The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-01-05 00:00:00

THE STANDARD AT THREEPENCE

troduction of the habits of self dependence amongst
, the peasantry, and better cultivation of the soil by
the farming classes, we have the strange spectacle
of a people, just snatched by the public bounty
from the consequences of a failing harvest, deserting
the land altogether, putting down no seed for fu-
ture crops, and thus preparing for a famine next
year even more disastrous than the present.
The article from which we have quoted bears
every indication about it of being a feeler put forth
from some influential portion of the Conservative
party; and may probably afford some clue to the
course to be pursued in the approaching session.
We shall make no apology therefore for stating in
substance the policy which it recommends, and
giving another brief extract. The Government is
recommended to abandon altogether its present
scheme of employing the poor under its own su-
perintendence, and to extend its aid for the pro-
motion of useful works, and the employment of
and , the people by the landlords themselves, the same
• /e u 6
security being taken for repayment. The writer,
web,,
in addition, insists upon first endeavouring to re-
at the opening of the Parliamentary store the country to a state of tranquillity, by the
to introduce several new and valuable
Passing of an arms' bill, a real and efficient coer-
,ures in the columns of the STANDARD ; and
cion act, and the suppression of the Repeal sedition.
that we may not be oul-done by any of our con-
He deprecates, also, the continued existence of the
temporaries, the most liberal arrangements are evident influence which O'Connell possesses over
being made. For the gratification of those rea-
the Irish Government. The crowning remedy,
ders, whom the dry details of politics, or party however, he finds in a " rational and effective
warfare delight not, we are likewise preparing a poor law, formed not on abstra. ct theories, but
store of amusement, which we trust will be received on a conscientious consideratimi of the corn-
with favor. To the family circle generally, we plicated circumstances of the country, and the very
Peculiar character of the people—real and unde-
to admit into our columns a line at which the destitution pledge ourselves that nothing shall ever induce us
served destr • tion must be relieved, but the most
jea care must be exercised that u charit
cheek of virtue can blush, or from which the right-
wdoeslous not become a bounty up
struction. on idlenepss blic,
and, what
minded searcher after truth may not derive in-is certain to be the consequence of any such im-
providence, an extensive confiscation of property."
The writer thus points out his views of the par-
ties, by whose aid these measures can be carried

At the commencement of a New Year we appear be-
fore our kind friends—the public—somewhat al-
tered in our outward face, but in heart the same
as of old,—full of gratitude for past favors, and
of good wishes for both friends and foes. Our
publication, of this day, appears set in a complete
suit of new type; and from this fact alone, our
friends will, we doubt not, give us the credit of
acknowledging that, although we bear upon our

imprint,

THE

LIVERPOOL STANDARD,
PRICE THREEPENCE,

we are not about to attempt making up for the re-
duction in our price by parsimonious management.
Of the quality of matter in our present number it
becomes not us to speak. We have already stated
it to be our wish that the talent and energy em-
ployed upon the journal shall not be deteriorated ;
we trust that it shall even be improved to
enable us to meet the competition to which we are

now exposed

To our Advertising Friends we must first return
thanks for their past kind patronage. The
STANDARD has, since the alteration in its price,
out
CONSIDERABLY MORE THAN DOUBLED ITS it The Lord Lieutenant's submission to Mr. O'Connell'_
CIRCULATION, and is now becoming, as regards being ' viceroy over him,' with his known deference to
the number, what it has long been as regards the other less avowable influences, and Mr. Labouchere's most
respectability of its readers—DECIDEDLY unfortunate commentary on the expiration of the Arms
THE BEST ADVERTISING MEDIUM IN Act, have deprived them, it is said, of that respect and
LIVERPOOL. confidence which would be necessary to conduct the Go-
vernment of Ireland in much less critical circumstances.
For our own parts, we have no distrust of the men, and
complain only of the measures into which they have been
or may be seduced or forced by the anti-English conspi-
There is too much personal animosity displayed in the letter racy, whose influences their masters in Downing-street
of "S." to allow its appearance in our columns. seem to obey.
"An Inhabitant of Upper Parliament-street" desires us to
draw the attention of the authorities to the. ~ ...7-
shameful con- w e trust we have said nothing
that can aggravate the
dition of that street. Our correspondent says he cannot
`Ye
mischief. We trust the Tories will be the first to hail
to his own door without wading ancle-deep in mud. Ye any good symptoms in the Government. It is the natural
hope to receive fewer similar complaints under the present policy and inclination of that party to support the Crown
management of the highways, in all that is proper, and indeed in all that is even toler-
" One who has Whistled at the Plough " should never write on able ; and this inclination becomes a duty when, on the
both sides of the paper. Lord John Russell has not courage
one hand, there are great national interests at stake, and
enough to take the step recommended by. our correspondent.
With an already deficient revenue, he is fearful of makii?g, when, on the other, the only alternative of the existing
any movement which could by possibility further decrease it. ministry seems to be the refuse of the last. We humbly
"A Constant Subscriber" is very sanguine, but we are at a trust that the Conservative leaders will feel as we do, that
loss how to advise him. the first and pressing object is to feed Ireland
We very much regret being unable to find the letter alluded to ; the next—
_if
by " A Burgess." 'W e have, however, discussed the subject indeed it be not on a line with the other—is to render
elsewhere ; but probably have not noticed thepoints to which life and property secure ; and then, in due course, must
our correspondent wished attention to be directed. Had we follow some adequate measures for putting an end to the
received the reminder earlier, we could have made a better disgraceful and dangerous farce of associations for the
search for the previous communication. • Repeal of the Union. These are the urgent objects. The
...--=.,
remedies for minor evils, and the consideration of all or-
ganic experiments, should be postponed till the great
instant peril shall be averted—and we are far from saying
that this peril may not be of ultimate benefit in guiding
and facilitating future legislation on those many and very
important points in the condition of Ireland to which we
and everybody else have so often referred."

TO CORRESPONDENTS

tat EibErpooi g§tanbatt.

TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 5, 1847

THAT great problem—lreland—becomes one of
rapidly-increasing difficulty. The very measures
which we devise to meet the most pressing wants
of her people, to allay religious animosities, and to
convert rampant disorder and outrage into systema-
tic industry and peace, seem to recoil upon our
heads, and to produce results totally opposite to
those which were anticipated from them. In a
crisis of impending famine, her Majesty's present
ministry recently held out to the distressed popula-
tion of that country the'arm of relief. The land-
lords of Ireland came forward to offer their coope-
ration, and to burthen their estates for the purpose
of promptly affording employment. Presentments
for public works throughout the country were voted
with an unsparing prodigality ; and what is, never-
theless, the present condition of the people thus at-
tempted to be raised from the destitution, into
which they had been thrown by the failure of their
principal food crop ? On every side we hear of vast
purchases of fire arms and other weapons of of-
fence. The very money we have given to snatch
the peasantry from famine is expended in providing
the means of riot and disturbance. The small far-
the cotter, the halt, the lame, and the blind,
are being fed by the bounty of the landlords and
the state ; whilst from the former they are with-
holding rent, and the latter they seem preparing to
overthrow.

THE public, by means of the press, is sufficiently
informed upon most matters which come before
the legislature. But even that watchful organ
cannot detect all the insidious attempts at encroach-
ment against liberty or property, contained in the
shoal of obscure, bills, introduced by obscure men,
the ordinary fate of which is to be swamped un-
read at the close of a session,, or to be contume-
liously kicked out, on their objects being detected
by the scrutinizing eye_ of Lord Shaftesbury in the
House of Peers. Yet some of these efforts of
amateur statesmanship contain provisions of so
monstrous and sweeping a character, that the un-
prepared reader can only wonder that any branch
of the legislature could so far entertain them as to
order them to be printed. One of this class is now
before us, entitled " a Bill for the better manage-
ment and preservation of the ports, harbours,
creeks, tidal waters, and navigable lakes and rivers
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
land," which is certainly one of the richest speci-
mens of impudence, and, at the same time, the
grossest attempt to violate the rights of property,
which we ever had the fortune to meet with.
Its history is curious. On a certain evening last
session, Mr. Joseph Hume had to represent that
the navigation of some petty river or creek in some
obscure part of Scotland had been injured or en-
croached upon; and suggested that some Govern-
ment department should have devolved upon it a
supervising power in such matters. The hint was
not lost. It suggested the idea of a Commission—
an idea dear to the heart of a Whig ; and accord-
ingly the present Bill, with a Commission, salaries,
appointments, and travelling expenses, duly tacked
to it, was " prepared and brought in by Mr. Ward
and Admiral Dundas ;" and " ordered by the
'House of Commons to be printed 14th August,
1846." The title was a modest one. The House
presumed that it related to Mr. Hume's little fish-
ing port, and other similar petty places, and it was
read a first time, and, we believe, a second time,
and adjourned over the session unnoticed. As, in
all probability, it will be resumed in the coming
session, we propose to let our readers know its real
nature.

There can be little doubt now, that the well-
meant efforts to meet the present crisis in Ireland
Lave been ill devised, and have miscarried. The
money spent upon useless and expensive public
works has been thrown away ; and even the more
recent and rational measure, conceded by the Lord-
Lieutenant, of employing the people upon repro-
ductive works—drainage, &c.—has been converted
into a serious burthen upon the landowners, by the
expensive system of managing the disposal of
the funds under the immediate superintendence of
the Board of Works and its officials.

Upon the; whole subject of our policy toward
that county, an able article entitled " State of
Ireland " has just appeared in the Quarterly Re-
view, published yesterday, in which the proper
course to have pursued in employing the people
is most ably pointed out, whilst the anomalous
Vositiou, in which, the Government has placed
itself by the measures adopted, is made apparent—

It commences by reciting that in ancient times
the jurisdiction of the crown extended over all the
seas and shores of the kingdom, and that the
Crown had also " the property of the soil in all
navigable rivers which have the flux and reflux of
the sea up to high water-mark of ordinary- spring
tides ;" but that " her Majesty's predecessors
have, at different times, granted the land of many
ports, harbours, creeks, shores, and rivers, to cor-
porations or lords of manors, or private individuals,
or to the owners of land on the banks thereof."
That many acts of Parliament have been passed,
entrusting the navigation of such ports and rivers
" to commissioners and others, with large powers
for that purpose," who, it is asserted, have mis-
managed'such powers; and that they can only be
properly managed by a central board of commis-
sioners, to be called a " Board of Conservators."
It is therefore proposed to be enacted that " three
fit persons, with adequate salaries,"—of course !
should be appointed,- with four Government offi-
cers, as ex officio conservators, to form such
board, with the following powers :—The board is
to have all the authority and rights at any time
formerly possessed " either at common law, or un-
der any act of Parliament," by the Lord High Ad-
miral. In other words, all dock acts and royal
grants are to be virtually nullified. The board is
to issue its " general and special orders, rules, and
regulations, under its common seal, directed to any
of the commissioners, or other persons having the
F ports, harbours, &c., under act
rters, or otherwise

" Let the British Government be for a moment re-
garded in its new capacity. It has taken under its charge
a very large number of labourers, for whom it must find
food and desires to find employment. It will naturally
feel an earnest wish to effect its objects with the least pos-
glible detriment or disturbance to society at large. It
will not abdicate its original functions as a Government,
nor renounce its care for any description of citizens. It
will not poison charity for the poor with spite towards the
rich ; but will feel the better satisfied, and account its
work better done, if it can so economise and direct its
resources that, while they minister to the wants of the
destitute, they augment also the available possessions of
those who are not so. With such dispositions, the State
or its functionaries, when solicitous to find employment
for labour, would seek also the means of rendering em-
ployment most generally profitable. The process of in-
quiry would probably be, first to ascertain the amount of
tabour unemployed, and then how it could be most wisely
distributed. The second or rather simultaneous inquiry
would commence with perhaps an invitation to all who
Could entertain labourers with advantage, to make them-
; known ; and it surely could not, at least should not,
Ater of regret if it were found possible to engage the
unemployed population of Ireland in works of re-
ictive rather than unproductive labour. The obliga-
s between landlo-A

or farmers and the State, woiild
thus become reciprocal. Both parties would see their in-
terest in the increased prOdgctiveness of the soil ; the
Government, in improved security to be repaid its out-
jay—the landowner, in increased ability to meet his aug
rnented burdens. By thi

rrangement, too, the poor la-
_
vould themselves have contributed to raise the
—nl for their support, and the whole of the opera-
I have been conducted smoothly and effectually
ordinary and understood relation between the em-

)f Parliament, c

and the or-

'tom the State the cash with which he paid his

be promptly obeyed, or the said com-
missioners and others mulcted ! They are to have
arbitrary power to call for and examine deeds,
charters, and witnesses upon oath ; and to allow
such witnesses the parliamentary scale of expenses
out of the funds of any dock estate they may
choose to pounce upon. The whole kingdom is to
be divided into districts, and each district is to
have an engineer," whose duty it shall be to watch
over and inspect all ports, &c., and to report the
condition thereof, and any improvements he may
think -- " and each such engineer—happy
part of the establishment of the

tiers are ti

it will be said, all the labour in the market
find this beneficial employment. Many land-
) disposed, or so circumstanced, as to be un-
ble, to take their part in the common en-
objection opens a large and important
.ems to have been thought of,

h never

necessary ;
—is to be

man !

said Board of Conservators." The board are to
order surveys and plans, and can " set out the
boundaries of any port, harbour," &c., which
boundaries " shall be the future limits thereof."
They are to have " power to stop works likely to
become obstructions," the board themselves and
the Lord High Admiral being the judges ; to put
down buoys ; and punish any persons throwing
ballast in any river or tidal water.

One would imagine that this was about sufficient
to ask for at once. It is not so, however. It has
occurred to the concocters of this precious bill that
there are too many members of the various Dock
and Harbour Committees throughout the kingdom. ;
and such committees are therefore to meet "within
one month after the passing of this act," and re-
duce themselves to twelve, of whom three shall be a
quorum ! In future the Board itself will elect
one-third of the whole. The reduced committees
are to send minutes of all proceedings to the
Board ; and no works or improvements " which
may require any extraordinary expenditure of mo-
ney" are to be" proceeded with, unless an order
under the seal of the Board be first obtained.
The Board can annul byelaws of the committees ;
they have power to appoint a harbour-master and
a receiver of dock-rates, and to " direct the man-