The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-10 00:00:00

Etbcrpoot 'tanbarb.

FROM OUR.LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

MONDAY MORNING.

LONDON has been described a thousand different times—
a thousand different ways, at a thousand different periods—
night and day—winter and summer, by a thousand dif-
ferent writers. CHARLES LAMB and LEIGH HUNT—
arcades ambo—delicious writers—have tried their elegant
plumes on the subject, late at night especially, and early
in the morning. Miss LANDON also, L. E. L., equally
graphic. She has given a fine CANALEzri-like picture
of the metropolis at day-break, taken from Waterloo
Bridge. The Syren, perhaps, had made the sketch re-
turning on an orient morning from Vauxhall. The snow
and slush-nipping, corner-cutting wind in the streets, and
the huge bedsteads of ice, floating on the river, choking
it up, playing havoc with the toy-like paddle wheels of
the threepenny steamers, until they were all laid up—not
in " ordinary"—these and other details of the past week's
London might have furnished subjects for the 'dreamers"
above-named. To " our own correspondent," as Lord
PA LMERSTON uniformly characterises all newspaper
folks—these cold details were so many impediments in
his pursuit of useful knowledge. Everything has been
frozen-out, as the gardeners say, for the greater portion
of the week, nor 'bus nor cab could be got; those that
ran, of the former had four horses to enable the vehicle
to plough through a couple of feet of hard bak'd snow—
to the disgrace of the city authorities, though hundreds
of sturdy men men were willing to remove it—allowed to
remain till Saturday. Fares were doubled, of course. As
cabby's fare is fixed by FITZROY, cabby could not come
that dodge with impunity ; but he had a more cunning
one, and one that I suppose must have answered his
purpose. In the morning he hied him to the office of
Inland Revenue, paid his one shilling and ninepence, got
a licence for the day, and presto his cab was metamor-
phosed into a " glass coach." Hail him, he looked at the
fare askance; if he thought it would do, negotiations were
entered into, and cabby charged his own price. True, he
could not get on the stand, neither could he " creep" for
a fare ; he got over those seeming difficulties, however,
and a good fare at starting soon liquidated the amount of
the " glass coach" license, leaving him full play on the
same plan all the remainder of the day. It repaired some
management, but the thing was done. I have myself, I
frankly declare, a leaning to these same sons of JEHU !
Their lot is hard and cold, and neither master nor man
has much mercy shown. The masters of the London
omnibuses, for example, from a variety of causes—incle-
ment weather, high price of oats and hay—have just
memorialised the Commissioners of the Inland Revenue,
to give them a little time to pay the heavy mileage
duties due—three times heavier than the mileage on
railways —the commissioners said,—" No," plump
pay or mind your plates—credit is frequently given
by government for the hop duties ; in the case of the
'bus proprietors it has been refused.
If there be anythingmore despicable than another,surely
it must be a cheese-pairing policy in our great public
establishments, especially when attended with detriment
to the public service. It is not my intention to weary by
quoting many such examples. I shall merely take the
liberty of referring to a couple in the same establishment
—the Post-office. Everyone aware of what is going on in
this busy metropolis, knows that the business at the Post-
office at St. Martin's-le-Grand has nearly quadrupled itself
within the last few years ;—the increasing transit by the
overland mail ; the increasing commerce with America ;
and above all, perhaps, just at this period, our Australian
connexions, account for this, without entering upon more
minute details. Well, the clerks at the Post-office have
been well nigh worked to death. Auxiliaries were taken
on, both indoors and outside ; notwithstanding, great and
frequent irregularities occurred; the excuse always
courteously expressed—was either a heavy India mail, or
ship letters from Australia. The mercantile interest, not
easily provoked, took this in good part, as it does now
take it. It is said that one additional thousand pounds
a year would have done well to remedy every incon-
venience ; and two others now to be noticed; and I gladly
do so, forasmuch as no one appears willing to " bell the
cat." I will not hesitate to say that since the institution
of postal arrangements in this great country, never was
there a more judicious and convenient plan pursued than
that which the POSTMASTER-GENERAL has recently abro-
gated, because of an almost infinitesimal saving of pounds,
shillings and pence. Unless letters are posted in two
places within the great radius of the metropolis on Sunday
evening or Moriday morning, they must wait for despatch
until the evening's mail. When Lord DERBY held the
reins, every Post-office throughout the metropolis had its
box opened for the reception of letters, not necessarily for
the attendance of anyone behind, until an hour before the
"sorting." ," No !" says the coalition POSTMASTER-
GENERAL, "what care I for the public? let them trudge
half-a-dozen miles with a late Sunday evening or early
Monday morning letter, if they want it delivered before
Tuesday. By shutting all the boxes, save those in St.
Martin's-le-Grand and Charing-cross, I save hands and
feet, and my postmen are fresh for the always heavy Lon-
don work of Monday." There is nothing of sorrow or
misery in this. Let me take the reader down to that pes-
tiferous abode, where I have seen genius and learning,
coupled with honesty and misfortune dire, incarcerated,—
cribb'd, cabin'd, and confined—that horrid abode—White-
cross-street Prison, where, all huddled together, are to be
found men, and women too for the matter of that, of
nearly all characters, virtuous and vicious, hand-in-glove,
high born, low born, gentle and simple, vulgar, very, and re-
fined,educated, and ignorant—a military captain halving an
onion with a puny creature of a tailor, in because he won't
pay forty shillings he justly owes ! These people are all
straggling to get out. They try hard ; write many letters,
in order and accessory to their release ; they used to drop
their letters into the prison box ; sure of safe delivery, as
those in bags of Lords or Commons ! A great conveni-
ence to these sons of " motley" was that same letter-box ;
welcome too was " Walker" when he made his appearance.
This was too good to last ; down comes the POSTMASTER'S
ukase —" Close Whitecross-street prison letter-box —let
them send messengers to St. Martin's-le-grand or else-
where ; I will save the government full fifty pounds a-year
by the dodge." These poor prisoners are often compelled
to borrow a half sheet of paper to write their letters on.
How are they to pay a messenger to carry it out of doors
to be posted ? I cannot tell. Go across the water to
Queen's Bench Prison there you shall find it worse and
worse. Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt ! Delusion !
I will tell you the tale of many a poor shivering debtor,
that, instead of abolition, pains and penalties have been
super-added. The debtor now is treated in these prisons,
in some regards, as bad as a felon ; true, the former hai
neither crank-labour nor treadmill; but he is deprived
of many comforts, the absence of which used not to be
" so in the bond," and last though not least, he is denuded
of his little post-office. The prisoners feel it severely.
The holidays have been rather sparing at all the public
offices this same new year, 1854. The reason was made
apparent the other day by the appearance of the quarterly
revenue accounts, referred to in my last communication.
Perhaps the Board of Trade, prestcled over by your erst
representative, the Right Honourable EDWARD CARD-
WELL, was an exception to the rule. At that establish-
ment there were one or two holidays bestowed on one or
two of the functionaries, the head being of course included.
Mr. CARDWELL embraced the opportunity of joining Mr.
LANGSTONE in a friendly trip to meet their joint consti-
tuencies of the famous city of Oxford. I have heard poli-
tical speeches made in droll places ; ministers of the Crown
speak in droll places, and before droll audiences—some-
times teazing ones. We all remember how the Tiverton
butcher teazed the Tiverton M.P., PALMY, not long ago;
but I think, of all the droll places for a minister of the
Crown, at this particular juncture, to speak of affairs of
state, war in the East, war in the North, Russia, Turkey,
Asia, &c., the speech of your ci-devant Mr. CARDWELL,
before the honest acorn-crowned Druids of Oxford city,
was the most notable. " Druids, Tummus,what is Druids ?"
Well might Plush, of the Board of Trade, in that great
dome chair of his, inquire of his fellow-Jeames. Plush
had, doubtless, some latent reminiscence of hearing, or
rather seeing, Norma, hence his abnormal inquiry. (Oh !)
Mr. CARDWELL is a Druid—he may be a Freemason ; but,
being a Druid, he met the fraternity of Oxford, and held
forth, as I have said, before that respectable, though some-
what humble community. The Druids are scattered all
over England ; they count many, many thousands in their
various localities ; they meet for social and better pur-
poses one evening a-week ; pay, on making a primitive
sign at the door, a sum not less than twopence, this
' goes to the good ;" seated, the Druid has his "pipe and
baccy" and other creature—it may be more elegant—com-
forts. The Grand Arch, if present, presides; if not, a
P.G.A. takes his place, clad in vestments of snowy white,
and wearing a chaplet of oak leaves, (ivy ?) having the
golden sickle and other emblems by his side. The evening
is passed in the greatest harmony. At the close of the
proceedings, generally at midnight, the company join in
a species of chant, or chorus, wishing good night to all,—
and especially in regard to the next meeting. For the
most part the music is well executed, the verses in
the Metropolitan Grand Lodge being nicely set to the
aria in Tancredi "Di tanti palpiti," finely arranged.
The twopences already referred to are devoted, in the
aggregate, to acts of charity towards poorer Druids or
their widows who need relief. In short, Mr. CARDWELL'S
Druidical hearers are only one step below the Freemasons.
Both brotherhoods point the same way—to charity and
social enjoyment. Such was Mr. CARDWELL'S audience
at Oxford—fit, but by no means few. Some of his col- I
leagues in the government may be of opinion that the
right honourable gentleman might have confined himself
to the mystic rites of the community. But he did not.
It has been said of a much abused gentleman in black,
that he can quote scripture to suit his purpose ; the right
honourable President of the Board of Trade can also do a
little in this way; for surely SHARSPERE may justify the
combination. Mr. CARDWELL, after vapouring about
our proud privileges public opinion—governing principles
—measures passed, and to be passed, for equalizing bur-
dens, mitigating
pressure, stimulating industry, pro-
moting trade, tending to diffuse prosperity—conciliating
loyal affections—exports—imports—a people not com-
plaining—national wealth— master manufacturers in-
creased prosperity among the working classes—and I
know not what besides I have noted on my thumb-nail—
referred to our foreign affairs, and made the Oxford Druids
cheer to the echo which did cheer again, by quoting old
Polonius—(another ill-used gentleman, I think, for he
ought not to have been stuck behind the arras !) "Be-
ware of entrance to a quarrel :" this was a " perceptible
hit," almost ; the next was more palatable, though I
don't think the right honourable gentleman quoted. the
immortal WILLIAM quite correct. I shall give it so, but
being in the quarrel -

"Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee."
Mr. CARDWELL knows—and if he were out of office he
would avow it—that we have been in the quarrel any day
the last six months. Are we not bound by international
treaty to support and defend our ancient (and weaker)
ally the Turk ? I:%fr. CARDWRLL, you know we are. Has
your pie-bald cabinet, now moribund, done so ?No ; you