The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-08-10 00:00:00

❑ent is most re

mischief,
the one ti

ruptcy to thousands, ruin to millions, invariably succeed
the first symptoms of a delusive prosperity
With

nother important quotation, in which it
is shewn that instead of our present laws operating
to discourage undue speculation, they have infinitely
and imparted to all commercial trans-
actions the character of gambling, we must close

increased

tions for the p:

system of basing our currency exclu-

it would, a check on improvident ;Peculation and over-
production, that it has greatly aggravated both these
evils. Never has absurd and extravagant speculation been

more general in society, and more ruinous in its effects,
than since the gold system was introduced. The enor
mous folly of the South American mania in 1825, of the
Joint Stock mania of 1835. of the Railway undertaking in
. -..., oj our currency measures, the ma- 1845, all took place under the boasted system of golden
nufacturing operative, the landowner, the shop- 1 checks against such absurdities. Nothing of the kind
keeper, and, in short, every man whose income is Ihad been experienced before for adbo.ivnedaLcaewnsurz,ll when
e
either fixed or derivable from profits in trade. i the Mississippi
undertaking
ininFranngcaen, s'll'ook society in both
There are few of our readers who are not perfectly oruinous
000 tr e
sto
its foundation. Nay, as if to place it beyond
.t-3 mode in which the present laws have
a doubt that the bullion system, so far from being an an-
,-. 4._.1 ..,—._ 4._ 4.i..- ..A1 is its greatest aggravation, absurd and

.1101111113. ~.11-14111....t UUOW w Luc vv.., •„ b...------ ..._=_
~cted to the operation ruinous speculation has been much more pravalent in
England of late years, where one-pound notes were pro-
of extraordinary circumstances. We have had an
hibited, than in Scotland, where they 5411 exist under re-
-,qlly large import of foreign corn to supply
strictions, and till 1844 were wholly unrestrained, except
of the deficient potato crop, The mea- Iby the obligation to pay in r - '-c or

Crlppit,
that of late we have been subi

V of England not

of foreign produce, which, as yet,

re not met by 1 laion whi,

)orts of our n

additional E

however, exj
time to tim
currency sys

ported by
a English

übserig

Every I manufaltu
"

.s aggravated

ayin whi,

instead of 1

provident speCulation is

rtainty into

transactions of every

has become a mere

ness were-small bu
undertaking was the

of habit and
3. But these

,rt to su

.m has rendered merean-
,t hazardous of all specu-

tern of

!quenc,e become, so nu-

of the merchant

impossible to pursue a
o immense have been
of the currency, and

nary perils of the winds and t

hat the most cau-
as the

rreat ris

tious trade

tumn—a blight i

murrain in the cattle, is at any t
sionine an export of a few million

•eisxns, to blast

considerable im

7 importation

,Vstem to intro-

it is the gri

.t object a

Ifficient to

render half the traders in the
of the great capitalists, bankrupt. No w—
and circumspection on the part of the men
manufacturer ca - • "frar.t. of
stoppage of credit, .
arises from an exports

th the exception

ant of prudenc

!hatit or the

sudden
—...ummodation, which
in amount, but ruinous
in its consequences, of the precious metals. A nation
possessing two hundred millions a-year of solid realised in-
come, independent of professional income, whose capital
exceeds five thousand millions sterling, finds itself reduced
to the verge of bankruptcy by the exportation of five mil-
lions of sovereigns in exchange for food ! This, too, takes
place at a time when the Bank has X 10,000,000 of sove-
reigns still in its coffers, when trade is in an uncommonly

,n guard

ons, and nothing exists to ch
ficial perils with which error

ge 'commerce but the ar-
s human laws have en-

vironed the currency

The following is the practical conclusion to which

be arrives

" First, It is asked, Whitt would you do to remedy this

ffind

T Carl-IMO+

ge in d

s, previou

Isfori to tr

1.050 .0 0

)00l

ire withdrawn for a time, by the

proving untavot

able speech of the Doc

his project for the cot

heir place

glance of trade

a bringing before that body
truction of Timber Docks at

that gentleman remarked that

" A good deal of misapprehension exi,_
charges in Liverpool, and great pains had been taken to
make out that Liverpool was a dear port. He would just
call attention to fh^ -1- - existing fora ship
- -

ted as to the

0 tons comi

cliarfzes
nto Live

,t pre
!Tool. disc

.1
in ballast, and he won

Lancaster. Lontion, Bristol, Gloucester, Hull, and the
Clyde. At present, a ship of 700 tons going into Birken-
head with timber, and storing it for twelve months, would
cost the importer £4B 23. 11d. more than it would cost him
in Liverpool ; consequently, there was not much induce-
ment for him to go there. .(Hear.) At Lancaster it would
cost him ;£143 less than in Liverpool; at London, .£145
more ; at Bristol, £25 more ; at Gloucester, £lll more ;
at Hull, £135 more; and in the Clyde, £162 less than in
Liverpool. When they got possession of the land at the
I North Shore. he should be greatly mistaken if they were

This statement has been excepted against by Mr.
M`Gregor Laird, on behalf of the Birkenhead Dock
Company, who has just addressed a letter to the
press, containing a comparative statement, which he
says shows a saving of £5O ss. 6d. on the cargo of
a ship of 700 tons (say 900 loads of pine timber) in
favour of Birkenhead. As it is important that we
should be able to get at the truth in a matter where
authorities are conflicting, and in which the public
is so materially interested, we give here Mr. Laird's
statement :

" CHARGES ON TIMBER

Per 1,000 Feet.

or 20 Loads,

Landed

Dock &town dues, 1 0 0 Town dues,
Team discharging, 0 14 0 Landing, piling,
Porterage &turn- 1 0 4 0 and delivery, on Zl5 0
ing to measure, 20 loads, at 2s.
Loading on quay, 1
i• 014 0 9d. per load .. .
& piling in yard, , Rent: 3d. per load 1
0 0
Cartage to, yard, 017 0 per quarter, ...
Attending delivery, 0 5 0
Rent: 12 months, 1
at sd. per load 1 13 41
per quarter, ..

£5 7

Estimating the cargo landed 'from a ship of 700
tons to be 900 loads, a clear gain ensues at
Birkenhead of £5O 5 0"

In the first instance, it will be seen that Mr. Laird
does not meet fully the substance or the details of
Mr. Bramley-Moore's statement. It was that "the
charges at present existing for a ship of 700 tons
coming into Liverpool, discharging a cargo of timber,
_ going away again in ballast, and storing-. the
cargo for twelve months, would cost the importer
£4B 2s. lid. more in Birkenhead than in Liverpool."
Mr. Laird omits the charges upon the ship altogether,
and merely gives us the charges upon the cargo
landed. Why this is done we do_ not presume to

say ; but when we observe that the tonnage rate
upon a ship of 700 tons, inwards and outwards, is
in Birkenhead ls. 6d. per ton against ls. 3cl._ in
Liverpool, a suspicion, at least, is created, that such
a statement as is required to overthrow the Dock
Chairman's figures would be inconvenient. Besides
this, however, Mr. Laird has omitted some of the
Birkenhead expenses, whilst he has given those of
Liverpool very fully. For instance, he has Omitted
altogether in the Birkenhead statement the item
" turning to measure," the charge for which is 4d.
per load, whilst he charges Liverpool with 45. per
20 loads under the same head.
For the information of our readers, we give here
tatement from which the

the correct comparative
Dock Chairman read at the meeting, and with

wnien, on appncation,we nave men Kinoiy iavoureu.
The statement is question has been drawn up by one
of our most esteemed shipowners and timber im-
porters; and we have ourselves verified the portion
relating to Birkenhead by the Commissioners'
printed table of rates :

. .
Expenses upon a Ship of 700 tons, new. measurepent, and
upon her cargo of Square Pine Timber, supposed-to be
39,000 feet, string measure ; and 45,000 feet, customs
measure, discharged at the Birkenhead Docks, in the
Port of Liverpool: the ship departing in ballas47.

ON Snip

X. S. D
52 10 0

Harbour and channel lights, in and out 23 6 8
Dues for buoying and maintaining ..
.3 12 11

Pilotage in arid Out

11 0 0
15 0 0

ON CARGO, IF LANDED

Town dues

22 10 O.

Breaking out and pointing to ship's
port, 6d. per registered ton
Consolidated rate for landing, sorting,

17 10 0

piling, and delivery, 2s. 9d.190- 10ad..123 15 0
Turning to measure for sale, 4d.v- load 15 0
178 15 C

0 ND

And if kept a year the additional ex-
penses will be—Rent,3d. ld.v- qr.

Liverpool

45 0 C

On Ship

Birkenhead.
£lO5 9 7
178 15 C
45 0

Cargo

CI co

CPG 0 o

CJI , C,.:

CD CO

ts., CO

a, g

o tA•

4. is, CO
co
5 5

CM 0

5,000 0 0

ports wit

I

I

-'216:51!0+1011

a,nd through

,t this point was

From th

rity, bt

papers of

is watt

e printed and

vs of canon were fired

Aug, 10, 1847.

what he
it he shoo

tated,and the shouts were frequent

selves,

1 to be bad

w!,t