The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-17 00:00:00

LIFE ASSURANCE.

often arise from imprudence. In the meantime we would
call attention to the importance of securing the means
which are now open. Let no one who is gaining an in-
come from his own exertions think that he has done his
duty to those who are dependent on him, until he has so
far secured them against the losswhich his death would
cession, and he may then perform his avocations with
more success, because he would enjoy that peace of mind
which results from having done the best his circumstances
affords.

RETIREMENT OF SIR R. H. INGLIS
FROM THE REPRESENTATION OF
THY! OXFORD UNIVERSITY.

Ow Saturday, a letter was received by the Vice-Chan-
cellor from Sir Robert Harry Inglis, M.P., announcing his
intention of resigning his seat for the University before
the meeting of Parliament. The reason assigned is the
delicate state of the hon. baronet's health. The intelli-
gence was announced at ten o'clock to the Heads of
Houses and Proctors assembled in the Delegates'-room,
previously to opening the first convocation of the term,
and from them spread shortly among the few residents
now in Oxford. Various rumours are afloat as to Sir- R.
H. Inglis's probable successor. Mr. Roundell Palmer and
Sir William Heathcote are mentioned as persons one or
other of whom is likely to be brought forward by those
who have lately supported Mr. Gladstone, while Lord
Chandos and Lord Blandford are spoken of on the other
side. The names of Mr. Cardwell and Dr. Twiss have
also been mentioned. Nothing definite is known at pre-
sent, but it is generally presumed that there will be a con-
, tested election. Sir Robert Inglis has now represented
the University for twenty-four years, and in nine Parlia-
ments, having been elected upon Sir R. Peel's resignation
of his seat in 1829.

ELECTRIC SHOCKS TO MINISTE-
RIAL FEELINGS.

(PROM TILE PRESS.)

TICE statement which appeared in some of our contem-
poraries to the effect that great confusion and inconvenience
hadbeen causedupon the English and foreigntelegraphlines
by the recent frosts and snows has received confirmation.
The messages despatched during the intenser weather
appear to have run into one another, changed contents or
addresses and to have arrived in fragments, or huddled in
heaps, as the case might be. Our excellent contemporary
the Journal of Science accounts for this in a way which,
though we do not profess to understand it the least in the
world, seems to us perfectly satisfactory. The accomplished
writer says :—" The wires got connected either by icicles
or by sheets of frozen snow. Now, though water is a
conductor, ice, which partakes of the nature of glass, is
not, and therefore, at first sight, it would be difficult to
say why any disturbance of the electric current has taken
place. But consideration shows that, though ice in an
abnormal state is a non-conductor, ice, subjected to electric
action, and exposed to the air, becomes charged with
hyposulphurous acid, which, reacting upon the wire, gene-
rates a precipitated hydriodic, or even bichloride of
insoluble pyrophosphoric acid, by which limited decom-
position is at once set up, and connexion established."
The confusion being thus accounted for, we may proceed
to mention a few of its results.
__ _

Lord Palmerston received the following message from
Belgium :—" The Czar is delighted with your long-tried
fidelity, and begs you to persevere. One more tangle of
diplomacy and his fleets and armies are safe for the winter.
Your earldom ought to be made a dukedom." The noble
Viscount.could not conceive for whom this gracious mes-
sage was intended, bat felt it his duty to lay it before the
head of the Government, who crumpled it up rather has-
tily, said it was nothing, and changed the conversation.
The Home Secretary went out, humming the Vaudeville
air, " /Was to 4onc,_mon Leopold ?"

The Earl of Aberdeen received a despatch, to the sender
of which he could obtain no clue ; but it congratulated him
on having irremediably damaged the Cabinet by resigning,
and then returning, in order to place both the Radical and
Peelite Coalitionists in a false position ; and the despatch
also intimated the pleasure with which its author would
look for certain mereiless " explanations" which would
smash the Ministry. It ended, " Surge, carnifex."
Mr. Gladstone received a message from an indignant
country schoolmaster, who addressed the receiver as some-
body who had a valuable and highly influential journal,
in which there ought to be an exposure of the blundering
balance-sheet just issued in regard to the quarter's revenue:
The worthy pedagogue explained the various muddles and
miscalculations with the greatest precision, and added
that, if any boy in his bookkeeping class had turned out
such a thing, it would scarcely be an act of humanity to
offer that boy a chair for some days after he, the master
had seen the production. The hon. gentleman tossed the
letter out of the window, and the wind being north at the
time, it was blown in at a window of the Morning Post,
where capital use was made of it.
Lord Cranworth received a message from Windsor
telling him to come down to see the palace theatricals, and
his lordship was getting ready, when somebody informed
him that Lord Derby would be there, upon which the
Chancellor immediately decided that the message was a
hoax, and unpacked bis carpet-bag. But ultimately it ap-
peared that the order was really from Court, and his lord-
ship went down, with great apprehensions, however, lest,
by way of entra'acte to Money, Lord Derby should ask
him for Ministerial explanations. However, as the earl,
so far from introducing such topics, very good-naturedly
explained the piece to Lord Cranworth, and disabused his
mind of the impression that Mr. Charles Kean was Mr.
Charles Matthews, that the play was a pantomime, and
that it ended with Mr. Webster smothering Miss Leclercq,
and being killed with a poisoned foil, after fighting with
Mr. Mac Somebody in a Scotch kilt, the Lord Chancellor
went away a good deal comforted.
Lord John Russell received a sort of invoice message
that his order had been attended to by the foreign tobac-
conist, that 1,000 prime cigars had been forwarded on ac-
count, and it was hoped that these would last his lordship
for a week or so, until the other 9,000 could be packed.
Lord John was very much disgusted, but sent the message
to the Foreign-office.
Sir James Graham received an extract from an address
somebody or other made to his constituents at an election,
in which that person stated that " he regarded every per-
sonal sacrifice light in comparison with the sacred duty of
defending the Protestant Church, of combining education
with religion, and of defending the monarchy against the
inroad of democratical principles ; he was the enemy of the
ballot, and opposed to a further extension of the elective
franchise." Being naturally suspicious, Sir James
regarded this as a " sell ;" but, happening to turn to a file
of papers, he found that the above was actually a portion
of his own address to the electors of 1841. Of course he
burst out laughing, and threw the letter into the fire.
The Marquis of Lansdowne received a letter from Man-
chester, of which he could only make out the words, "As
you have told us in confidence that you will bid very high
for our support, you shall have it, and lead the next Minis-
try ; but we must all have places, as we have bided our
time long enough. I must be Home Secretary, B. must
be Foreign ditto, M. G. must have the Board of Control,
and we shall want five or six other places for some clever
managing clerks of our own, who will be useful in the
house. Except yourself, we'll have no lords in the
Cabinet." The marquis. uttered some little classical quo-
tation—it might be something about servorurn pecus—
and, marking the letter with a great " ! " sent it to Ches-
ham-place.
Sir Charles Wood received a mercantile-looking
letter, desiring him on receipt to go into the City and
buy three hundred printed handkerchiefs, twelve barrels
of cured herrings, a ton of preserved cranberries, twenty-
six pounds of mould candles (long sixes), two warming-
pans, a dog-kennel, and a kitchen-range, and send them
off per canal. Sir Charles, who always does exactly as he
is bid, dashed off in a Hansom, made all the purchases,
and then bethought him that he did not know where to
send them. His train of logic gradually convinced him
that the message had not been for him, but for the agent
of some country general dealer. The vendors, however,
refused to take the things back, so poor Sir Charles has
them all on his hands, and his household is living on
herring-pies and cranberry tarts till further notice. The
handkerchiefs are to be distributed to the Liberal members
when the House meets, though it is rather thought they
may come up prepared to give whipes to the hon. gentle-
man and his colleagues.

Tin facilities afforded by means of advertising in the
public press, and the freedom with which they are made
available by Life Assurance Companies for disseminating
the knowledge of the several advantages which they offer,
would naturally lead to the impression that such a mode
-of providing against the contingencies of human life is
-very extensively adopted by the classes to whom it would
ortrmarily prove of advantage. There are many thousands
in this country, professional men and others, who are
earning beyond their necessary expenditure—who have no
other means of making a provision for a family in the
event of premature death—who have no realised capital
to bequeath by will to a widow and children, and yet how
few of them, comparatively, resort to the system of Life
Assurance, by which the payment of a small periodical
premium would ensure the possession of a certain sum to
those the payer holds most dear, at the very time when,
deprived of his aid, they have most need to be placed above
the cold charity of the world. Assurance becomes, there-
fore, a positive duty to the man so situate ; and he who
commencing the world, has as yet no ties of wife and
family, should insure his life as a measure of prudence for
the future—the earlier the commencement the lower being
the rate of premium—while the amount so paid is per-
anitted by the law to be a reduction on the income liable
to tax. Much discussion has taken place on the claims of
particular offices to public confidence in their ultimate
-.l3ffity to meet their engagements, and no doubt some of
them have been established without due regard to this
important particular, but the majority will be found free
from such hazard, and a slight consideration must serve
to convince most men that, if an office be conducted by
men of experience, with common honesty, and upon rates
of premium sufficient for ordinary contingencies, there
can be no reasonable doubt of their want of success. The
business of Life Assurance has, however, been mostly con-
fined to those who are in a position of life to pay an annual
-premium ; but there is a far more numerous class below
them to whom the system might be extended with consi-
derable advantage. The working man earning weekly
wages has, in most cases, no other means of providing for
the future than by small weekly payments, and he com-
monly resorts to Friendly Societies, and other similar in-
atitutions, in order to secure himself or his family against
-unforeseen contingencies. In too many cases these so-
cieties, from their confined operations, have proved to be
unequal to their engagements, and the hard-earned
savings • have thus been lost to those who depended on
them for a time of need. The advantages of the Life As-
surance Offices should be thrown open to these men, by
premiums being received in smaller sums, at shorter in-
tervals, and there can be no doubt that many thousands
would avail themselves of the opportunity. If every man
in settled employment, every man earning his means of
subsistence by his own exertions, were to effect an Insur-
ance on his own life, there would be full employment for
more offices than at present exist, and the advantages to
be afforded might be indefinitely varied as ingenuity
might devise. In some the premiums might be payable
for a fixed term of years, in others the amount insured
might be payable on arriving at a certain age, in some
future children might be provided for, in others the pre-
miums might be returned on demand, with the addition
of a low rate of interest, so as to combine the advantages
of a savings'-bank In many ways such offices might be
made beneficial in encouraging habits of prudence and
economy, by only a slight restraint from present gratifica-
tion, and the effect would be of advantage to the com-
munity, by diminishing the claims on the poor-rate, which

BELGIAN Tlanip.—By a Royal decree, dated the 31st
December, 1863, the following articles are allowed to be
imported free of duty into Belgium : —Until the 31st of
July, 1854, all sorts of bread, breadstuffs, and cattle;
until the 31st of December, 1851, all sorts of lard and
meat (not especially named in the thrift). Prohibited to
be exported until the 31st of July, 1854, are—potatoes,
lentils, pease, and beans. By another decree of the same
date also coals are to be admitted until further notice
duty free.

THE JENNY LIND MAFIA.—At Boston a man solemnly
announced a tea-kettle, which he christened the Jenny
Lind, from the fact that the moment it was filled with
water and put on the fire it began to sing! The coachman
who drove the warbler from the railway to the River
House, mounted the steps of the hotel, and extending his
hand, said, " Here's the hand that lifted Jenny Lind out
of the coach, gentlemen; you can kiss it any of you who
choose for five dollars, children half-price !"—Bunn's New
England and Old England.
DIE ART OP MAKING COFFEE.—As soon as the
operation of roasting is completed—an operation which
requires care and attention not to have it overdone—the
coffee should be ground at once and diluted. The subtle
aroma which resides in the essential oil of the berry is
gradually dissipated after roasting, and of course still
more after being ground. In order to enjoy the full
flavour in perfection, the berry should pass at once from
the roasting-pan to the mill, and thence to the coffee-pot ;
and again, after having been made should be mixed,
when almost at a boiling heat, with the hot milk. It
must be very bad coffee indeed, which, if these precau-
tions be taken, will not afford an agreeable and ex-
hilarating drink.—Knighton's Forest Life in Ceylon.
EARLY RISING IN THE COUNTRY.—At early dawn—
even at this season—we rise to the voice of the chanticleer;
and spring from our place of rest to examine the prospect
from without. If it be wet and drizzling, we, like the city
folk, at once return to our bed; but if it be frosty, or snow
is seen to fall, then do we rise betimes to view the glory of
the scene. A splendid sight is a frosty morning ! Hoiv
beautiful are the sparkling brilliants, pendant from the
twigs and the sprays ! What fantastical shapes do we
see in the objects formed by the rime, richly reposing on
the shrubs, trees, and evergreens, until resolved into its
elements by the rising sun ! And when the day has
broken, and a gleam of bright light illumines the scene,
what a picture of loveliness does there not lie before us !
As for snow, and its effects on the whole face of the coun-
try—its brilliant scintillations, its romantic embodiment
of fairy conceptions, its endless diversity of colours, seen in
the various rays of light emitted by the sun in his feeble
light—of snow we could be eloquent for a twelvemonth.
These, and similar treats, await those who reside in the
country and who love nature.—Kidd's Journal of Nature.

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD., AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

to 12 l ier cent. Sterling Exchange is unchanged, at 9i
to 91 per cent. premium. ~
Co' ITON.—The cotton market .continues dull, and prices
have declined lc. to on the quotation of this day week
for n liddlings and grades below middlings. The Africa's
advices have had no effect upon the market. Sales for the
wee' k ended Dec. 31, 6,596 bales, of which 1,355 were for
exp. )rt, 566 on speculation, and 2,567 in transit.

RECEIPTS, EXPORTS, AND•STOCKS OF COTTON.
Exports to Total Exports Stock, and
Receipts. Gt. Britain. to For. ports. on ship n'
18 53 '96,374 227,417 326,700 424,498
lE .52 1,309,906 463,981 590,077 582,880
1, acrease —
Diecreate

BREA.DSTIIFFS.—FIour firm; sales, 13,000 barrels; com-
'mon to straight State, $7,75 to $7,81; common to good
Ohio, $7,75 to $7,81; Southern firm, sales, 1,100 barrels ;
mixed to good brands, $7,75 to $7,87. Wheat firm, sales,
2,000 bushels; Genessee, $2,5. Corn better, sales, 25,000
bushels; mixed, old, 81c. to 82e.; white and yellow, 76c.
to 78c. ; round yellow, new, 82c.
PROVISIONS. —Pork active ; sales, 600 barrels ; mess,
$l3 37 to $l3 50 old ; $l4 62 to $l4 75, new; prime, $ll
12 to $1125, new ; Beef steady; sales, 270 barrels ; country,
$8 50 to 11; prime $5 to $5 75 ; repacked Chicago, $l3
50. Lard active ; sales, 450 barrels, at 91 c. to /10c. Coffee
firm ; sales, 150 bags ; Rio 12tc.
FREIGHTS to Great Britain are very firm, and to Liver-
pool there is a further advance upon grain and flour,
namely, corn and wheat 11d. to 12d., in bulk, and for
flour 3s. 3d. to 3s. 9d., with a tendency to a further
increase.

CIIARLESTON, DEC. 30th.—The sales of cotton to-day
were MOO bales, at Btc. to 102-c. The market is unsettled.
Nsw ORLEANS, Dsc. 31. Rio Coffee has declined 4c.
sales of the week, 8,000 bags, at 11c. to 11 c. for new.
Flour advanced 26c. to day.; sales, 5,000 barrels Ohio, at
$7. Jan. 5 :—Cotton to-day is firm ; sales, 7,000 bales.
Four is dull at $6 75 to $7. White corn, 68c. Mess
pork, $l3 50e. Coffee dull. Freights, lc. on 3,000 bales
of cotton shipped to Boston.