The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-10-30 00:00:00

RAILWAY AFFAIRS.

Several railways have slightly advanced their fares—and
greatly reduced their receipts.
The South-Western Extension line to Godalming was
opened on Monday week.
The extension of the Aberdeen Railway to within
twelve miles of that town will take place to-day.
The number of persons employed upon railways
amounts to 240,865.
A reduction of some £lO,OOO or £12,000 will be effected
this half-year in the locomotive expenses of the southern
division of the London and Northwestern Railway.
NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.—The portion of this line
from Lancaster to Wennington, about twelve miles, will
be opened to-morrow.
A Scotch engineer has arrived at Lisbon from Liver-
pool, for the purpose of surveying the country between
that city and Elwas, and ascertaining what would be the
cost of a railway along that line to the Spanish frontier.
The amount of traffic for the last week, on 5089 miles
of railway, was £115,697 for the conveyance of passen-
gers only, £62,460 for the carriage of goods, and a
remainder of £52,943 for passengers and goods together,
not respectively apportioned ; being an increase of £8241
over the corresponding week of last year, when the mile-
age was £4407. The average earnings per mile were £46,
whilst last year they were £5O.
The men who effected the recent daring robbery of the
solicitors' parcels from the Great Western Railway have
been convicted. The Common Sergeant said that they
evidently thought that the parcels contained money. For
the lad, who had been instigated by his father, he should
order him to be imprisoned for six months : Hanbury,
who had aided in the offence, to seven years' transporta-
tion ; and the elder Barton, who was the prime mover in
the aflair, to fifteen years.
YORK, NEWCASTLE, AND BERWICK RAILWAY.—
At the extraordinary meeting of the shareholders, held
at York, on Thursday, (after a prolonged discussion) the
report of the committee of investigation was adopted,
with the exception of the paragraph recommending the
appointment of managing directors. This question was
deferred to the February meeting. Messrs. Leeman,
Leachman, Kipling, AV Laren, Flews, Hodgson, Wharton,
Love, Maude, and Wylie were elected directors ; and it
was resolved that a piece of plate, value 100 guineas,
should be presented to Mr. Prance, and each of the mem-
bers of the committee of investigation.
MR HUDSON AGAIN.—The fifth and concluding report
of the Committee of Investigation of the York, New-
castle, and Berwick Railway, just published, furnishes the
climax to the records of Mr. Hudson. It now appears
that, from the commencement of the company in 1844
down to Mr. Hudson's retirement, the accounts were
falsified regularly each half-year, until the total deception
amounted to £121,924—the system being to transfer
working charges to capital, to leave accounts unpaid, to
fabricate debts due to the company which had no exist-
ence, and, when all these were insufficient, to overstate
the traffic accounts. In this way, while the company at
the date of the last report which bore Mr. Hudson's
signature professed to have a reserve of £59,777, it had
divided £64,143 more than it had earned. The falsifica-
tion began with a sum of £3637, and was, of course,
extended as a gradual increase in capital without any cor-
responding increase in revenue rendering it necessary ,
and thus, by maintaininglargedividends,and tempting the
public to purchase, " Mr. Hudson was enabled to realise
increased profits by the sale of the shares which he took
from the company for his own benefit." In his private
communications to the officials, directing the traffic ac-
counts to be " amended" according to his wishes, Mr.
Hudson did not hesitate to state that it was " in order to
make things pleasant" before they were submitted to
" the auditors." In connexion with what is called the
Great North of England purchase account, it appears
that he appropriated for his own purposes £96,855, which
he refunded in March. _ . .

RAILWAY STORES.—The general specification just
issued of stores required by the London and North-
Western Railway Company for the year 1850, conveys a
very goad general notion of the vast amount of materials
required for working the traffic of this the most important
railway in the world. The " Specification" extends over
25 pages of foolscap. Under the head of " bags, baskets,
and ropes" we find, amongst fifty other things, that 1200
baskets are required, and 2729 bags, each to hold cwt.
of coke ; 85 cwt. of flax of the best kind, for packing
engine-glands, and 60 cwt. of spun-yarn. Of " brass
and brass-work" 352 cwt. of castings are required ; 144
gross of screws and 59 tons of locomotive tubes. 2298
brushes and 1000 dozen birch brooms. Of " copper"
89601 b. of bolts from ;, to 11 inch diameter, 12,2001 b. of

sheet of various thicknesses and dimensions, and 12,7681 b.
for 'fire-boxes I and I inch thick. In the " coach-trim-
mings, &c.," department 13,250 yards of canvas are
specified, 1040 yards of blue cloth, and 1460 yards of
lace. Of " coal" 18,104 tons are wanted. Of " cruci-
bles for moulding brass" 2539 are to be contracted for.
11.0,000 leaves of gold leaf are wanted. 35 tons of axle-
guards are to be tendered for, 50 tons of patent shaft bar
iron, 190 tons of fire or grate bar iron, 40-i tons of bolts,
13 tons of nuts, 102 tons of castings, 48 tons of Lowmoor
or Bowling iron, 100 cwt. of nails, 62 cwt of rivets, 6360
gross of screws, 1343 tons of Staffordshire iron, and 120
tons of Yorkshire iron. 31,652 gallons of patent olive
oil will have to be tendered for, 142 tons 15 cwt. of rape
oil, 4 tons 10 cwt. of raw linseed oil, 25 tons 9 cwt. of
boiled linseeed oil, 2350 gallons of southern, 28 tons of
palm oil, and 102 tons of tallow. Of " timber and wood
work" the company require tenders for 19,367 feet of
alder planks, 145 loads of beech planks, 10,000 feet of
baywood boards, and 91,000 feet of deal boards.
FALL OF RAILWAY ARCHES.—On Thursday, thirteen
of the arches forming part of the long viaduct, on which
the East Lancashire Railway extension is to be carried
into Preston, fell with a tremendous crash, this devasta-
tion being owing, in a great measure, to the heavy rains
which had continued for the three previous days. This
viaduct, when completed, will consist of fifty-two arches,
fifteen of which were completed, several others being in a
state of forwardness, and the piers of some twenty or
thirty more being erected. Foundations for the piers
were formed by driving piles into the ground, which is of
a very soft nature and liable to floods in rainy weather ;
above the piles a double planked flooring is placed, and
upon this the piers stand. This work has been conducted
with great despatch, and the piers and arches have sprung
into existence in a most rapid manner. The viaduct is
apportioned into three divisions, of seventeen arches each ;
each division being marked by a pier of dimensions
threefold greater than those forming the main portion of
the work, and it is in the centre division that the catas-
trophe occurred. The centres of the seventh arch in this
division (counting from Penwortham end of the viaduct)
had been removed on Tuesday, and the rain having
settled down amongst the mortar, and the cement not
having had sufficient time to harden, the arch gave way
at one o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and fell with a
crash to the ground. The consequence of this was, that
the next arches on each side also followed, although
those on the south side had still the framework in them,
but the immense weight of brickwork pressing against
the piers, which then had no lateral support, forced them
away with irresistible violence, and of the fifteen com-
pleted arches in the centre division of the viaduct, thir-
teen, including from the fifth to the seventeenth, were
speedily involved in the work of devastation. The fourth
.arch appeared to be much shaken, but, as soon as the
alarm occasioned by the accident had subsided, men were
employed in "shoring" it up, and we believe it is ex-
pected to be preserved. The last arch stood for about
ten minutes longer than the rest, but at last it also fell.
The destruction of the arches and piers is complete, all
the latter being so much shattered that they will have to
be taken down. Of one pier there is not more than a
couple of feet in height left standing, and several others
form not inapt resemblances of the leaning tower of Pisa,
being many feet out of perpendicular. Four of the
arches were asphalted on the surface to keep out the wet,
but the composition had not yet been applied to the one
where the mischief commenced. The bases of a consi-
derable number of the piers of the viaduct were, on
Thursday, under water, the Ribble having overflown its
banks and inundated the low grounds over which the
viaduct passes. The mass of brickwork composing each
arch would be about ninety tons weight, so that some
idea may be formed of the crash which would be caused
by the almost simultaneous fall of eleven hundred and
seventy tons of bricks. The noise was heard by the resi-
dentson the Cliff, Ribblesdale-place, Avenham-colonnade,
Bushel-place, and the adjacent houses. No person was
in the least degree personally injured. The damage done
will amount to about £7OO, exclusive of materials, and
the works will be delayed for about a month. The con-
tractor for the extension line is Mr. M'Cormick, and the
sub-contractors who have undertaken the erection of the
Ribble viaduct are Messrs. Bridgewater and Crowther.

CORRESPONDENCE.

RAILWAY PROPRIETORS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sir,—The extraordinary depression which railway pro-
perty is labouring under at present calls for energetic
measures on the part of shareholders to put their shoul-
ders to the wheel to restore public confidence. Share-
holders must take their affairs more into their own
hands, and not trust to the non-exertions and mismanage-
ment of their directors, who have no sympathy in common
with the great body of proprietors. See the ruinous
policy which is now being pursued by the London and
North Western, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and East
Lancashire Companies in their contest with the canals.
The latter's working expenses can be reduced if their
traffic falls off during their competition ; but it is not so
with the railways, for, if their traffic falls short, their
expenses are increased. If, however, the traffic increases,
it is still worse for them. The working expenses increase
in a much greater ratio, and the loss entailed upon every
additional ton of goods which they may carry is frightful
to contemplate. It is notorious that the above compa-
nies have carried a greater quantity of goods than before
their contest with the canals ; and what is the conse-
quence ?—a failing traffic, increased expenses, and a
serious loss upon the carriage of every ton of goods, Yet
the directors are quite indifferent so that they can con-
tinue the contest, while they have their hundreds of
thousands to dispose of, to the ruin of unfortunate
shareholders—as they (the directors) can always protect
themselves by " bearing" the market previous to theirhalf-
yearly reports (if unfavourable) being made public. Such
is said to have been the case in one of the great Lan-
cashire lines recently, in consequence of a reduced divi-
dend being declared. There are, no doubt, many
honourable men among the directors, who are above
taking advantage of their position ; but, unfortunately,
there are too many desirous of being in the directory for
some personal object. It is said to be the intention of
these companies to apply to parliament for new powers
to increase their rates : before they do so, let them obtain
those rates which they have authority to do, and not carry
for 500 per cent. less.
I remain. Sir,
Unfortunately,
A RAILWAY PROPRIETOR.

LO AN SOCIETIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—My daily avocations have often afforded me an
opportunity of observing the doings of various loan
societies, and when I contemplate the distress and ruin
in which many borrowers and sureties have been involved,
arising from their connection with these societies, I am
most anxious, publicly, to warn others, lest they also
should, unwittingly, fall into the same state of distress,
and that sooner than they are aware. The rate of interest
paid is ruinous enough, but when once default is made in
payment of an instalment, the downward course has com-
menced, which too often terminates in a sale by auction
and the Insolvent Court.
But the Law Times, of last week, has so ably handled
the subject, that I shall consider my warning complete if
you will kindly find room for the following quotation
from that able work. Yours, &c.,
A LIVERPOOL ATTORNEY.

Liverpool, October 6, 1849.
" A loan society, as it is termed, is concocted between
a Jew money-lender, and a Jew attorney, (often the same
nerson being both lender and attorney,) and a gin-palace
keeper, or keeper of a beer-shop or public-h')use. Hence
it is that one sees in almost every public-house window a
notification of moneys to lend, or of some loan society
with a very fine name, which holds its meetings there.
The innkeeper provides victims, the money-lender cash,
and the attorney law, and they divide the spoil.
" When a small tradesman, or a man in a good situation,
who has been driven to temporary distress by illness or
accident, is in want of ready money, he is tempted by the
announcement of money to lend ; he goes into the public-
house to inquire the terms, and he is made to wait awhile,
or kept long in conversation, under pretence of inquiries,
during which he must, of course, drink somethinz, and
he is at last dismissed with half promises, provided certain
requirements are performed. The negociation is ingeni-
ously protracted as long as possible, becay.se at each call
there is more drink. .

" When, by their emissaries, the conspirators have
satisfied themselves that the borrower and his sureties are
safe men,—that is to say, men who are in good employ,
men who have household effects (and the art with which
they ascertain this is astonishing),—the proposed loan is
completed. But upon what terms ?
" Say it is for £lO. He is first charged for preparing
the promissory note 5s ; then is for a copy of the rules .'
then a fine of lOs for the loan ; then a treat to all the
parties at the public-house, which costs him lOs more.
The terms of repayment are usually by instalments of so
much per month, but the full interest for the whole sum
for the whole period is exacted, and this, as well as the
first month's instalment, is deducted before the cash is
handed to him. Hence, out of the £lO expected loan,
the borrower does not receive much more than about
lOs ; so that, if he is punctual in his payments, he will
have paid just 25 per cent. for the loan."

THE NATIONAL CONFEDERATION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,-Simply to tell a man he is a libeller, will not be
sufficient to prove him one, or to tell him that " he does
not speak a word of truth," in a particular statement,
will not be a likely mode of convincing him that he is
wrong, or leave a very favourable impression on his mind
as to the veracity of the man who thus vulgarly and con-
temptibly could arraign his probity. But the secretary—
the hired secretary—of " the confederation " evidently
considers such a sufficient answer to the deliberate charge
of the editor of a highly respectable local paper! Of all
men, paid servants are the least justified, in their paid
capacity, in violating the ordinary civility of society, or in
withholding, by the free use of ungentlemanly language,
the courtesy which is invariably rendered to the conductors
of the British press ! But when the statement he con-
tradicts is known to be a fact, Mr. Callis coming forward
as the vindicator of that society and at the same time
granting the truth of that charge,—political bias in the
selection of the St. Peter's ward candidate ; who can guess
the motive for the secretary coming forward with a blunt
denial unsupported by the least evidence, although Mr.
Callis's confession is confirmed by the relation of con-
♦emporaneous circumstances, and he is out of the reach
of unworthy motives or personal interest. Mr. Mac-
donald may have done it " by order," but if not he is
much more zealous than discreet. His letter I look upon
as a piece of unwarrantable discourtesy and Muir, not to
yo i alone, sir, but to the readers of your paper.
The impartiality of the Confederation is not to be im-

peached, although they offer us such, men as Mr. Ferni-
hough, Mr. Chalmers, and Mr. Bigham ! for such wards
as St. Peter's, Everton, and Scotland, in whom we are to
bury our differenCes, and in deference to whom we are to
forego our conscientious scruples ; this, at all events, is a
clencher ! What are Mr. Fernihough's views of Sunday
Post-office labour ? Mr. Chalmers's views on scriptural
education ? Mr. Bigham's views on the Church of Eng-
land and Church rates ? These are abiding questions of
principle and policy ; the water is but the question of a
day ? We will not sacrifice three years' representation on
these most important matters, and would much rather pay
the penalty of the Pike scheme than give an importance
to the entrance and strongly expressed political views of
such men as these. Mr. Bigham's would look very im-
posing, no doubt; rising at the next annual vestry meet-
ing, as a member of the Town Council, to oppose the
Church rate. Very nice men these are to be brought for-
ward as the nominees of an impartial election committee.
The farce is being well played, the characters are admi-
rably selected, the contrasts are sublime and picturesque,
the curtain may be suspended a little longer, but there
will be soon a sudden and a tragic close ! But whatever
you do, question not the motives of the managers, but
abuse the players as you please. This is the secretary's
bulletin ; act on it as far only as you see fit and proper, in
the discharge of your duties to the inhabitants of Liver-
pool. Where criticism is needed it must not be withheld ;
when the public is attempted to be imposed upon, and the
imposition is defended in such a spirit as that which this
secretary has manifested, it becomes imperative on every
one who respects the dignity of the press to speak out un-
mistakably their honest opinions of such disreputable
conduct., Some persons flatter themselves that they can
go with the Confederation " thus far and no further," but
such should not forget that whatever increases the in-
fluence of a body in one thing, must do so in all, and so
the evil they wish to avert, they may be the very means of
precipitating and ensuring.—l am, sir, yours, &c.,
AN ENGLISHMAN.

THE SABBATH-THE POST-OFFICE-DR.
M`NEILE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING HERALD.

SIR,—T am not surprised at the inaccuracy of the report
of what I said on Tuesday, which appeared in the Li-
verpool paper of next day, and afterwards in your paper.
I do not address you now to complain of the inaccuracy,
but to correct it in one point which I feel to be of conse-
quence. The speaker who preceded me, mentioned argu-
ments he bad heard, and a long letter he had seen, dis-
puting the scriptural authority of the Sabbath, and con-
signing it, with other Jewish peculiarities, to a by-gone
age • and he expressed a hope that some clerical friend
would address himself to that branch of the subject.
In doing this, I distinguished between the moral obli-
gation of the Sabbath as an original institution, and the
Jewish accompaniments which had been for a time, and
for a temporary purpose, associated with it. Its moral
obligation arose from the act of the Creator himself, in
the creation of this our world. In himself He is inde-
pendent of all considerations of time; but creatures can-
not be so ; and his dealings with creatures do of necessity
so far partake of the nature of the creatures as to mark
succession, and observe times and seasons. For our sakes,
not his own, He chose to speak our creation into exist-
ence in six times, and to describe himself as resting the
seventh Time. This is the basis of the moral obligation of
the Sabbath rest, and on this the Patriarchs acted long
antecedent to any Judaism.
When Judaism was instituted, the Sabbath rest, with
certain ceremonial accompaniments, was given to the Jews
as a sign between them and God, whether they would
obey him. Those accompaniments formed part of a yoke
which they were unable to bear. When Judaism was
abolished, so were those ceremonial accompaniments, or
encumbrances, which had been connected with the Sab-
bath ; and the moral obligation, divested of the yoke of
ceremonies, remained as in patriarchal days. It was at
the removal of the Jewish addition to the Sabbath that
our Lord and his apostles aimed, in what they did and
said upon the subject, and not at all at the removal of the
original obligation on every intelligent creature arising
out of the revealed history of the creation.
Our observance of it now is not a Jewish yoke, but a
Patriarchal privilege, and as many as so observe it are
blessed with faithful Abraham. It is Christian liberty we
claim on that holy day, and not Jewish or secular bon-
dage. It is to rest from our labours, as God did from his,
and to enjoy the happy and elevating foretaste of that
better rest which remaineth for the people of God.
As to the special proposal of the government in the
matter of the Post-office, so fas as I understand it, I be-
lieve that, supposing everything else connected with the
Sabbath to remain unchanged, it would in a small degree
diminish Sabbath labour in the country ; but I feel as-
sured that if it be introduced, and no effort made to go
farther back, the effect will soon, and inevitably, be to go
farther forward.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
Liverpool, Oct. 26, 1842. HUGH M`NEILE.

THE SEE OF LLANDAFF & WELSH BISHOPS.