The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-18 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR. OP THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

Sin, —To the high character which Liverpool has ac-
quired as a commeecial entrepot has' been mainly attri-
butable her rapid grOwth, her vast wealth, and her still
increasing prosperity. To secure and extend these advan-
tages must be an object dear to every one of her enter-
prising and intelligent sons ; and I speak only the general
sentiment in saying no effort will be wanting on their part
to maintain and preserve the reputation she has earned
through the excellence of her ships, the integrity of her
citizens, and the intrepidity of her mariners. Reputation
to her has been no bubble, and its maintenance she is pre-
pared to vindicate through greater perils even than " the
cannon's mouth." Reputation is no doubt a rich inherit-
ance, but like other species of property, if it has its privi-
leges, it has also its responsibilities ; and experience of the
world leads to the inevitable conviction that few posses-
sions hang by so delicate or precarious a tenure as those
based upon reputation—the slightest whisper uninves-
tigated—the most groundless accusation unrebutted, gives
a fatal stab to character, whether it be that of an
individual, or of a community. The truth of this remark
is so obvious, and its importance is so generally ad-
mitted, as to render any argument for establishing it
unnecessary ; and as an important item in the general
business of Liverpool, directly dependant on her character
as a port of emigration, the purity of that character
ought to be guarded with the most jealous care. What,
I may ask, would for a moment support the pretensions
of Liverpool to beinc, the first emigration port among the
nations of Europe, if those pretensions were left entirely
to depend upon her mere local position, and to resolve
themselves into nothing beyond the physical advantages
she offers for embarkation ? Could not other ports be
speedily made to offer as great facilities as ours, in the
first steps of this traffic ? In point of fact, are not nu-
merous instances of daily occurrence in which such
rivalry is making bold advances, and receiving flat-
tering encouragement ? What, then, sustains Liverpool
in her proud pre-eminence ? The character she has
laboriously, pertinaciously, and honourably acquired, as
affording not alone ready means of egress from our
shores, but as furnishing safe as well as rapid—comfort-
able as well as certain conveyance to whatever land the
emigrant may desire to be carried : from this cause, and
from this cause alone, is our harbour made the place
of rendezvous by emigrants from every quarter of the
British Islands, and from lands beyond the sway of Bri-
tain's sceptre. This character, so essential to her pros-
perity, it is the duty and interest of her large community
to guard as a sacred treasure—to sustain by the most
uncompromising vigilance and integrity—to defend from
inroad by the boldest courage. To a large portion of her
commerce this reputation is as the breath of life, and as
such, not to be tampered with on pain of the most disas-
trous consequences, altogether apart from the moral de-
linquency involved in such a dereliction of duty.
Those preliminary observations have been induced by
two occurrences most painful in their contemplation—
most appalling in their results, which have recently taken
place in connexion with this important branch of our
traffic : I allude to the mournful tragedy which, in the
case of the Annie Jane, suddenly terminated in the
death of nearly four hundred human beings.; and
the painful circumstances attending the departure from,
and return to our harbour, of the Isaac Wright. In both
cases these ships had but recently left Liverpool, crowded
with passengers, for whose comfort or safety, so far as can
be judged by first impressions and results, very slender
provision had been made. I desire to make no accusa-
tion in either case, but simply point attention to the fact
that in both instances, as they are narrated, the character
of Liverpool as an emigration port is seriously compro-
mised. So seriously, indeed, as to call, in earnest and loud
terms, for a strict and searching enquiry into all the facts
and circumstances of both cases, so far as there can now
be ascertained. This, I repeat, is only a matter of justice
to the community. If the fact alleged in both cases be in
accordance with the truth, or approaching to it, they most
seriously impeach the fair dealing of those connected with
both these vessels, and so by implication that of our mari-
time community. In the case of the Isaac Wright grave
imputations have been laid against the quality of the pro-
visions, particularly the water, furnished to the emigrants ;
and serious complaints have likewise been made of the
inhumanity with which the suffering passengers were
treated. It is quite possible both accusations are utterly
destitute of foundation, and, if so, investigation would
speedily dispel the unfavourable impression made by the
rumour; but so long as that is not cleared up, the depres-
sing burden of accusation will attach itself, not alone to
the parties implicated, but also to the community of
which they form a part. The other, and much more
fatal instance to which I refer, that of the Annie Jane,
takes a more formal, as well as a more tangible, shape. In
one of the most respectable and influentianl papers pub-
lished in a rival port, the Glasgow Herald, of the 10th
instant, I find the following remarks appended to a nar-
rative of the disastrous and fatal loss of that vessel and
her hapless human freight :
"It may be as well to mention that the Annie Jane
was dismasted and put back to Liverpool, previous to her
last disastrons voyage. Mr. William Hendrie, a respect-
able mechanic in Washington-street Mill, tells us that
he sailed for Quebec in this ship, along with many
other Glasgow mechanics, on Wednesday, the 24th Au-
gust last. On the following Friday she encountered a
gale, and was dismasted. In consequence of the dangers
they had already encountered, and the disabled state of the
ship, the passengers unanimously petitioned that the
captain would put back for Liverpool, which he did, and
where the Annie Jane arrived on Friday, the 2d Septem-
ber. Hendrie and a great number of the passengers here
left the ship altogether. They did so, not only on ac-
count of her dangerous state from being over-loaded and
over-crowded, but from the bad usage they had received
in reference to their provisions and otherwise. Complaints
were made as to this, both to the government inspector
and the mayor of Liverpool: we have seen the petition to
the latter, but nothing came out of these remonstrances.
Mr. Hendrie states, that there would be more than 450
passengers on. board, in the first instance, and though
many left the ship at Liverpool, their places were
taken to a great extent by others to whom the tickets
were sold at a reduced rate. He thinks there were at
least 80 Glasgow and West of Scotland people on board,
many of whom were joiners and smiths, who had been
engaged to work on the Quebec railway. Of these 13 left
with Hendrie, and the rest would of course be on board,
when the disaster occurred at Barra. After undergoing
some sort of repair, the Annie Jane again sailed on th 9th
of September—that is, one week after her return; and the
result is chronicled above."

Here is an array of names, dates, and alleged facts,
detailed with an exactness of circumstantiality which
admits of no equivocation, directly impugning the vigi-
lance or impartiality of more than one of our public autho-
rities, in connexion with the protection, the comfort, and
the safety of emigrants. Can such an imputation rest
upon the emigration arrangements of our port without
seriously damaging its best interests ? If the allegations
are untrue, as I sincerely hope they are, shall the com-
munity of Liverpool labour under a stigma, and its inte-
rests suffer, because a slander has been uttered, which
nothing short of pusillanimity or conscious guilt would
shrink from exposing or repelling ? If the charges are
true,—but I cannot, will not, dare not believe them to be
so,—how imperative the necessity for a speedy and effec-
tual remedy? Pecuniary interest—social character—the
instinct of humanity—the command of Heaven, call im-
peratively for a swift and impartial justification from so
odious an accusation. In the absence of positive testi-
mony to the contrary, I am willing to believe that the
Glasgow Herald has been abused and imposed upon, and
if so, I feel convinced he will not be slow or niggardly in
removing a stigma he had no interest, beyond the calls of
duty, in affixing ; but the accusation has gone forth, and
with others now must rest the task of proving its un-
truth and its malignant cruelty.—l am, Sir,
A TOWNSMAN.
Liverpool, 16th October, 1863.

NOTES, NOTICES, AND OPINIONS.