sir Robert Peel will be read with un-
mixed pride and satisfaction by all conservatives, and,
indeed, we might add, by moderate and sensible men
of every class and denomination. It contained an ex-

pose of opinions and principles well calculated to gain
over reflecting people to his side, and will do much to
confirm him in his place as the leader of a great party,
and to strengthen that party in all those opinions which
it is known they already hold. It was a speech .emi-

nently judicious—that cannot fail to be of the utmost
service to the already triumphant cause of conserva.
tism. It did not advance or allude to a single point
on which all conservatives are not agreed—and was
therefore, calculated to map out, as it were, the nume•

rous important topics in which they are united to a
man. Here we have points of union in abundance
which will have a rallying effect, and cause conserva-
tives to present themselves as one united phalanx.

In the exhibition of his opinions, the right hon.
,aronet was abundantly explicit; no friend could hat e

wished him to have gone further, or to have stopped in
any degree short of the point to which he went. With
respect to the immediate question in debate, he was
decidedly adverse to an alteration of the sugar dtities,
on the ground that we had "no right to break in upon
the course of a great experiment."
The experiment being tried is, whether-sugar cannot

be raised in the West Indies by free labour, and whe-
ther we cannot obtain from our own colonies a suffi-
cient s4ply for home consumption. To infringe upon
that momentous probationary measure, he conceived,
would be an act of unpardonable, we would say, atro-
cious criminality. For what would be the conse-
quence ? The consequence would be, failure—ruin to
the experiment ; and the consequence of such failure
would be this—a proclamation to the world—that slaves

cannot be set free ; and not only this, but an abar

donment of the West Indian islands to the negro po
pulation ! With an experiment so big with the mos

serious results, we have no right to trifle ; and to any
meddling of the sort the right hon. baronet, for one,
would give no sanction. With regard to the timber
duties, he could express no opinion favourable to the
ministerial scheme. He required information ; he
should ascertain how it would be likely to be received
by the Canadians. At present all that was known on
this head was, that the Governor-General, when ap-
plied to for his opinion, said, " that if the noble lord
(the colonial secretary) touched the timber duties, he
would, as -naturally might be expected, materially add
to his (the Governor-General's) difficulties." Under
these circumstances, he would reserve his opinions, or
his plans on the subject.
'With regard to the corn duties, he was decidedly

opposed to a fixed duty, because he did not think it I
could be permanently maintained ; and as to the pro-
posed duty of Bs. on wheat, and 3s. 4d. on oats, he
" deemed it totally insufficient for the maintenance of
the present state of agricultural prosperity." He did
not, and would not, bind himself, however, to details.
It might be a question whether some modification
might not be made in the existing points of oscillation,
and he would not commit himself to any obligatory
declaration on this head. And this was right—per-
fectly right.
But the right hon. baronet, having thus satisfacto-
rily disposed c,f all the questions on which he was
called to give an opinion, at length began to flourish
the knout for the purpose of inflicting a little wholesome
chastisement on the trembling, convicted, and wretched
incapables. Never was punishment more loudly called
for, or more neatly, we would say, beautifully laid on.
Oh it must have been delightful to witness it.
Our readers will thank us for here closing our re-
marks, and inserting in their place a few of those
crushing observations with which Sir Robert Peel
concluded his admirable speech :
So much for the commercial bearings of this question ; but
then it was said, coincident with these commercial difficulties
there was also a financial crisis to be dealt with. Why, there
was a great financial crisis ; but for that financial crisis, in
his opinion, her majesty's ministers were mainly responsible.
(Hear.) They had had possession of power since 1835. They
had had the administration of the finances ; when they were
successful they referred to the fact as a proof of their wisdom
and sagacity; failure in adversity might certainly be no proof
of the want of those qualities, but at any rate if there was a
government intrusted with the financial concerns of the coun-
try, and if their whole course had been marked by deficit and
increasing expenditure, that fact must necessarily greatly di-
minish his confidence in their ability to conduct the adminis-
tration of affairs. (Hear, hear.) After five years of the ad-