The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-04 00:00:00

vacancy in the representat

Miss E. HAMILTON'S- CONCI
concert took place at the Wellington-room
last, and was most fashionably and numer

Hamilton's

on Thursday

The fair beneficiarie delighted fie
or four pretty ballads, which she sung in a chaste and plea
ing style. Her sister, Miss Hamilton possesses a fine con-
trait voice of considerable power. Miss Whitnall sang with
much sweetness a charming ballad of Lover's,—the chorus at
the close of each verse having a novel and singular effect.
Mr. Andrews free base voice was very effective in Calcott's
song—" Friend of the Brave". The concerto on the piano-
forte by Mr. Elliot, displayed much brilliancy of execution,
taste, and feeling. It was deservedly applauded. In conse-
quence of Mr. Walton being prevented leaving Manchester,
Mr. Henry Dodd supplied his place, the change leaving no-
thing to be wished for. Mr. Dodd 'sung a very difficult and
capital song of Horn's—that most charming composer—en-
titled "The Troubadour". It is somewhat new in Liverpool.
It appeared to be well relished. It was given with powerful
effect, good taste, and feeling. Tenors with fine names
could not have made more of it. How is it that this very ca-
pital singer is so seldom engaged at the concerts continually
given here ? Mr. Dodd is generally liked. His voice is a
noble one, and his songs are always relished by the public.—
It appears remarkable that singers should be brought from
neighbouring towns, when we have those who are in good
favour amongst us. Mr. Dodd is not the only instance of
talent being neglected. There is a Mr. Jackson—why is it
that the concert " givers " do not engage him. Without
doubt he is the first violincello performer in this part of Eng-
land—indeed we question if there is better or superior to
him anywhere. At a late concert, a song in which he ac-
companied was rapturously encored, merely for the purpose
of again hearing him " wake the sweet notes in passing
along." Yet these stupid concert givers are so blind to their
interest and so regardless of tast

y attende

udience with

:hat they

II not give a

man an engagement who has no superio
countable feeling—arising, nobody knows why, and nobody
knows wherefore. We would rather, positively, hear Mr.
Jackson's violincello for half an bour, than listen to all the
singers in Liverpool put together a day I

—from some unac-

DBEADFUL TRAGEDY AT RHYL, IN FLINTSIIIRE.—We
have the painful duty of recording one of those cases of the
incautious use of fire-arms which have been too frequent in
this country of late years. The following are the particu-
lars :—A young man, named John Hickson, about twenty-
one years of age, by trade a cooper, and whose father is a
respectable master baker, in Hodgson-street, in Chester.
became enamoured, it appears, some time since, with the
daughter of a small farmer, residing at Rhyl ; the conse-
quence was that pregnancy ensued. He had, it should be
observed, not quite finished his apprenticeship, and, his in-
tentions of marrying her becoming known to his parents,
they strongly opposed the alliance. The young man, how-
ever, resolved upon saving her from disgrace, and accordingly
married her on Easter Monday last. Her father, last week,
made overtures that she should return home,. for a given
p eriod until her husband could provide a habitation for her.
This was agreed upon, and on Thursday, the 22nd ult., he
]eft with his wife for lthyl. They reached in safety, and,
after dinner on the following day, Mr. Hickson and his
wife retired to the kitchen, no one else being present. At
this moment he took up a gun belonging to his father-in-
law, and, not being aware that it was loaded, held it towards
his wife, saying, " I'll shoot you, or words to that effect.
He unfortunately pulled the trigger, and the contents entered
her head, and she expired in three minutes afterwards, to the
great horror of her husband, father, and all who soon en-
tered the house. A coroner's inquest was held on the body
on Monday last, when the jury, after a careful investigation
of the evidence, returned a verdict of " Accidental death ;"
thus exonerating, as all persons did, her husband from any
wilful intention of doing the deceased any harm. What a
melancholy lesson the above fatal circumstance ought to
teach all persops who carelessly leave fire-arms openly

posed in their habitations, likewise those individuals who so
imprudently use thern.—Jourual.
THE CHINA TRADE.—The merchants interested in the
East India and China trade in the city, at Liverpool, at Glas-
gow, and other principal ports of the United Kingdom, have
drawn out strong remonstrances against the ratifications by
our government of the basis of the arrangement sent home by
Captain Elliot, her majesty's plenipotentiary in China, for
the adjustment of the differences *WI the celestial empire,
and for placing the commercial intercourse on a better foot.
ing for the future. A deputation from, the East India and
China trade association had an interview with Lord Palmer-
ston upon this highly important subject on Wednesday last.
The deputation consisted of Mr. Crawford, M.P., Mr. Hors-
ley Palmer, Mr. Jardine, Mr. Jamieson, and Mr. Milligan.
The deputation rested their complaints mainly on two points
--namely, the inadequacy of the indemnity proposed to be
paid by the Chinese government to this country, and the
want of any sufficient security having been provided for the
personal safety and independence of British residents in China,
by the arrangements which Captain Elliot was said to have
entered into with the Chinese plenipotentiary. The answer
of Lord Palmerston was, to the effect, that as he was ac-
quainted only with the principles agreed to between the ple-
nipotentiaries, namely, that the emperor was to cede to the
British crown a territorial possession in China, that an in-
demnity was to be paid to the British government, and that
the official intercourse between the two countries was for the
future to be conducted on terms of perfect equality. As yet,
his lordship knew nothing beyond the admission of these
important principles ; and as it was expressly stated that the
details were to be the subject of further negotiation, it neces-
sarily followed that it was impossible for his lordship to come
to any conclusive opinion as to the acts of the British ple-
nopitentiary until in the full possession of the details of the
further negotiations so alluded to.

ROBBERY AND STADDIN.G.-At the Police-court, on
Friday, an ill-looking fellow of the name of James Steele
was put forward on a charge of having, in company with one
or two others, entered the house of Mr. John Wren, tea-
dealer, of No. 92, Finch-street, at a late hour the night
before, and taken 'therefrom some silver spoons. He was
further charged with having drawn a clasp-knife on one of the
police-officers, from which the latter had narrowly escaped.
Officer 156 stated that he was in Finch-street about ten
minutes past two o'clock the night before, and that he ob-
served two men going along the parapet. When they heard
his footsteps they proceeded up a court that was in the
neighbourhood. He followed with a view of ascertaining
who they were, but on discovering his approach they came
out, and as fast as he went so fast did they continue to keep
ahead of him. Before he reached the top of Moss-street
they got out of sight. He went round into London-road,
passed several streets, and at length heard footsteps coming
along Finchtstreet. He then observed the prisoner, who
was habited at the time in a glazed cap and coat, and went
across to meet him and two others who accompanied him.
They continued, however, to evade him for some time, but
eventually he followed them through Mill-street, and came
up with the prisoner. The other two made off. Having
asked him what he was loitering about the streets for at that
advanced hour of the night, he replied that he was on his
way home, and that he lived at the top of Copperas-hill.
The officer expressed a wish to accompany him part of the
,inahndthe made a
way, but to this the fellow would nnontisceonresesentnt,hainindgttuhrantinngf
round, the officer heard him make a
the click of a pistol. He then faced the officweirl
thrust with a large clasp-knife at his mouth, latter
parried off. He then made. a.secodndhimfurihoeustnanttkemopt
htios
stab the officer, but having missed
heels. The officer followed closely, and while tfheefffeelnitoi7 was
in the act of scaling a wall, with the view o
escape, the officer struck him a blow on the head, alntdresgtphenen-
dily brought him to the ground. A desperate re
took place between the parties, in the course of v%'hich the
fellow made five or six other attempts to stab the officer, but
failed. The officer then gave him a blow upon the arm,
which in some measure disabled him, and he ran into ling-
ton, where he was knocked down by officer No. 5, who L
hap-
pened to be on duty in the neighbourhood at the time, and
when lying on the ground the open knife was discovered
under his thigh. One dessert spoon, one teaspoon, one salt
spoon, and one dessert fork, were found wrapped up in a
handkerchief on his person.—Sarah Tomlinson, servant to
Mr. Wren, identified the property found on the prisoner as
being that of her master. It appeared that the prisoner and
his companions had effected an entrance into the house by
removing the coal-grid and forcing the kitchen-door. Three
skeleton keys, a piece of a candle, and a quantity of lucifer
matches, were found upon the floor of Mr. Wren's house,
and also upon the kitchen floor.—Mr. Rushton asked what
the accused had to say for himself ?—The prisoner replied
that he had been cruelly treated by the officers, and that they
had nearly killed him.—Mr. Rushton expressed his satisfac-
tion at finding that he had been captured, and directed him
to be lea for trial.

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT

.—No. 5.

(FOR THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.)

DEBATES ON LORD MORPETH'S REGISTRATION
BILL ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, AND

THE BUDGET ON FRIDAY

The proceedings in the House of Commons during the last
three nights have been of so extraordinary a nature that I

find it utterly impossible even to attempt a detailed sketch of
them, much less of any portion of them. The whole three
nights' debate constitute in fact only one scene—one act of
the ministerial scramble for the prolongation of their term of
official existence. Different although the subjects of debate
may appear on the two first nights and on the third, yet it is
impossible to separate them ; for the budget on Friday is as
essentially coloured throughout by the defeat of the preceding
night, and the declaration of the ministerial views upon the
question of the corn-laws is as essentially produced and in-
fluenced by that defeat, as if the regulation of the budget and
the corn-laws both were mere clauses introduced to render
nugatory the Conservative principle introduced by the majo-
rity on Thursday into Lord Morpeth's registration measure.

The interest excited by the debate on Wednesday night, if
possible, exceeded that displayed on the preceding Monday.
By five o'clock the house was filled in every part, and so
pressing had been the ministerial circulars that the members
of that party were strictly enjoined not'to absent themselves
for a moment without being provided with a pair. It was
soon, however, made evident that on that evening the divi-
sion was not to take place, and that the proceedings cf
ministers were to be merely of a " retarding" character.
After a debate of between five and six hours, upon a motion
of Mr. Hume to confer the franchise upon £5 rated occu-
pants from year to year—a proposition which, it must be evi-
dent, could never by any chance have received the sanction
of the house—the farce of dividirg began, and continued un-
interruptedly from a quarter before eleven o'clock till nearly

two in the morning .'

Such of your readers as have not attended the debates in
the House of Commons may be interested to know how a

division is managed. The gallery you will be well aware is
immediately closed; and, in addition, the ante-room next to
the house is cleared of strangers, and shut. Between this
room and the house itself the division is taken by two tellers
on each side, and the name of every member voting is taken
down. For such a process it must he evident that consider-
able thee is necessary, especially in a full house; and upon
this occasion the time occupied by each division was upwards
of half an hour. From a conversation which took place
through a loophole of the lobby-door, between a member in-
side and a member shut out, no secret was made of the fact
that there was a majority against Ministers in the house, and
that the ruse of dividing would be continued for that evening
at least ; and my only inducement to stay longer in the house
was to witness the barefaced recklessness with which the
system was persevered in by Ministers until the Conservative
members were worn out into submission. The house at
length adjourned, with the understanding that a bond-fide
division upon the main question should take place imme-
diately upon its meeting on Thursday.
The interest displayed on this occasion continued unabated
on Thursday, and the house was crowded at an early hour.
From the very commencement of the proceedings it was
that the " wind-up" could not be much longer de-