The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-02 00:00:00

TILE LIVERPOOL STANDAM

THE RhMYERS AND THE LICENOED VICTUALLERS.—
The brewers of this town having rest:_lved to raise the
price of their ale about Rs. per barrel, a uv.seting of publi:.
cans was held on Friday, to come to some resolution as to
propriety or otherwise of making any rise in the retail
price to the public. it was resolved, that, as the advance
appeared to be made only with a view of meeting the pre-
sent high price of barley, and as any rise in the retail
price would be likely to interfere with the trade of the li-
censed victualler4, that, for the present, no advance to the
public should be made. A committee was then appointed
to have further interviews with the brewers, for the pur-
pose of inducing them to modify the advance in some
measure, and to allow some little relaxation in other mat-
ters connected with the trade. On Saturday, the com-
mittee waited on the brewers; but they did not obtain a
meeting, as the brewers said they were then engaged.
DOCK COMMITTEE, THURSDAY.—The Committee of
the Marine Department reported that they could• not re-
commend any increase in the salaries of the keepers of the
Rock Lighthouse, and the keepers of the Telegraph at the
Great Orinshead. Confirmed.—A new chart of Liverpool
Bay, from a survey made by the surveyor in 1846, was
submitted, with a report thereon, containing suggestions
relative to new lights at the entrance of the port ; its con-
sideration was deferred for a week, until a report should
he obtained from the pilots'—A letter was read from the
officers of the Customs, intimating that a general bond
would be taken for goods stored in the Albert Dock ware-.
houses. Several appointments were made of delivery
foremen and dock clerks to the Albert Dock warehouses,
and some names added to the list of master porters.—The
receipts at the port of Runcorn were stated to be as fol-
lows, for the month ending the 24th instant :-143 vessels,
7936 tons, £42 10s, 10d., being an increase of £2oss. 11d.
over the corresponding period of last year.
GOVERNESSES' BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. The
first annual meeting of the friends and subscribers of this
institution was held on Thursday, in the Charitable Insti-
tution-house, Slater-street. Mr. Edward Cropper, the
president, occupied the chair. The secretary, Mr. Reid,
read the report, which stated that the directors had met
monthly since their appointment in June last, and had
awarded relief to the amount of £39 to applicants whose
cases had been fully inquired into, and had been reported
upon by the Ladies' Committee. They had also expended
upwards of £5 in assistance to governesses whose cases
required immediate attention,—assistance which had been
of most material service, as the persons had been thrown
into circumstances of great destitution and distress. At
a meeting in August, the directors resolved to establish a
savings' bank and a Government annuity department,
and to open books for the free registration of governesses
in want of situations, as well as for the entering the
names of parties requiring governesses, to the latter of
which those governesses who are registered in the books
of the institution should have access. Accordingly a pros-
pectus was issued, setting forth the objects of the institu- I
tion, and the establishment of the savings' bank, annuity
and registration departments. The institution seemed to
be little known, as there had been only one depositor for
the savings' bank, and no application for assistance in ar-
ranging for a Government annuity. The directors drew
attention particularly to the regisiration department, the
value of which, to governesses, was obvious, while it was
of great convenience to parties in want of such persons.
Mention was made of the great loss which the institution
had sustained by the death of their vice-president, the la-
mented Dr. Tattershall. The report concluded by calling
the attention of the friends of the institution to the fact,
that it had been enabled to undertake only a few of the
various objects originally contemplated ; and that to ren-
der it useful and permanent much aid and encouragement
would yet be required. The following is the statement
of the accounts :—Donations, £327 3s. ; annual sub-
scriptions, £l4O Is. ; other items, £8 16s. 7(1. Expended
in relief, printing, and other expenses, £llO Is. 5d.,
leaving a balance to the credit of the institution of £365
19s. 2d. The Rev. F. Farry, in moving the adoption of
the report, said, of all the institutions in Liverpool, none
were more entitled to support than the Governesses' In-
stitution. Dr. Nottingham, Mr. John Close, Mr. Tory,
Mr. Samuel Martin, and Mr. Cotesworth, moved and
seconded resolutions for the appointment of officers.

INFLUX OF IRISH PAUPERS.—MEETING. OF THE
MAGISTRATES.
On Wednesday, a special meeting of borough magis-
trates was held in the Sessions'-house, to consider the
propriety of petitioning parliament with respect to the
present very alarming influx of Irish paupers into Liver-
pooi. The mayor presided, and there were present eight-
eer► other magistrates.
The MAYOR opened the business of the meeting, and
said it was for them to say whether they would adopt a
petition which had been prepared by Mr. Rushton.
Mr. RUSHTON said that he had drawn up the petition
at his worship's request, making the best use of the facts
in his posSession, which he believed were authentic. His
attention had been called to the great influx of the Irish
poor a few weeks ago, when many of them were brought
before him as vagrants. He began to see then that that
was the beginning of extensive immigration here ; and
very soon after the laws respecting vagrancy became of
little effect in the way of corrective, for the magistrates
might have filied the gaol ten times over. Under the
cloak of a large amount of real suffering, there was now a
great amount of imposition, for the vagrants were availing
themselves of the existing state of things, and were coming
over in considerable numbers. The famine was one evil,
and importure was another. The parochial autho-
rities had acted from the commencement in the most
praiseworthy manner in meeting the evil. Thousands of
the ratepayers of Liverpool would have to contribute out
of their necessities to meet the evil of the immigration.
He then read the petition, which was similar to that, of
the Select Vestry, and after stating the immense number
of Irish poor who had come over and been relieved at
a great cost, prays that parliament will devise some
mode of relieving Liverpool from bearing more than a fair
share of this serious infliction ; and that whether this were
acceded to or not, they will not separate without enacting
a law by which in future the people of Ireland, like the
people of England, shall be compelled to make provision
for the wants of their own poor.
Mr. BOLTON said it would require £4OOO to send the
paupers back to Ireland.

- Mr. RUSHTON recommended the inhabitants to relieve
the distress only through the medium of the charitable
societies of the town.

The petition was adopted and signed by all the magis-
trates present.

HIGHLAND DESTITUTION.

On Friday, a public meeting was held in the _Music-
hall, Bold-street, for the purpose of devising some plans
by which to alleviate the sufferings at present existing in
the Highlands of Scotland. Mr. GEORGE GRANT occu-
pied the chair.

The CHAIRMAN, after some introductory observations,
referred to two gentlemen who had honoured them with
their presence that day, Mr. M`Leod and the Rev. Dr,
Mackay. He was sure that the information which they
would be able to give would be of the most interesting
kind ; he was sure they would listen to them with great
interest. With Dr. M•Leod he was well acquainted,
and his untiring zeal and unwearied devotion to the cause
of the Highlands of Scotland were well known to the
world, and they entitled him to the gratitude of his coun-
trymen. He then passed a very high eulogium on the
rev. gentleman, and, in conclusion, hoped that they would
consider the resolution which was about being laid before
them.

Mr. Gina moved the first resolution, which will be
found in our advertising columns ; it was seconded by
Mr. WATSON.

Mr. M`LEon said that the population of the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland had been estimated at 400,000,
and of that number there were about 100,000 who were
not dependent on the potato crop for support, and who
were not sufferers by the blight which had fallen upon
that article of food, from which it appeared that there
were 300,000 of the population of the Highlands who
must be sufferers by that dire calamity. By contributing
a little of their substance at that time, it would enable
majority
ntooaani nrione,
timettoiyof
starvation.
tote
WineHnnig,ell,laarindderoslstoot:pwreeasetrvheer
tthheemssteohr,mes'fc(f)omr
liiieinghtlaienydthetlentsh-egoenoemmaloidi
nofo otherd f trle:
dsomutrreeesstalinuds
,Nle,oftnttliehmat,
htahseayrinseeedn
inntoltiow;oannider at great
o 1C
no less than 250,000 in a state of actual starvation. ationer.ewglet
it was unnecessary for him to enter into detail. He had
thought it his duty to write to a number of gentlemen in
the Highlands, who, he was well aware, were acquainted
with the real state of the people, and he was most happy
to state that, with the greatest readiness, he received
answers from all of them. Some of the letters he would
lay before the meeting. Thesfact was undeniable, that
famine prevailed in the Highlands, and he regretted to
say that there was a great deal of distress among the peo-
ple. They would be told of starvation such as this—the
child clinging to its mother's breast, and trying to obtain
its natural food, but in vain ; they would hear of cases of
children crying around their parents from morning to night
for food which it was impossible they could give them. Yet,
for all this, they had reason to bless God that the state of
Scotland was nothing to be compared with that of Ire-
land; the people of Scotland bore their forlorn condition
with a fortitude becoming Christians. There was no class
in the Highlands who felt the weight of this calamity
more than the clergymen, gentry, and other gentlemen,
whose kitchens were always crowded with persons seek-
ing relief. From a document which he read, it appeared
that two-thirds of the rents were unpaid. The rev. gen
tleman Aged that there is a very large clas's of persons
in the Highlands, called the " cottar population," who
have not a spot a their own to sit down upon, who are
•mere " squatters," The famine was brought about by
circumstances over which the proprietors had no control.
They were well aware that a short time ago, a great busi-
ness was done in the manufacture of kelp. That was
destroyed by a single act of the legislature. Many of
the proprietors derived thousands
,of pounds from this
manufacture; and who only had about £2OO from the
land ; some who were formerly well to do in the world;
were now, in consequence of this act, serving as stipen-
diary magistrates under the burning sun of the West
Indies. But there was another cause of this calamity,
which he would take that opportunity of stating to the
meeting, and that was the driving away the poor people
out of their homes, where they and their ancestors had
existed for centuries. It is not merely the failure of the
manufacture of kelp, but in the plan which many of the
landlords are adopting, that of turning their land to the
purposes of grazing, for which purpose they are driving
the poor creatures out to make room for their cattle. The
rev, gentleman stated that the people generally deserved
the.'highest praise for their forbearance under the trying
circumstances in which they were placed. He had heard
of no outbreak—no thefts of any kind. The subscrip-
tions amounted in Scotland to about £14,000, but it would
require about £1,000,000 before all their wants could be
relieved. In a few words be eulogised the conduct of
several of the noblemen and gentry, not only of Scotland,
but of England, who, he said, had behaved in a most
handsome manner on the present occasion., By means
1 of this evil, one great good had been effected, and that

was, the union of parties in one common feeling of com-
miseration. forthe unfortunate Highhinders : and he con-
cluded by expressing his conviction that all things would
be turned• to good out of evil, and light out of darkness.
Mr. DUNwe' then, in a very neat and eloquent manner,
addressed the meeting. He said they ought to consider
it a sacred duty, as far as in them lay, to relieve the wants.
and administer to the necessities of their suffering fellow-
countrymen. The resolution which he was about to pro-
po,e, and which he hoped would express their sentiments
and be carried unanimously, would disclaim the idea of
attempting anything that can absolve either the govern-
ment or local proprietors from adopting such remedial
measures as the necessity of the case required. He thought
that the cultivation of the land in Ireland would amply
repay itself; but this would not apply to the Highlands
of Scotland. He recommended that a system of emigra-
tion should be adopted. and that the government should
grant plots of land for the use of emigrants.
The resolution having been seconded by Mr. STlrr was
carried unanimously. A stranger then addressed the
meeting, after which
Dr. MACKAY, in a very eloquent and lengthened speech,
detailed the wretched condition of the people of Scotland,
giving an account of the places which he had visited by
himself and along with others, and the destitute condition
in which he found the people, which, he said, would shock
the feelingsi of any person who should happen to see them.
The people of England formed no conception of its extent,
'nor indeed could they. He read several letters from gen-
tlemen and clergymen in the Highlands of Scotland, and
in a most emphatic manner called upon the persons pre-
sent to lend their aid in relieving their fellow-countrymen.
Several gentlemen afterwards addressed the meeting.
A number of gentlemen were appointed as a committee to
carry out the objects of the meeting, and subscriptions to
a large amount were handed in to the treasurer.
A vote of thanks were then passed to the chairman, and
ale meeting separated.