The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-15 00:00:00

al and confirmation of the reso-lutio

the chairman, upon which the associate..,
Mr. PYEFIELD seconded the resolution, - expr.-
the satisfaction he felt at finding that the association meant
to appeal to the public. It must not, however, be forgotten
that many of the employers had conceded as much as they
could with safety to their interests, considering the great
competition there was in all branches of business. If the
public, indeed, could be brought on the side of the assistants,
he was satisfied that the majority, if not all, the employers
would make the concession, and he was happy to see the
efforts of the association directed to that end.
The resolution was then put and carried.
Mr. DYER moved the next resolution.
sirable that a curtailment of the hours of business
take place, and observed that the education which the assist.
ants already possessed, was in fact lost to them, when the
extension of knowledge was the chief feature of the age. He
concluded by calling upon the ministers of religion, the me-
dical man, the philanthropist, the philosopher, and upon all
classes of society, to support the efforts of the 'assistants of
Liverpool in this cause. He begged to move—
" That regulations framed in times when ec.
condemned as a curse to the poorer classes, are unfitted fos
the present enlightened age ; that while other classes of the
community have advanced in mental culture, the assistants
',ave stood still ; that leisure only that ha'

has been founde,i
ITO

It was very de-
hould

ducation was

it is the want of
brought them to this degraded position
Providence are frustrated by regulatio___
the cultivation of the mind ; and that the loftiest considera-
tions of duty, therefore, impel the assistants to seek an
amendment of those regulations."

that the desigt

Mr. W. B. JONES,seconding the resolution, remarked
that all practical men allowed the justice of the assistants'
claims. He mentioned an instance of a young man, in his
own business, who, owing to the lengthened hours of '
joined to his own strong taste for study, died at the I.
ture age of 22. From these circumstances Mr.
founded a very neat and satisfactory argument in favour or

labour,

the resolution
Mr t'

DWARD M. PILCHER announced himself as a shop-
keeper, but as a friend to the cause of the association. Al-
though the Botanic Gardens were opened twice a week, be
should like to know what assistants had had the pleasure
of going there at all this summer. (Hear.) A committee
had been formed of the council for the purpose of making
public parks for the recreation of the inhabitants ; but who
were to enjoy them ? The shop-keeper'slhours of business
were to eight o'clock at night, and after that there was no
time. He, himself, had never been able, in consequence, to
visit the Botanic Gardens, as his shop was in Ranelagh-street,
and some of his own trade would not agree to close until
nine &deck. Now, if the Tradesmens' Association would
only petition the Corporation " that they should have
the privilege of going to those parks, and those gardens,
something, he hoped, would be obtained for them. Allusion
had been made to mechanics. He had himself, the other
day, whilst at one of the graving docks, in which a vessel
was ready to come in, heard a mechanic say that he would
not work any more that afternoon, but take out his wife and
family for a walk. No assistant could do that ; he had ne-
ver had an opportunity of doing it himself. He understood
that in Chester the shops closed at six o'clock, and in Man
chester at seven ; and he did not see why that meetin
should have longer hours than they at Manchester or Chester
A TRADESMAN, although he approved of the idea of pe
titioniug the corporation, t -
use, except individ

,ughtibat body could be orno

of the toc:i

'ally and collectively
zeneral. The sneaker the

bopkeer

the principal topics
..... _ ••

:ention of t

suggesting that one cause of the shops remaining open so
late, especially on Saturday nights was, that employers fre-
quently did not pay their workmen till late on Saturday
night. He trusted the plan would be adopted of paying
them on Friday night, by which means they would be able
to supply all their wants early on Saturday, and so render
the late attendance of the assistants unnecessary, and so
prepare them for doing their duty on Sunday. The speaker
concluded by stating that the speeches of that evening had
shown what they could do, if they had greater opportunities
,provement.—The resolution was then put and carried.
The CHAIRMAN then said, that before dissolving the
meeting, he would make one or two remarks. The first of
them was very important. He had said that the assistants
could not hope all at once to leap from a very bad into a very
good regulation ; but they expected that it was practicable.
Among their schemes one of the most cherished of all was,
that they should be enabled to establish a regulation that their
hours of business should not be longer in summer than the
- If they went through this wins--
they could pro-

were in winte
hours they stood no

er upon tile
tire an amendment of

the rule so far that as summer came in they should be allowed
the privilege of walking abroad while the sun shone, and not
be made to work longer because the sun did not set till later.
It only required to be represented to the employers that such
a thing was fair, and it would be granted. That was the first
step they hoped to attain. The Chairman concluded by call-
ing upon those present to join the association.
The thanks of the meeting were then voted to the Chair-
man. The meeting separated soon after ten o'clock.

THE ROCK HARMONICON.
We were yesterday favoured with a sight and hearing of a
most extraordinary musical instrument, bearing the above
title. It is to be seen at No. 15, 80ld-street ; and we most
cordially recommend our readers to pay Mr. Richardson,
the inventor, a visit. Several eminent musical men in Li-
verpool have already heard it, and all declare it to be the

at. SA/ VG URI
most singular invention they have ever met with, not only
from the novelty and singularity of its construction, but also
for the strange and wild quality of its tones. The following
able description, from the Cumberland Pacquet, will give
the reader an idea of it :

" The history of the invention of this instrument is interest-
ing : it shows how much may be effected by a combination of
ingenuity, industry perseverance, and skill_ Nr,•

the inventor, is i plain, honest, industrious,
country man, not refined by education, but possess,.
musical talent,, and a considerable share of discrimination
and judgment. He is a mason by trade, a native of Crosth-
waite, near the town of Keswick, where his wife, and part
of his family still reside. Mr. Richardson was in the daily
habit of working at the rocks among the mountains, and in
pursuing his avocations experience taught him that almost
every variety of sound might be extracted from the rude
materials which he hourly met with in the course of his
lab-.urs. Being convinced that even the fragments of rock
uncoutl

unassuming
d if

_a as they seemed, might be collected and so judiciously
arranged as to form a musical instrument of surpassing
power and sweetness, Mr. Richardson was induced to com-
mence those labours which bid fair to hand his name down
to posterity.

" In the year 1827, the inventor of the Rock Harmonicon
was employed in building a house at Thornthwaite, and
afterwards at Braithwaite, in the neighbourhood of Keswick,
and he then, for the first time, began to collect the stones of
which the Rock Harmonicon was intended to be composed.
The stones which he first collected, however, did not answer
his purpose, and thus, at the very commencement of his
undertaking a large portion of time and labour was necessarily
lost. This would have almost been sufficient to have dispirited
an ordinary mind ; but it only served to increase Mr. Richard-
son's efforts, and to convince him that with industry and
perseverance success yet laid within his reach. Having dis-
covered that the stones best calculated for his pvlrpose were
only to be met with amongst the rocks on the breast of the
mighty Skiddaw, he began to explore the mountain in search
of the musical treasures which it contained. The inventor
bore these stones from the mountain to a considerable dis-
tance home upon his back ; he had afterwards to reduce many
of them, to shape them, and to'try their varied tones, before
he could pronounce a favourable opinion on their merits.
This was a work of immense labour and time, and required
much determination, industry, labour, and perseverance for
its accomplishment, and after many hard day's labour in the
mountains, Mr. Richardson denied himself the repose which
exhausted nature required, and spent whole nights, after his
family had retired to rest, in hammering the rude materials
of which the instrument is composed, and in selecting and
arranging them, ere he brought to its present state the sweet-
toned instrument which cost him thirteen years of unwearied
labour and perseverance, under circumstances such as few
minds, not possessed of uncommon fortitude, could have

" In the execution of his ardut

is task the artist (for he well
lany difficulties of a private
of eight children de
pport ; but what can
ace, united in
Richardson,

pendant upon his daily h
oppose the progress of ing

the accomplishment of a favourite object
amid every obstacle, kept steady to his purpose,
course of time he produced the rude but surprisini
merit, which has gratified and won the admiration of all who
have listened to its astonishing powers, and certain we arc,
that the more it becomes known the more generally will it
become admired. Mr. Richardson's modesty would not
allow him to flatter himself that his labours and ingenuity
had produced an object worthy of public notice, and the in-
strument, as far as his views went, was doomed to obscurity.
Having got a frame made and the fragments of rock arranged
in musical order, and to his own taste, the inventor set
about teaching his sons to perform upon it, which they do
with small wooden mallets, with great taste, and with scien-
tific skill and dexterity.

" After having bestowed upon the Harmonicon thirteen
years of labour and attention, Mr. Richardson began to allow
his neighbours, and others who chose to favour him with a
call, to inspect the instrument, and to listen to its musical
powers. No scientific person—no musician or any person
of taste or judgment, whose opinion was at all calculated to
enhance the object of his labours in his estimation, however,
had yet pronounced any flattering encomium upon Mr.
Richardson's handiwork, and the sole use of the Rock Har-
monicon was so far merely to teach his sons the performance
of music, and to sweeten the hours of relaxation from severe
labour by listening to its enchanting and animating tones.
At length, however, the Harmonicon began to acquire some-
thing like local fame, and visitors, more numerous and more
distinguished, found their way to Mr. Richardson's abode.
" The softest notes of the " lacivious lute," the sweetest
tones of the piano, the shrillest sounds of the " ear
fife," and the loudest and most sonorous peals of ti ,„
can be sent forth with a rapidity which produces the most
ravishing sensations, and fills the mind of the listener and
beholder with delight, astonishment, and wonder. It ex-
tends to a compass of nearly six octaves, accompanied with
all the additional semitones. Thd Rock Harmonican is in
fact an orchestra of itself ; the softest or the loudest tones of
any instrument may be effectually excelled, or imitated with
extraordinary resemblance.
" The invention of this wonderful instrument forms a new
era in the annals of harmony, and though it has been ushered
in to public notice in a rude and unpolished form, and conse-
quently possesses little that can attract the eye, its delightful
tones make ample compensation to the ear, The success of
the invention, however, is complete ; Mr. Rischardson has
established a claim to merit beyond dispute ; and though
the instrument may in future undergo much improvement,
both with respect to its appearance and its musical capabili•
ties, the musical world is indebted to the inventor for a most
novel and surprising instrument, possessed of rich, sweet
and animating tones, and of almost unrivalled power