The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-30 00:00:00

TO THE PROTESTANTS OF LIVERPOOL.

MY FRIENDS,—There is much truth in the quaint remark,
that " what is everybody's business is nobody's." It the
saying has heretofore required 'illustration, an apt one now
presents itself. It was "nobody's" business to inquire how
it was that the conservatives of Liverpool have been so long
content to patronise the twaddle, the abuse, the lies, the
Owenite and jesuitical doctrines, with which the town is de-
luged ad nauseam by the radical press ;--it was " nobody's"
business to attempt a change in these matters ; and it was
" nobody's" business (to use the phrase of your mercantile
correspondent of last Friday) to " throw the first stone."
Now, as your humble servant has at length become con-
vinced of the necessity of his interference, he is determined
not only to throw that stone, but, moreover, not to leave
one unturned, until he has done not only his own business,
but that of the radical party for them. Methinks I hear
you say, "My friend, how will you do it ?" " Nobody"
knows ; let him alone. Nobody need inform you that there
are two great essentials for the success of a newspaper, viz.,
extent of circulation, and number of advertisements. As
well might we expect a barrister eloquently and vigorously
to plead the just cause of his client, when suffering from
asthma or loss of blood, as that a newspaper should effec-
tively defend its principles when deprived of its due propor-
tion of circulation and advertisements. The advertisements
of a journal are its lungs. When supplied with them it can
speak out both loud and long. Its circulation is its blood,
and this should be good in quantity and quality. Let the
conservatives of Liverpool but increase the one, and the
other will follow as a matter of course. -

How is it that the papists of Liverpool have become such
a formidable body ? Why, through their press ; aye, their
press—the radical press—for the terms arc synonymous. I
may be accused of a want of charity in calling Roman Ca-
tholics papists; but they have earned the title. " Nobody"
has a right to use-it. So long as a religious sect contents it-
self with upholding certain and peculiar doctrines, none have
a right to interfere; but when these doctrines are used as a
bond of political union—as a cloak to conceal pOlitical de-
signs—it behoves every lover of his country and its institu-
tions to be on his guard.
_ _

I doubt if it be possible to point out a " good Catholic"
who is not a bigotted political partizan, opposed to the
Established Church in all her institutions. Is it not suffi-
cient that our parish is burdened with Irish Roman Catholic
paupers, that our charities annually relieve thousands of
them, that our own labourers are driven out of the market
or obliged to compete with the hordes of wild Irish papists
who come from their own country and swarm in the lower
parts of the town, like the vermin on their own carcases, but
that these miserables should also be put upon the register of
voters for our borough, aod so nullify the voices of right-
hearted, freeborn Englishmen? Is this to be endured, con-
servatives of Liverpool? You who triumphantly, at the last
election, returned Sandon and Cresswell, will you not by
your co-operation assist the Protestant press in defending
your liberties and your rights?
Your conduct reminds me of the mode of warfare between
the various tribes of New Zealanders, who fight all day long,
but each night an amnesty is proclaimed, and the man who
was wounded in the morning may be seen purchasing from
his quondam foe perhaps the very weapon that smote him ;
and so the war continues, until one party have nightly bar-
tered so many of their arms for food or tobacco that they fall
an easy prey to the other. You in like manner, during an
election or political excitement, exact and receive from your
press all the support in their power; but no sooner has this
passed away than you furnish the enemy with ammunition,
(in the shape of patronage,) to be used against you on the
morrow.

Conservatives of Liverpool! the eyes of England are upon
you; for, from its vicinity to Ireland, and the facilities of
transit, it is well known that Liverpool is the stronghold of
Catholicism in England. Let your press, then, be enabled
to proclaim to the world that it is no less the stronghold of
Protestantism. Let us make a long pull, a strong pull, and
all pull together. Let the conservative merchant, the con-
servative tradesman, and the conservative professional man,
simultaneously send their advertisements to the conservative
journals. They may not perhaps at first ensure so great a
numerical circulation fur their advertisements, but the sacri-
fice (if any).will be individually small, and the Ultimate be-
nefit great. Should this plan be followed up with spirit, a
month will not elapse ere there will be a striking change, a
great good, and, to the other party, a galling change. You
will no longer be annoyed by seeing, in the same paper in
which your advertisement appears, scurrilous attacks upon
the character of your friends and their cause. You will be
saved the risk of leaving in the way of your children a news-
paper containing such doctrines, political and religious, as
might poison their young minds.
I must now for the present take my leave of you ; and as
" Nobody" may be blamed by some for the step he has
taken, and applauded by others for the same, it may be ne-
cessary to state that he will be willing to bear ten times the
blame from the one party to be rewarded with a tithe of the
approbation of the other ; and it will perhaps not lessen the
pleasure of some to know, that should this agitation succeed,
as it ought, there will be " Nobody" to thank. Iu conclu-
sion, I beg to state, that should this epistle be the means of
inflicting a " heavy blow" upon, and a " great discourage-
ment" to, the radical party, they may have the satisfaction
of attributing their misfortune to one who is so obscure, that
he has no hesitation in saying that he is
NOBODY—
(BUT A CONSERVATIVE.)

INSOLVENT COURT.--The Autumn Northern Circuit for
the relief of Insolvent Debtors has been fixed as follows :
Preston, Nov. 4 ; Liverpool, Nov. 20th ; Lancaster, Nov.
24th; Kendal, Nov. 3rd; Appleby, Nov. 2nd; Carlisle,
Oct. 30th ; Chester, Nov. 6th.

SHIP LAUNCH.—On Thursday last, Poole (Dorsetshire)
presented a scene of general festivity and rejoicing, for,
though it has long been celebrated as a ship-building port,
yet the circumstance of an " East Indiaman" launch ex-
cited great interest, and attracted thousands to the spot.
All the rank and beauty of the town and its vicinity were
present, and there was a grand display of flags and bunting ;
a good brass band was stationed on board to enliven the
scene. A small stage was erected at the bow of the vessel,
over which was suspended a bottle of wine. The ceremony
of naming the ship was admirably performed by Miss Major,
who, at a given signal, dashed the juicy nectar against her
bow, and the " Canopus" glided with majesty into the wa-
tery element, amidst the hurrahs and cheers of the delighted
spectators. An elegant dejeuner was tastefully prepared in
a large shed erected for the purpose, and about 230 ladies
and gentlemen sat down to partake of all the good things,
(amply supplied by Mr. Dugdale, of the King's Arms,)
when " Success to the Canopus and health to her cr.ptain"
was the general toast, and the company separated highly
gratified with the beautiful launch, and the liberality dis-
played on the occasion. The workmen were also regaled
with an excellent dinner and plenty of good cheer, and the
festivities of the day were wound up by the builder giving a
dinner to a select party of gentlemen.—The Canopus was
built by Mr. Pinney, expressly for Capt. Titherington, and,
under the able management of Messrs. Coteswortl; and
Wynne, is intended to proceed direct to Madras and Ceylon.
She is expected to be a fast sailer • and, as this is the first
vessel built by Mr. Pinney for this port, we trust she may
induce others to give a preference to Poole, which, from its
contiguity to the forests of English oak, possesses peculiar
advantages for ship-building.

A PENNYWORTH OF PEACE I—And what that is, any
body in Lancashire can tell you ; and if you be not in Lan-
cashire, 1 can : it is laudanum or opium disguised in treacle,
and termed, in other places, " Godfrey's Cordial." It is in
vain to remonstrate with the poor on this practice—they
always ask you what they are to do, and think it unanswerable
to add, " A pen'oth of peace is worth a penny." Thus are
the constitutions of the poor sapped and stupefied even in the
cradle, and all the wisdom of England cannot point out any
remedy, but that of taking off the violent pressure on the
means of existence.—Hoe'itt in Tates Edinburgh Magazine.
Is it possible that a man of Mr. Howitt's information can
never yet have heard of the far-famed Manchester medicine ?
" What that is,'any man in Lancashire can tell him,"—and,
indeed, we believe, in any part of the United Kingdom. For
it is an indisputable fact, that, since the commencement of
the present ear, Its sale (extensive as it has been for the last
3
half century has increased beyond all former precedent. It
were almost superfluous to add, that we allude to that nice
and inestimable preparation, ATKINSON'S INFANTS' PRE-
SERVATIVE, which so far from " sapping the constitution,"
and " stupefying" the senses—like those dangerous com-
pounds, whose basisis laudanum or other opiates—allays
irritation, and assuages pain in the mildest and most in-
noxious manner; thus affording real comfort, both to the
anxious mother and her suffering babe.

STOPPAGE OF= COMMERCIAL JOINT STOCK

BANK, ALI NCH ESTER.

re.oxt cc;RitEsPoNne,N.r.)
Nt-711EsTrit., ()NE o'cLoci;..--ror two or
three weeks ea,,r•iionour, have been circulated, tiett ,some-
thin(' was Out of joint with one of our .1o:ot St:;;ci: Banks ;
which rumours, however, at lost settled down as having re-
ference to the above concern. The Manchester public, so
far as the writer's knowledge extends, had ceased, or nearly
so, in the being alarmed by the reports in question ; the more
so, as all demands were promptly met, the customary in-
quiry on the presentation of a cheque being gold or notes. On
Friday the directors met, (after the bank had closed for that
day, which all the banks do at one o'clock on Fridays) and
continued in deliberation for a long time, and who then
came to the resolution to cease paying, should the London
accounts expected on the following morning be unfavourable.
By some means or other, the London letters were not deli-
uered so early as usual ; and, as the hour of commencing
business is nine o'clock, in the interim, i.e. betwixt the
hour of opening and the delivery of the letters, about a quar-
ter past nine, some cheques were paid, and before half-
past the bank ceased to pay. The paid up capital of
the bank is £260,000, raised in shares of .1.:5 each. There
are twenty-three branches to this establishment, which
gives a very small capital indeed to each, say £Booo—allow-
ing the very moderate sum of £76,000 for the head office in
Manchester. As there are many very wealthy proprietors in
this bank, not only in Manchester and in other towns where
branches exist, any ultimate loss therefore is quite out of
the question. That there is, however, a numerous body who
kept their accounts at the bank, and in the habit of receiving.
accommodation, who will be put to great inconvenience is
certain ; nor is it less certain that many others will, in con-
sequence be compelled to stop altogether. One of our
wealthiest merchants purchased, on Wednesday last, 4 or 500
shares of this bank at £2 8s 6d, and as the party in question
was not only previously a shareholder, but supposed to be
intimately acquainted with the affairs of the bank, the cir-
cumstance is a favourable omen that all will end well. The
Commercial Bank is, indeed, a vastly different one from that
of the imperial; the latter of which had neither capital nor
character to lose. That the shareholders will, without delay,
make arrangements for the payment of their notes (it was a
bank of issue) is confidently stated ; and why the Bank of
England should not afford the necessary aid, on undoubted
security, which could readily be found, as in the case of the
Northern and Central,. it would be difficult to conjecture;
the engagements of the bank are said to be considerable—
probably they will exceed £1,000,000.
This occurrence will, there is no doubt, have a very serious
effect on our market for at least five weeks to come ; indeed
it has already been felt. Many spinners and manufacturers
—some directly and others indirectly interested, will be, it is
certain, compelled to raise
,the .wayS and
,the means at any
sacrifice.

The bank has been brought into this dilemma by excessive
advances to parties keeping their accounts with the establish-
ment at its various branches.

MANCHESTER, MONDAY EVENING, 7 O'CLOCK.
No additional facts have transpired respecting the Com—
mercial Bank, since noon ; except that a deputation of nine
gentlemen left Manchester last night,• for London, with the
object to lay before the Bank of England the state of its
affairs, and of course to solicit its aid on this emergency.
That it will succeed is thought highly probable ; and that it
may soon do so, is most devoutly to be wished. The names
composing the deputation have not yet transpired, but those
of Mr. Sewell, the chief officer of the bank, Mr. A. Bowers,
chairman of the board, and Mr. Ralph Turner, are known to
form part of the deputation. There are also other gentlemen
from the'several towns at which branches of the bank exist,
who will meet the deputation in London.

SOCIALISM UNMASKED.-DISBELIEF IN
A FUTURE STATE OPENLY AVOWED.

- (From our own Correspondent.)
MANCHESTER, JUNE 27.—A most singular proceeding
with respect to the socialist lecturers in this town took place
before the magistrates at the Borough Court this day. To
render the merits of the case properly understood, it is ne-
cessary to state, that about a fortnight since informations
were preferred against Robert Owen and some other of the
socialist leaders, for delivering lectures or discourses in a
building, called " the Hall of Science," at the doors of which
money was taken for admittance, the said building not being
duly licensed under the 57 Geo. 111. cap. 74. - To meet this
charge, the defendants gave evidence of " the Hall of Science"
having been duly registered by the Bishop of the diocese,
under the act 52 Geo. 111., cap. 155, as " a place of. worship
for a body of protestant dissenters, calling themselves Ra-
tional Religionists.' " Notwithstanding this, conviction was
obtained, in one case, the remainder being withdrawn. The
socialists having thus taken upon themselves the guise of
protestant dissenters, while their proceedings were such as
were calculated to bring the name itself into reproach. The
Rev. Mr. Kidd, the incumbent of the district in which the
" Hall" is situate, (which stands within 100 yards of St.
• Mathew's church) felt it his duty to institute a further pro-
ceedin; against these individuals, in order that they might
not ingratiate themselves with the unwary, under the cloak
of " protestant dissenters." Accordingly, a complaint was
lodged with the magistrates, setting forth the facts above
stated, also, that the doctrines taught at " the Hall of
Science" wery contrary to those of the christian religion,
one of their principles being that man was not responsible
for his actions : and praying that Robert Owen and two
others might be summoned and required to take and sub-
scribe the oaths and declarations contained in the act, 19
Geo. 111., entitled " an act for the further relief of protes-
tant dissenting ministers and schoolmasters." The magis-
trates having ascertained that Mr. Kidd had just cause of
complaint, owing to the frequent distribution of socialist
tracts at the door of his church, granted summonses upon
this complaint, requiring Owen and his coadjutors to appear.
and take the prescribed oaths, .and make the declarations as
" protestant dissenter," the character they had taken upon
themselves.

The summonses were made returnable to-day, but only
one of the defendants appeared to support their newly-as-
sumed character. his name is Robert Buchanan; he has
delivered several lectures in the new " Hall" since its open-
ing on Whit-Sunday. The magistrates on the bench were
Mr. Maude and Mr. C.. 1. S. Walker. Mr. Bunting, soli-
citor, appeared in support, of the information; the defendant
was represented by Mr. Cobhett, solicitor. After the latter
gentleman had shewn cause why, the oaths should not be ten-
dered to the defendant, Mr. Maude overruled his objections,
and a long conversation then took place in consequence of
the defendant wishing to have some explanation of the mean-
ing attached to the words of the declaration, which the ma-
gistrates did not conceive it their duty to give. The defend-
ant at last said—l beg to say that lam willing to take any
oath to the civil power of the country, but as this is a ques-
tion of opinion which is sacred to every man, 1 must post-
pone making the declaration until further proceedings are
entered into.

Mr. MAUDE.—Then there are the oaths of supremacy and
abjuration ; but I don't know that there is any occasion to
tender them as you refuse the other.
Defendant.—l have no objection at all to take those oaths ;
I do not wish to:appear opposed to the constituted authori-
ties of the country.
The Clerk was about to administer. these oaths, when _

Mr.. BUNTING appealed to the magistrate, whether they
would, in the exercise of their discretion, tender these oaths
to a party who was the minister of a sect which did not be-
lieve in the sanctity of an oath.
Mr. MAUDE.—I can only just ask Mr. Buchanan this
question—whether he believes in a future state of rewards
and punishments. Of course I cannot ask any more.
Defendant.-1 do apt believe in it in the compon interpre-
tation that is given to it. I have my own interpretation,
which it would take some time to give; and, as this is not a
place for theological discussion—

Mr. MAUDE:—NO, it is not. I can only ask you, do you
believe in it or not?

Defendant.—l have no objection to take the oaths ; but
there are so many different opinions about a future state—

Mr. MAuuE.—We cannot go any further into theological
discussion. lam bound to give you the book, to tender a
certain declaration to you, and to.ask whether you believe in
an Almighty power, and whether you believe in a future state
of rewards and punishments ?
Defendant.—With respect to the first, I do believe in an
Almighty power ; but with respect to the second, I do not
believe in the doctrine of hell, as it is commonly taught by
the public.
Mr. MAIIDE.—You need not go into that. Do you be-
lieve that persons are punishable hereafter for what they have
committed contrary to the divine law?

Defendant.—l have reason to believe that virtue and bene-
volence will be rewarded ; but I do not believe in future
punishments, as--
Mr. MAUDE.—Then I cannot tender you the oath.—A
memorandum must be made of all this.
Defendant.—l do not refuse to take the oath ; and I con-
ceive that the oath is as binding upon me as upon any man
or woman in court.

Mr. MA.unt.-1 can only state to you what is the decision
on the subject of taking oaths. It has been declared again
and again, by the highest seat of judicature in this country,
that no oath shall be administered to a person who does not
believe in a future state of rewards and punishments. There-
fore, I cannot administer it to you.
The defendant was about to make another speech, but he
was stopped by Mr. Maude, who, after observing that he
should not have issued a requisition of this kind to the de-
fendant at the instance of a private individual, had not a case
of grievance against that individual been alleged, asked the
defendant if his refusal as to the declaration was positive.
The defendant said it was ; and that if brought there again,
he. hoped to have an opportunity of vindicating his character.
The parties then left the court, which had been crowded
to excess during the hearing, when the defendant avowed his
disbelief in a future state of punishment, a general murmur
of. disapprobation was excited, but no other interruption took
place.